The Black Stone, al-Hajr al-Aswad, is a Muslim relic. According to tradition it goes all the way back to the time of Adam and Eve. The stone is located on the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba, an ancient, cube-shaped stone building in Mecca.
What is the Black Stone? Why is it so important to a Muslim? The answers are found in ancient traditions.
Islamic Tradition and the Black Stone
According to Islamic tradition the Stone fell from Heaven. The purpose was to show Adam and Eve where to build an altar, the first altar on Earth. The Stone was first white.
According to the Hadith, “It descended from Paradise whiter than milk, but the sins of the sons of Adam made it black.” Again Islamic tradition says that when the flood came and Noah and his family entered the Ark, the Stone was lost. Later tradition claims Abraham found the Black Stone. He asked Ishmael, claimed by Muslims to be an ancestor to Muhammad, to build the Kaaba. Ishmael placed the stone on the eastern corner of the Kaaba.
The Black Stone is either a basalt stone, an agate, a piece of natural glass or just a stony meteorite.
The Black Stone of the Muslim Pilgrimage
The Black Stone is now polished smooth. It is made up of many pieces that are held together in a silver frame. This is because in early Islamic history an army of dissident Muslims smashed it to pieces. It is round and worn because millions of Muslims have touched and kissed it over the centuries.
During the Hajj, Muslim pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba. Each time around they must attempt to kiss the Stone. They imitate what their prophet, Muhammad, did. Because of the large crowds many people cannot kiss the Stone. Instead they will stretch out their arms and point towards the Black Stone as they walk around the Kaaba. This ceremony plays an important role during the Hajj.
Why Do Muslims Kiss the Black Stone?
Why would you kiss a Stone? The answer goes back to Muhammad. Muslims claim that Muhammad kissed the Black Stone. Muslims kiss the Stone to imitate what their prophet did. Why did Muhammad kiss the Black Stone? When Muhammad came to Mecca he ordered that the idols be taken out of the Kaaba before he would enter. Unfortunately, he was not consistent. He was seen kissing the Stone which was a pagan practice.
Later Umar bin al-Khattab, a companion of Muhammad, was troubled by what he saw. “Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said, ‘No doubt, I know that you are a stone and cannot benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah’s Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, NUMBER 680).
Is Kissing the Stone Idolatry?
Islam strictly forbids idolatry and sees the Stone as a symbol and nothing more. Some people might think Muhammad was caught committing idolatry!? What do you think?
Most Muslims do not worship the Stone. Yet there are a few who see the Stone as an idol that will appear on The Day of Judgment with eyes to see and a tongue to speak. This is dangerous. It is making an idol out of the Black Stone instead of worshiping The Creator of the Universe?
There are denominations of Christianity that focus on relics and statutes as well, again taking the focus off of Isa Al-Masih.
What Does ‘Black’ Symbolize?
As mentioned earlier, Muslims feel the stone is black because of sin. Does this means that the sins of those passing the Stone were transferred to it? Some may feel that way. Obviously Muslims, as well as all mankind, are seeking for a way to get rid of sin.
Note this conversation in heaven between angelic being so see how the Gospel deals with sin: “Then one of the elders [heavenly beings] asked me, ‘These in white robes–who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’” (Revelation of John, 7:13 – 14). Because of shed blood of Isa Al-Masih, their robes (lives) {jcomments on}are white, not black.
The Bible makes it very plain that Isa Al-Masih is the “Lamb of God.” He bore the sins of the world on the cross. Only He, not a Black Stone, can cleanse our hearts from sin.
God, who came to us as a man, died so we can be cleansed from the stain of sin. Though we were once black (with sin) we now can be white as snow. This will happen when we let Isa Al-Masih wash the sin stain away with His blood, the blood that He shed for you and me.
[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6) For a deeper understanding of Isa we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]
SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW
We encourage our readers to comment on the article above. Comments that don’t directly relate to the topic will be removed. Please start a dialogue with us by focusing on one of the following questions:
1.) Why do you have to walk seven times around the Kaaba and kiss the Stone?
2.) What if you don’t touch and kiss the Black Stone? Will it make you sin?
3.) Is kissing the Black Stone an act of idolatry?
If you have a question regarding this article, please contact us by clicking this link.
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Surely, I would kiss the Black Stone. Kissing something isn’t idolatry. We do not worship or expect any benefit from it. One kisses his father, mothers kiss their children, children kiss their parents. Is that idolatry? One shouldn’t believe that kissing stones in this context is idolatry.
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Tariq,
Thank you for your comment. You are right that kissing something or someone doesn’t necessarily mean you are worshiping it. But this also depends on the context.
For example, singing isn’t always worshiping either. There are many songs written just to be sung for fun. But worshiping can be singing. I worship Allah almost every day through singing songs to Him.
Kissing the stone was a pagan act of worship, which means it can be worshipped. It all comes down to the motives of your heart.
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During the tawaf, is it good to touch the al-Hajar al-Aswad (I mean the seven towers)?
Some are saying if you put your head inside the black stone and pray to God, He will answer your prayer as soon as possible. Is this true?
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Mme Tidjani,
Why is it good? As mentioned in the article above, it cannot benefit anyone or harm anyone. Practicing it could lead to idolatry and this is sinful.
I don’t know whether the prayer is answered. However, God wants His people to pray directly to Him. Why do we need an intermediary such as the black stone?
God loves everyone. He sincerely invites us to come into His presence without fear. Therefore, God has sent Isa Al-Masih to cleanse us from sin and its power over us. Sin keeps us from having a relationship with Him. To learn more about how you can have a relationship with God, please go to http://www.isaandislam.com/Way-of-Salvation.
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(1) It’s the only stone that was taken from al-Janal that people can use for prayer.
(2) Forgiveness to the Muslim is from Allah (S.W.T.)
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Dear Habu,
Why would you use the stone for prayer? Does it give you benefits?
Regarding statement no. 2, why do we need to use the stone if forgiveness comes from God? The only way to be forgiven is to trust in Isa as the sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sin. If you want to learn more about the forgiveness of sin, please go to: https://www.isaandislam.com/Isa-Al-Masih/are-you-a-muslim-carrying-a-load-of-sin-there-is-help.html
Through Isa, our sin is forgiven. Isa also leads us to God because He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father (God) except through him (Injil, John 14:6).
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If I am not mistaken, the author of the above article rightly agrees that Muslims do not worship the black stone, as if this article was merely written to ”prove a point” namely, that Christians are not the idolators that Muslims make them out to be.
Sadly, Catholics pray to and worship Mary. They ask her for protection, they sing praises unto her as mother of God, etc. It is only Allah whose protection should be sought. They allow their leaders the supreme authority to forgive sins. According to father Ignatius, “We are clearly obliged to look upon the bishop as the Lord himself.” Clearly, Muslims are right in naming Christians as idolators.
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Muslim,
Christians should only worship the One True God (Triune). Christians are told to obey (not to worship) their leaders. “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Injil, Hebrews 13:17).
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I don’t know whether kissing the Black Stone is an act of idolatry, etc. Why would you kiss the stone? The answer goes back to Muhammad. Muslims claim that Muhammad kissed the Black Stone. Muslims kiss the stone to imitate what their prophet did. Why did Muhammad kiss the Black Stone? When Muhammad came to Mecca, he ordered for the idols to be taken out of the Kaaba before he would enter. Unfortunately, he was not consistent. He was seen kissing the stone which was a pagan practice.
Later, Umar bin al-Khattab, a companion of Muhammad, was troubled by what he saw. ‘”Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said, ‘No doubt, I know that you are a stone and cannot benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah’s Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you.'”
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Dear Akm Ruhul Amin,
Thank you for your comment. In Christianity, putting anything above God is idolatry. God really hates it. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands” (Taurat, Exodus 20:4-6).
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The author warned Muslims not to worship the stone, but we do not know the author’s motive.
Speaking to dead things is forbidden by the Scripture. Mary has died and cannot hear us. To ask her is foolish. To worship/praise her is idolatry. Many Catholics (wrongly) deny this. Muslims who kiss the stone also say the same thing. Calling her “God’s mother” could also be blasphemy.
Only God can forgive sins. Otherwise, it’s blasphemy.
Father Ignatius, “Look upon the bishop as the Lord Himself.” This is idolatry. Isa himself would condemn this.
Clearly, anyone who is a torchbearer of monotheism can identify idolatry.
Catholic≠Christian≠Catholic. These are not always equal. There are even some Catholics who refuse to pray to Mary.
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Frederic,
You are right, that we should not pray to Mary, or any other saint for that matter. The Injil and the Taurat clearly teach that we are only to pray to and trust in God. Yes, only God can forgive sins. He does this through the sacrifice of Isa. To learn more about how to receive this forgiveness, go to https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation/the-divine-way.html
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This is true of some of the catholic. This is because some of the early christian made a lot of mistake .
Due to the fact their way of understanding the scripture was poor and some of the king believed that they could be saved after committing sins against humanity. They used religious leader to cover them in the name of forgiving their sins which is impossible by man. Only God has the power to forgive.
Christian should keep praying for God in a good direction in the various churches and stop certain tradition which is not valued to Christianity but satisfies human being .
If that was a mistake in those day we have to accept it and let it go.
Thanks
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Hamma,
Thank you for giving us your thought in this discussion. You are right that we need to accept the mistake of the past and let it go. Right now, all we need to do is to seek the truth. Isa claimed that He is the truth. “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Injil, John 14:6). He doesn’t say that certain religion is the truth. Or certain rituals or a set of rules are the truths. But He is the truth as a person. It’s Him that we should seek.
Blessings.
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Yes, it’s shirik if the person believes that the holy stone can washout our sin because only Allah is able to purify us from sin. Same as the concept in Christianity that Isa Al-Masih can cleanse the stain of sin because only Allah is able to do this, not Isa or Jibril. The truth is that we need to refer to the Quran and Injil. What has been claimed that Rasulullah SAW kissed this holy stone from heaven is more better than kissing the cross made by your own.
How bad sin is. It results damage/disease or defect. It means that when sin has been committed it will show property/life’s defect. When a person has disease/sickness physically, it will corrupt human spiritually. So the believing in Islam or Christianity that this holy stone can cleanse your effected spiritual is the same as the holy/quddus Isa Al-Masih.
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Dear Friends: We highly value all comments on our website. Yet we do have some guidelines:
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Che,
Thank you for giving us a comment in the response to the article above. Yet please apologize that when we edited your article you would probably find the comment is a bit different than what you were trying to say. We needed to edit it so that others may also understand it.
I agree with you that only God can forgive sin. Not the black stone or human beings. Yet I’d like to explain that Isa is 100% a human being and also 100% God. Isa is God’s Word who incarnated into flesh, named Isa Al-Masih. He became a man and remains at His nature God. God always refer to a nature. Not a person.
In Christianity, we believe that God is One who manifested into three beings: God Father, God Son and the Holy Spirit. As God, Isa can forgive sin. He who became a human being whose physic can die has also become a sacrifice for all mankinds. No one can go to God Father without having a sacrifice of Isa. Get more explanation through this link: https://www.isaandislam.com/Isa-Al-Masih/are-you-a-muslim-carrying-a-load-of-sin-there-is-help.html. Thank you.