World Dawah Quran & Sunnah through understanding of Salaf
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
A Muslim once approached with a question that had been raised in his mind by Christian missionaries. They had attempted to cast doubt upon his understanding of Islam by drawing a comparison between the Muslims’ acts of worship at the Kaʿbah and the practices of idol worshippers.
They argued:
“Muslims face the Kaʿbah during prayer and circumambulate it during Hajj and ʿUmrah. Is this not, in effect, worshipping a stone structure? Muslims also kiss the Black Stone. How is this different from idol worshippers who kiss their idols, bow before them, and show them reverence? If Muslims themselves believe that the Black Stone is merely a stone that can neither benefit nor harm anyone, then what is the wisdom behind gathering around it and kissing it? Does this not resemble the very practices of idolatry that Islam came to reject?”
The question troubled the Muslim because, on the surface, the missionary’s comparison appeared convincing. If Muslims do not believe that the Kaʿbah or the Black Stone possesses any independent power to benefit or harm, why do they face it, circumambulate it, and kiss the Black Stone? And how can these actions be distinguished from the practices of those who worship idols?
All Praise belongs entirely to Allah, the Lord and Sustainer of all creation. May His blessings, mercy, and peace be upon our noble Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, upon his family, and upon all of his Companions.
To proceed:
The response to this misconception can be understood from several points:
First: Muslims Do Not Worship the Black Stone, and the Wisdom Behind Kissing It
As for the Black Stone, far be it from the Muslims to worship it, even though they touch and kiss it, regardless of the false accusations made against them by the enemies of Islam. In the understanding of Muslims, the Black Stone is simply one of the stones created by Allah. However, just as Allah appointed the Kaʿbah as the qiblah toward which Muslims face in prayer and around which they circumambulate as an act of worship and devotion to Him, He likewise made the Black Stone a marker of one of the corners of the Kaʿbah. The circuits of ṭawāf begin when the pilgrim reaches its alignment.
Touching and kissing the Black Stone is not an act of worship directed toward the Stone itself. Rather, it is a symbol of the servant’s submission and commitment to worship Allah sincerely. Allah, the Most High, is utterly exalted above any resemblance to His creation. Touching and kissing the Stone are also among the acts of worship that Allah has legislated, just as prostrating before Allah upon the earth is an act of worship. And it is well known that when a person prostrates upon a particular piece of ground, he does not worship the place upon which he prostrates.
The Muslims’ circumambulation of the Kaʿbah and their facing it in prayer are both forms of honoring the sacred rites of Allah, the Most High. They perform these acts as an act of obedience to Him and in compliance with His command, fully knowing that neither the Kaʿbah nor any other created thing possesses the ability, independently, to cause harm or bring benefit, to give life or cause death, or to resurrect. Rather, Allah alone possesses the power to bring benefit and cause harm, and all affairs are entirely in His hands.
Therefore, the Muslims direct their worship to none but Allah. They call upon none except Him, place their hope in none but Him, and fear none besides Him. They obey His commands, abstain from what He has prohibited, and honor whatever He has commanded them to honor, seeking thereby His bounty and mercy.
Likewise, their honoring of the Black Stone and kissing it during ṭawāf is nothing more than following the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, seeking the reward of Allah and hoping for His favor. It is not, Allah forbid, an act of worship directed toward the Stone itself, nor is it done in the belief that the Stone can bring benefit or ward off harm. Far removed is such a belief from the creed of Islam.
To make this point clear, The Commander of the Believers, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb may Allah be please with him after he addressed and kissed the stone he expressed this meaning with remarkable clarity, thereby removing this misconception and explaining precisely why he kissed the Black Stone. As recorded by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ, he said:
“By Allah, I am indeed kissing you, while I know that you are a stone and that you can neither cause harm nor bring benefit. Had I not seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kiss you, I would not have kissed you.”
This narration is agreed upon by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.
Ibn Qutaybah may Allah have mercy on him said:
“What is it that they object to regarding Allah, the Most High, favoring a stone to the extent that it is kissed and touched? Allah, the Most High, makes His servants worship Him through whatever actions and words He wills, and He favors some of what He has created over others. The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months, none of which contains the Night of Decree. The heaven is better than the earth, the Kursī is better than the heaven, the Throne is better than the Kursī, al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is better than al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, and al-Shām is better than Iraq. All of this is based upon Allah’s act of favoring one thing over another, not because of an action it performed or an act of obedience it carried out. Likewise, the Black Stone is superior to the Yemeni Corner.”
[Taʾwīl Mukhtalif al-Ḥadīth, p. 414.]
It has also been reported from
Ibn ʿAbbās may Allah be pleased with them both:
“The Black Stone is the right hand of Allah upon the earth. Whoever shakes hands with it and kisses it, it is as though he has shaken hands with Allah and kissed His right hand.”
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah may Allah have mercy on him, explaining this report, said:
“It demonstrates that just as Allah, the Most High, appointed for the people a House around which they circumambulate, He also appointed for them something which they touch, so that it would be like kissing the hand of a person of distinction. For this is a means of bringing the one who kisses closer and honoring him, as is customary”
[Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 6/398]
Shaykh al-Islām also said:
Umar may Allah be pleased with him made it clear that acts of worship are founded upon following the Messenger ﷺ, for the religion of Islam is built upon two principles:
The first: That one worships none but Allah and associates nothing with Him.
The second: That one worship Him according to what He has legislated of the religion, and not worship Him according to the legislation of one who legislates something from the religion without Allah having given permission for it, such as those concerning whom He said: ‘Or do they have partners who have legislated for them a religion for which Allah has not given permission?’
Thus, ʿUmar explained: We do not kiss you while hoping for your benefit or fearing your harm, as the polytheists used to do with their idols. Rather, we know that you are a stone that can neither cause harm nor bring benefit. Had the Messenger ﷺ not kissed you—and Allah has commanded us to follow him, whereby this became a legislated act of worship—we would not have kissed you.
As reported by al-Bayhaqī from Ibn ʿAbbās may allah be pleased with them both , he kissed it and prostrated upon it, saying: “I saw ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb may Allah be pleased with him kiss it and prostrate upon it. Then he said: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ do this, so I did the same.’
As for the matter of idols, it is entirely different from the Black Stone. Idol worshippers worship their idols and hold beliefs concerning them,So We are not like the Christians, the polytheists, and the people of religious innovations who worship other than Allah without Allah’s permission, whereas Muslims kiss the Black Stone as an act of worship and obedience to Allah, and as a means of following the Sunnah, we worship none but Allah, by Allah’s permission, just as He said to His Prophet: ‘Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bringer of good tidings, and a warner—and as one who invites to Allah by His permission and as an illuminating lamp.’
Thus, He made clear that His Messenger calls people to Him according to what He has permitted of the legislation, not according to that which He has not permitted, like those who have legislated from the religion that which Allah has not permitted.”
Second: The Muslim faces the Kaʿbah in prayer while firmly believing in Tawḥīd and worshipping Allah alone.
Islam, when it commanded the Muslims to face the Kaʿbah in their prayers and to circumambulate it during ṭawāf, established within their hearts a number of fundamental principles of Islamic creed. These principles make clear that these acts of worship are acts of obedience to Allah alone and are not worship directed toward the Kaʿbah itself. They may be summarized as follows:
The First Principle: Whoever believes that he is worshipping the Kaʿbah by facing it in prayer has fallen into shirk with Allah, the One and Only. He has taken the Kaʿbah as an object of worship besides Allah, just as the idolaters took their idols as objects of worship besides Allah. Such a belief contradicts the very foundation of Tawḥīd upon which Islam is built and is outside the boundaries of the Islamic creed.
The Second Principle:Facing the Kaʿbah in prayer is not an act of worship of the Kaʿbah. Rather, it is obedience to the command of Allah. Allah legislated that the Muslims face one direction so that the people of Islam, wherever they may be in the East or the West, would unite upon a single direction when they stand before their Lord in prayer. Thus, facing the Kaʿbah is obedience to Allah, not worship of the Kaʿbah. Likewise, when a Muslim prostrates and places his forehead upon the ground, he is not worshipping the earth upon which he prostrates.
The Third Principle: Prayer and every other form of worship belong exclusively to Allah alone, without any partner. No act of worship may be directed to anyone or anything besides Him.
The Fourth Principle: The Kaʿbah is a created, earthly structure. It possesses no independent ability to benefit or harm, and nothing of creation can bring benefit or repel harm except by the permission of Allah.
To establish these beliefs, Allah, the Most High, says:
“And to Allah belong the east and the west. So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.” [Al-Baqarah 2:115]
And He also says:
“Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but righteousness is [the quality of] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets; who gives wealth, despite his love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask, and for freeing slaves; who establishes prayer and gives zakāh; who fulfills their covenant when they make a covenant; and who are patient in poverty, hardship, and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the muttaqūn [those who fear Allah and are mindful of Him].” [Al-Baqarah 2:177]
To further demonstrate that al-Masjid al-Ḥarām is the qiblah toward which Muslims are commanded to face while worshipping Allah in prayer—not an object of worship in itself—Allah, the Most High, addressed His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ and then the believers, saying:
“We have certainly seen you turning your face toward heaven, so We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Ḥarām. And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it. Indeed, those who were given the Scripture certainly know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.” [Al-Baqarah 2:144]
Shaykh Muhammad As Salih al-ʿUthaymīn responded to this Christian objection, saying:
“We circumambulate the Kaʿbah not out of veneration of the Kaʿbah in and of itself, but rather out of veneration of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, because He is the Lord of the House. Allah, the Most High, says: ‘And purify My House for those who perform ṭawāf, those who stand in prayer, and those who bow and prostrate.’
Those who circumambulate the House do not call upon the House, saying, ‘O Kaʿbah, fulfill our needs, forgive our sins, and have mercy upon us.’ Never! Rather, they call upon Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; they remember Allah and ask Allah for forgiveness and mercy. This is unlike the Christians, the worshippers of the cross, who worship the cross, bow before it, prostrate to it, and call upon it.
Just bring forth any genuine Muslim who says that he circumambulates the Kaʿbah in order for it to remove his affliction or grant him what he seeks—you will not find anyone who does so.” [Fatāwā Nūr ʿalā al-Darb, Tape No. 341]
Third:
The Kaʿbah Is Not Worshipped
“So let them worship the Lord of this House.”
Islam came precisely to destroy idols and abolish idolatry. The Kaʿbah is nothing more than a symbol of servitude and worship directed to Allah alone. Allah, the Most High, says:
“And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House, and [so was] Ishmael, [saying], ‘Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord, make us both submissive to You, and from our descendants a nation submissive to You. And show us our rites of worship and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Ever-Accepting of repentance, the Most Merciful.’”
This was Ibrāhīm peace be upon him—the leader of the ḥunafāʾ and the imam of those who affirmed Allah’s Oneness—who built the Kaʿbah. Yet when he was building it, he supplicated that he and his son would submit themselves exclusively to Allah, and that their descendants would likewise be Muslims submitting themselves to Him, not to the Kaʿbah.
Likewise, circumambulating the Kaʿbah is among the rites of worship that Allah taught Ibrāhīm peace be upon him , as indicated by his supplication:
“And show us our rites of worship.”
May Allah, the Most High, protect us from misconceptions, doubts, and the misguidance of those who oppose His truth. May He grant us steadfastness upon authentic faith, preserve our hearts upon Islam and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, and guide us to what is correct in belief, worship, and conduct. May Allah cause us to remain firm upon this path throughout our lives and grant that our souls are taken from this world while we are sincerely devoted to Islam and steadfast upon the truth. Āmīn
الحمد لله رب العالمين
