Sidana of the Kaaba
Sidāna of the Kaʿba (Arabic: سدانة الكعبة) or Custodianship of the Kaʿba refers to serving and custodianship of the affairs of the Ka'ba, which includes responsibilities such as key-keeping, opening and closing its door, welcoming pilgrims, cleaning, and changing the covering of the Ka'ba. Before Islam, the custodianship of the Ka'ba was in the hands of the Banu Shayba. After the Conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (s) left the key of the Kaʿba with ʿUthman b. Talha, who was its custodian at the time. By the Prophet's (s) order, this responsibility was passed down through his family.
According to sources, Abbas, the Prophet's (s) uncle, considered himself superior to others due to his responsibility of Siqayat al-Hajj (providing water to Hajj pilgrims). Shayba, who was in charge of the "Sidana" of the Ka'ba", also regarded himself as superior. However, Imam 'Ali (a) considered himself superior to both due to his early acceptance of faith before others, his migration, and his participation in jihad. According to Islamic scholars, after this incident, Qur'an 9:19 was revealed, which considered faith and jihad in the way of God superior to responsibilities regarding the Ka'ba. According to al-Tabari, a Sunni commentator, in the Qur'an, God rebuked those who boasted about providing water to Hajj pilgrims (Siqayat al-Hajj) and the custodianship of the Ka'ba and considered faith and jihad superior to responsibilities related to the Ka'ba.
Introduction
Sidana of the Ka'ba has been described as serving[1] and managing its affairs, including opening and closing the door of the Ka'ba,[2] welcoming pilgrims, washing, cleaning, covering, and changing the cover of the Ka'ba.[3]
The key-keeping of the Ka'ba is also the responsibility of those in charge of the Sidana of the Ka'ba.[4] The history of the custodianship and management of the Ka'ba is considered ancient, and some have even traced it back to the time of Prophet Ishmael (a).[5] After the conquest of Mecca, Prophet Muhammad (s) approved only two responsibilities and allowed them to remain: the Sidana of the Ka'ba and Siqayat al-Hajj.[6]
Key-Keeping of the Kaʿba by the Banu Shayba
The key-keeping of the Ka'ba was in the hands of the Bani Shayba.[7] After the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet (s) took the key of the Ka'ba from 'Uthman b. Talha, the key-keeper of the Ka'ba at that time, entered the Ka'ba. Then he (s) returned the key to him and said that the key of the Ka'ba should remain with this family and that no one other than oppressive ones would take it from them.[8] Thus, the responsibility of the custodianship of the Ka'ba has continued to be held by individuals from this family thereafter.[9]
In some accounts, it is mentioned that after the Prophet (s) took the key from 'Uthman b. Talha, he (s) wanted to give it to his uncle Abbas when the verse "Indeed Allah commands you to deliver the trusts to their [rightful] owners"[10] was revealed, and the Prophet (s) returned the key to Uthman b. Talha.[11]
In 2013, individuals from Bani Shayba protested against the Saudi government, declaring that they had been deprived of many privileges they had enjoyed throughout history due to the custodianship of the Ka'ba.[12]
Superiority of Faith and Jihad over the Duties of the Kaʿba
According to al-Tabari, a Sunni commentator, in the Qur'an, God rebuked those who boasted about providing water to Hajj pilgrims and the custodianship of the Ka'ba and considered faith and jihad superior to the responsibilities of the Ka'ba.[13]
According to some sources, one day, Abbas, the Prophet's (s) uncle, considered himself superior to others due to his responsibility of providing water to Hajj pilgrims. Shayba, who was in charge of the "hijaba" of the Ka'ba (Sidana of the Ka'ba)[14], considered himself superior. Hamza considered himself superior due to his responsibility for the construction and the maintenance of the Ka'ba, and 'Ali (a) considered himself superior to them for having embraced faith before others, as well as for his migration and jihad.
The verse of Siqayat al-Hajj (providing water to Hajj pilgrims) revealed:[15] "Do you regard the providing of water to Hajj pilgrims and the maintenance of the Holy Mosque as similar [in worth] to someone who has faith in Allah and [believes in] the Last Day and wages jihad in the way of Allah? They are not equal with Allah, and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot."[16] This verse establishes that faith and jihad in the way of God are superior to responsibilities related to the Ka'ba.[17]
In some reports, 'Ali (a), Hamza, and Ja'far (Imam 'Ali's (a) brother) are considered among those who regarded their faith and jihad as superior to responsibilities related to the Ka'ba.[18]
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, vol. 13, p. 207.
- ↑ Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿarūs, vol. 18, p. 276.
- ↑ What is the custodianship of the Kaaba? (Arabic)
- ↑ Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, vol. 1, p. 298.
- ↑ What is the custodianship of the Kaaba? (Arabic)
- ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 2, p. 412.
- ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 2, p. 383.
- ↑ Maqrizī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʾ, vol. 1, p. 394.
- ↑ What is the custodianship of the Kaaba? (Arabic)
- ↑ Qurʾān 4:58.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 3, p. 97.
- ↑ Custodian Tribe of the Kaaba Protests the Injustice of the Al-Saud Regime. (Persian)
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 67.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 3, p. 580.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 284.
- ↑ Qurʾān 9:19.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 7, p. 323.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 8, p. 204.
References
- Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān al-. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. 1st edition. Tehran: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1416 AH.
- Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1409 AH.
- Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab. 3rd edition. Edited by Jamāl al-Dīn Mīr Dāmādī. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1414 AH.
- Ibn Hishām, ʿAbd al-Malik. Al-Sīra al-nabawīyya. 1st edition. Edited by Muṣṭafā al-Saqā, Ibrāhīm ʾAbyārī and ʿAbd al-Ḥafīẓ Shalabī. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, [n.d].
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. 4th edition. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Maqrizī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Imtāʿ al-asmāʾ. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Namīsī. 1st edition. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1420 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. 1st edition. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Murtaḍā al-Zabīdī, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. Tāj al-ʿarūs min jawāhir al-qāmūs. 1st edition. Edited by ʿAlī Shīrī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1414 AH.
- Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-. Tafsīr al-Qummī. 3rd edition. Edited by Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazāʾirī. Qom: Dār al-Kitab, 1404 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Aḥmad Qaṣīr al-ʿĀmilī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Jāmiʿ al-bayān fi tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʾrifa, 1412 AH.
- اعتراض قبیله پردهدار کعبه به ظلم رژیم آلسعود (Custodian Tribe of the Kaaba Protests the Injustice of the Al-Saud Regime. (Persian)). Accessed: 2025/04/09.
- ما هی سدانة الکعبة (What is the custodianship of the Kaaba? (Arabic)). Accessed: 2025/04/09.