wikishia

Maqam Ibrahim (a)

Page Discussion

Maqām Ibrāhīm (a) [Ibrahim's (a) standing place] (Arabic: مقام ابراهیم ) is a stone where the footprint of Prophet Ibrahim (a) is marked. The Qur'an has considered it among clear signs of God in Mecca and Muslims have been invited to perform prayer at this location. This stone is now placed in a golden cylinder located 13 meters away from the Ka'ba. In the views of Shi'a, the original location of Ibrahim's (a) station is right next to the Ka'ba.

Around the footprint is covered with silver. The stone was touched for many years seeking tabarruk; so the details of the foot is not preserved.

Some jurists believe that obligatory tawaf should be made in the area between the Ka'ba and Ibrahim's (a) station and the salat of tawaf is made behind it.

In the Qur'an

 
Pilgrims pray behind Maqam Ibrahim.

In two verses of Qur'an there are mentions of Ibrahim's (a) station and it has been considered among clear signs of God in Mecca and Muslims have been invited to perform prayer at this location.

  • verse 125 of Qur'an 2: وَاتَّخِذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِیمَ مُصَلًّی (take the venue of prayer from Abraham's Station)
  • verse 97 of Qur'an 3: فِیهِ آیاتٌ بَینَاتٌ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَاهِیمَ وَ مَنْ دَخَلَهُ کانَ آمِناً (In it are manifest signs [and] Abraham's Station, and whoever enters it shall be secure.)

Appearance

This stone is almost square shaped having 40 cm of length and width and the height of about 20 cm. It is yellowish and reddish white. On this stone, there is a foot print of 10 cm in depth the prints of fingers on which are not clear.[1] Over time, the footprints have become larger on top due to rubbing of hands for blessing. Currently, the length of the footprints on the surface of the stone is 27 cm and their width is 14 cm which decreases to 22 in length and 11 in width in the deep part. There is about 1 cm of space between the two footprints.[2]

 
The old wooden structure around Maqam Ibrahim, near Bab Bani Shayba

History

According to narrations, after God ordered Prophet Ibrahim (a) to call people to hajj, he stood on a stone and did God's order and his footprint remained on the stone.[3] In another narration, it is said that his footprint remained on this stone when he, standing on this stone, was constructing the top parts of wall of the Ka'ba.[4]

This stone and al-Hajar al-Aswad are considered among holy stones from the paradise[5] and Ibrahim (a) and Isma'il (a), when praying, placed this stone between themselves and the Ka'ba. The Prophet (s) prayed the same while he (s) was in Mecca.[6]

According to historical sources, until the time of the Second Caliph, this stone was on the ground. At his time, a flood, which came to be known as Umm Ashhal, moved this stone a great distance and the caliph built a column for it in its previous place.[7] In the 2nd/8th century, this stone which was broken from several points was glued together using silver and was plated with gold. Later, to protect it more, a dome with four iron windows was built upon it. Until 1967-8, a three by six meters wooden structure existed over Maqam Ibrahim which put pilgrims in trouble when performing tawaf. Saudi government decided to move Maqam Ibrahim to a place near Bab Bani Shayba, but they did not do so due to public objection of Muslim scholars and a golden cylinder was place on it instead.[8].[9] Through the windows around this cylinder, the stone and the footprints which are now silver-plated can be seen.[10] Ibrahim's (a) station is 13 meters away from the Ka'ba.

Geographical direction of Qibla in the countries north-east of Mecca is such that Muslims stand for prayer facing toward Maqam Ibrahim.[11]

Original Location

 
The gold plated column which shelters Maqam Ibrahim

There are different opinions about the original location of Ibrahim's (a) station: Most Shi'a and some Sunni[12].[13] believe that the location of Ibrahim's (a) station at Ignorance Era has been its current place and the Prophet (s) returned it to its original place right beside the Ka'ba. But, at the time of the Second Caliph, he moved the Maqam Ibrahim to the current place on the pretext that there were too much crowd of pilgrims, etc.

At the time of Imam Ali (a), he (a) mentioned some of the mistakes of previous caliphs in a sermon and included moving of the Maqam Ibrahim as well and said that if most of the companions did not leave Imam (a), he (a) could correct such issues to the way they were at the time of the Prophet (s).[14]

Some Sunni historians and biographers believe that the stone of the Maqam Ibrahim was kept inside the Ka'ba before the Conquest of Mecca and after taking Mecca, the Prophet (s) took it out and installed it beside the Ka'ba. After revelation of verse 125 of Qur'an 2, the Prophet (s) ordered to move the stone to its current place.[15]

Some Sunni writers considered the revelation of this verse among the merits of the Second Caliph and quoted from 'Abd Allah b. 'Umar, son of the Second Caliph, that the Prophet (s) took the hand of 'Umar and took him to the Maqam Ibrahim and said, "this is Ibrahim's (a) station." 'Umar asked, "O Messenger of God! Why do not you make it a venue for prayer?" Then, the Qur'an 2:125 was revealed, "'Take the venue of prayer from Abraham's Station.'"[16]

Some other Sunni scholars believe that the place of Maqam Ibrahim has been the current place since the time of the Prophet Ibrahim (a).[17]

In a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), it is mentioned that Imam al-Mahdi (a) will return Maqam Ibraim to its original place upon his advent.[18]

Tawaf Area

 
Current place of Maqam Ibrahim marks the tawaf area for Shi'as.
Main article: Tawaf

In a hadith from al-Kafi,[19] it has been said that the Maqam Ibrahim has been moved from its original place and the tawaf area (mataf) has been defined to be between the Ka'ba and the current place of Ibrahim's (a) station. Most Shi'a jurists have considered the tawaf area to be as mentioned in this hadith[20] and when it is very crowded, they have considered it permissible to perform tawaf outside this area with some conditions as well. Some others have interpreted this hadith as a recommendation for tawaf in this area.[21].[22]

Sunni scholars do not observe any specific distance from the Ka'ba while making tawaf.[23]

Prayer of Tawaf

Main article: Salat al-Tawaf

Praying behind the Maqam Ibrahim dates back to the time of Prophet Ibrahim (a) and Isma'il (a) until the time of the Prophet (s)[24] and the Qur'an has called Muslims to pray at the location.[25]

According to Shia jurisprudence, prayer of obligatory tawaf[26] is obligatory to be said behind Ibrahim's (a) station and near it.[27] There are different rulings about those who perform tawaf on the second floor of al-Masjid al-Haram due to some excuses but they cannot perform the prayer in the courtyard of al-Masjid al-Haram behind Ibrahim's (a) station.[28] The prayer of recommended tawaf can be performed anywhere in al-Masjid al-Haram.

Notes

  1. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 99.
  2. ↑ Maqam Ibrahim, Hajj Website (Persian)
  3. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, p. 423.
  4. ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, 1403 AH, vol. 1, p. 59; Nayshābūrī, Tafsīr gharāʾib al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 395.
  5. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 203; Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 29.
  6. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 203; Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 29.
  7. ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, 1368 SH, vol. 2, p. 327.
  8. ↑ Maqam Ibrahim, Hajj Website (Persian)
  9. ↑ Kurdī, al-Tārīkh al-qawīm, vol. 4, p. 52.
  10. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna, p. 100.
  11. ↑ Sāʾid Bakdāsh, Faḍl al-ḥajar al-aswad wa maqām Ibrāhīm, p. 104-105.
  12. ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 10, p. 334.
  13. ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 3, p. 215.
  14. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 58, Hadith 21; Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, vol. 2, p. 423; Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 383.
  15. ↑ Kurdī, al-Tārīkh al-qawīm, vol. 3, p. 349; Ibn Baṭūṭa, al-Raḥla Ibn Baṭūṭa, vol. 1, p. 347; Ibn Jubayr, Raḥla Ibn Jubayr, p. 55.
  16. ↑ Ibn Ḥajar, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 1, p. 69.
  17. ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, 1368 SH, vol. 2, p. 33, 327.
  18. ↑ Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 383.
  19. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 589.
  20. ↑ Ḥillī, Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa, vol. 4, p. 183.
  21. ↑ Maḥmūdī, Manāsik-i ḥajj, p. 336-338; 592-593.
  22. ↑ Tawaf and its limits from the point of view of Muslim jurists (Persian)
  23. ↑ Jazīrī, al-Fiqh ʿalā al-madhāhib al-arbaʿa, vol. 1, p. 859-860.
  24. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 203.
  25. ↑ Quran 2:125.
  26. ↑ Obligatory tawafs are tawaf of Ziyarah and Tawaf al-Nisa'
  27. ↑ Maḥmūdī, Manāsik-i ḥajj, Issue 796.
  28. ↑ Maḥmūdī, Manāsik-i ḥajj, Issue 800.

References

  • Azraqī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Akhbār Makka. Mecca: Dār al-Thiqāfa, 1403 AH.
  • Azraqī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Akhbār Makka. Translated to Farsi by Maḥmūd Mahdawī Dāmghānī. Tehran: Chāp-o-Nashr-i Bunyād-i Mustaḍʿafān, 1368 SH.
  • Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Suhayl Zakār and Riyāḍ al-Ziriklī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH.
  • Dargāhī, Mahdī and ʿAndalībī, Riḍā. Maqām-i Ibrāhīm wa jāygāh-i ān dar fiqh. Tehran: Pazhūhishkada-yi Ḥajj wa Ziārat; Nashr-i Mashʿar, 1393 Sh.
  • Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan al-. Mukhtalaf al-Shīʿa fī aḥkām al-sharīʿa. [n.p]. [n.d].
  • Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1418 AH.
  • Ibn Jubayr, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Raḥla Ibn Jubayr. Beirut: Dār wa maktabat al-hilāl, [n.d].
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Fatḥ al-bārī bi sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1379 AH.
  • Ibn Baṭūṭa, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Raḥla Ibn Baṭūṭa. Rabat: Ākādimīyya al-Mamlikat al-Maghribīyya, 1417 AH.
  • Jaʿfariyān, Rasūl. Āthār-i islāmi-yi Makka wa Madīna. Tehran: Mashʿar, [n.d].
  • Jazīrī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Al-Fiqh ʿalā al-madhāhib al-arbaʿa wa madhhab Ahl al-Bayt (a). Beirut: al-Thaqalayn, 1419 AH.
  • Kurdī, Muḥammad Ṭāhir. Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm. Beirut: Dār al-Khiḍr, 1420 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1429 AH.
  • Maḥmūdī, Muḥammad Riḍā. Manāsik-i ḥajj muṭābiq bā fatāwā-yi Imām Khomeini wa marājiʿ muʿazzam-i taqlīd. Markaz-i Tahqīqāt-i Ḥajj Biʿtha-yi Maqām-i Muʿazzam-i Rahbarī. [n.p]:Nashr-i Mashʿar, 1387 Sh.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād. [n.p]. [n.d].
  • Nayshābūrī, Nizām al-Dīn. Tafsīr gharāʾib al-Qurʾān; Ḥāshiya tafsīr al-Ṭabarī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
  • Pīshwāʾī, Mahdī and Gūdarzī, Ḥusayn. Maqām-i Ibrāhīm wa seyr-i tārīkhī-yi ān. Mīqāt- Hajj Journal, No 23, 1377 Sh.
  • Sāʾid Bakdāsh. Faḍl al-ḥajar al-aswad wa maqām Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dār al-Bashāʾir al-Islāmiyya, 1426 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ. Qom: Intishārāt-i Dāwarī, 1385 Sh.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Maqam_Ibrahim_(a)&oldid=184206"