Why is the Ka'bah placed on the left during tawaf?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : But why was it placed on the left during tawaf? Why was it not placed on the right?
Answer : Because the right is superior. So some said: because the heart is on the left side of the body. It is the house of the Lord in the human body, and the Ka'bah is the house of the Lord on earth, so it was more appropriate to place it on his left so that the two houses would be close to each other.
Did you understand? And some said: it was placed that way because circular motion relies on the left side, meaning that when one moves, the reliance is on the left. This is the most common case; a person might rely on the right, but the most common is the left. So the most common in human rotation was considered, and this is a consideration for physical benefit. The third reason is that he places the body on his left because when he faces the Black Stone directly, he starts with the right. And what is the right? The right is the side near the door. So if he starts with the right, the Ka'bah is on his left. The fourth reason is that the face of the Ka'bah is the side with the door, and what is behind it is called the back of the Ka'bah. And starting with what faces its face is more preferable. The fifth reason is that this was the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and that is sufficient. Yes.
There is no dispute in this. Therefore, when Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked: "Why does a menstruating woman make up the fast but not the prayer?" she said: "That used to happen to us, and we were ordered to make up the fast but not ordered to make up the prayer." And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ahzab 33:36]. For this reason, Ibn Abbas explained his disapproval of Muawiyah by saying that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do it, and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ahzab 33:21]. And Ibn Umar explained it by saying that they are not on the foundations of Ibrahim. So the important thing is that when the believer is told that this is the decree of Allah and His Messenger, he stops there, and this is also more comfortable for him, because every explanation you have heard can be refuted by something that invalidates it.
Answer : Because the right is superior. So some said: because the heart is on the left side of the body. It is the house of the Lord in the human body, and the Ka'bah is the house of the Lord on earth, so it was more appropriate to place it on his left so that the two houses would be close to each other.
Did you understand? And some said: it was placed that way because circular motion relies on the left side, meaning that when one moves, the reliance is on the left. This is the most common case; a person might rely on the right, but the most common is the left. So the most common in human rotation was considered, and this is a consideration for physical benefit. The third reason is that he places the body on his left because when he faces the Black Stone directly, he starts with the right. And what is the right? The right is the side near the door. So if he starts with the right, the Ka'bah is on his left. The fourth reason is that the face of the Ka'bah is the side with the door, and what is behind it is called the back of the Ka'bah. And starting with what faces its face is more preferable. The fifth reason is that this was the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and that is sufficient. Yes.
There is no dispute in this. Therefore, when Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked: "Why does a menstruating woman make up the fast but not the prayer?" she said: "That used to happen to us, and we were ordered to make up the fast but not ordered to make up the prayer." And Allah the Exalted said:
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْThere has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern
لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، [3326] لماذا جعل البيت عن اليسار في الطواف؟ - تعليقات على الكافي لابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.
