Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad
Rukn al-Ḥajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone corner) (Arabic: رُكن الحَجَر الأسوَد) or Rukn al-Ḥajar (the Stone corner) (Arabic: رُكن الحَجَر), or Rukn al-Aswad (the Black corner) (Arabic: الرُكن الأسوَد) or the Eastern corner (Arabic: الرُكن الشَرقي), is one of the corners of the Ka'ba where al-Hajar al-Aswad is located. This corner is towards the east and the Zamzam well, and every circumambulation around Ka'ba begins from the line aligned to it.
During the Tawaf, Prophet Muhammad (s) used to touch and kiss Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and Rukn al-Yamani, accordingly the jurists have recommended touching, kissing, and embracing Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and also supplicating beside it.
According to the narrations related to the End of the Times, the murder of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (one of Imam al-Mahdi's companions), which is a sign of Imam al-Mahdi's (a) Reappearance, happens near this corner. After the rise of Imam al-Mahdi (a), a group of Shi'a pledge allegiance to him in this location.
Location and Status
Rrukn al-Hajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone corner) or Rukn al-Hajar (the Stone corner), or Rukn al-Aswad (the Black corner) or the Eastern corner, is one of the corners of the Ka'ba.[1] The word Rukn means the foundation or column of a structure.[2] Since the Ka'ba has four pillars in its four corners that support its roof, each of the corners of the Ka'ba that contains a pillar is called Rukn.[3] The eastern corner that is located towards the well of Zamzam and holds al-Hajar al-Aswad[4] is called Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad.[5] Each Tawaf begins in alignment with Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and ends at the same point.[6]
Virtue and Etiquette
According to what has been narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a), Prophet Muhammad (s) and Imam al-Sajjad (a) used to touch Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and al-Yamani Corner, then they kissed them and put their face on them.[7] Based on these narrations, actions such as Istilam (touching with hands to seek blessing), Iltizam (embracing), kissing Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad,[8] and reciting Salawat,[9] supplication, invocation, and repentance have been recommended in these locations.[10]
Legitimacy of Seeking Blessings
In addition to Shi'a and the majority of Sunnis, Wahhabi scholars also accept touching (istilam) this Rukn and touching and kissing al-Hajar al-Aswad,[11] although they consider touching and kissing holy objects for the purpose of seeking blessing as Shirk (polytheism).[12] Istilam of Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad is one of the cases that has been used to argue for the legitimacy of seeking blessings and kissing holy objects.[13]
Location of Events during the Reappearance
In the hadith sources, some events have been mentioned that will take place next to Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad during the time of the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (a):
- The murder of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya: It has been narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a) that one of the signs of the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (a) is the martyrdom of a youth from the family of Muhammad (s) (al-Nafs al-Zakiyya) between Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and Maqam Ibrahim.[14]
- The allegiance of Shi'a to Imam al-Mahdi (a): According to the narrations from Imam al-Sadiq (a)[15] and Imam al-Baqir (a),[16] Imam al-Mahdi (a) will rise on the day of 'Ashura', stand between Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and Maqam, and his followers from all over the world will gather around him and pledge allegiance to him.
Notes
- ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 359-360.
- ↑ Muṣṭafawī, al-Tahqīq, vol. 4, p. 234.
- ↑ Ṣādiqī Ardistānī, Ḥajj az mīqāt tā miʿād, p. 104.
- ↑ Mishkinī, Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh, p. 275.
- ↑ Furqānī, sarzamīn-i yād-hā wa nishān-hā, p. p. 59.
- ↑ Mishkinī, Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh, p. 275.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 408.
- ↑ Shāhrūdī, Farhang-i fiqh, vol. 1, p. 359.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 408.
- ↑ al-Fiqh al-mansūb ilā l-Imām al-Riḍā (a); al-mushtahir bi-fiqh al-Riḍā (a), p. 231
- ↑ Ibn Taymīyya, al-radd ʿalā l-Akhnāʾī qāḍī l-Mālikīyya, vol. 1, p. 124.
- ↑ Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Ighāthat al-lahfān, vol. 1, p. 194.
- ↑ ʿAynī, ʿUmdat al-qarī, vol. 9, p. 241.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 331.
- ↑ Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 379.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba, p. 453.
References
- Al-Fiqh al-mansūb ilā l-Imām al-Riḍā (a); al-mushtahir bi-fiqh al-Riḍā (a). Mashhad: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1406 AH.
- ʿAynī, Maḥmūd b. Aḥmad. ʿUmdat al-qarī; Sharḥ ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, [n.d].
- Furqānī, Muḥammad. Sarzamīn-i yād-hā wa nishān-hā. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1379 Sh.
- Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr. Ighāthat al-lahfān min maṣāyid al-Shayṭān. Riyadh: Maktabat al-ʿĀrif, [n.d].
- Ibn Taymīyya, Aḥmad b. ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm. Al-Radd ʿalā l-Akhnāʾī qāḍī l-Mālikīyya. Beirut: Al-Maktabat al-ʿAsrīyya, 1423 AH.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1407 AH.
- Mishkinī, ʿAlī. Muṣṭalaḥāt al-fiqh. Qom: Nashr al-Hadī, 1377 Sh.
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā l-ʿibād. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
- Muṣṭafawī, Ḥasan. Al-Tahqīq fī kalimāt al-Qur'ān al-karīm. Tehran: Bungāh Tarjuma wa Nashr-i Kitāb, 1360 SH.
- Shāhrūdī, Sayyid Maḥmūd. Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq bā madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt. Qom: Muʾassisat Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1382 Sh.
- Ṣādiqī Ardistānī, Aḥmad. Ḥajj az mīqāt tā miʿād. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1385 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAli al-. Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma. Second Edition. Tehran: Islāmīyya, 1395 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Ghayba. Edited by ʿIbād Allāh Tihrānī and ʿAlī Aḥmad Nāṣiḥ. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, 1411 AH.