Issue: One who performs tawaf from inside the Hajar (Hijr) does not have a valid tawaf, and he must repeat it; clarification that the Hajar is part of the Ka'bah, and pointing out some of the common people's errors regarding it.
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The Shaykh : And since we have just mentioned the Hajar (Hijr), we will clarify two issues regarding it: a very serious issue, and an issue less serious than that, but still an error.
As for the serious issue, it is that some people, when they perform tawaf around the House, enter in their lap between the elevated structure of the Ka'bah and the Hajar (Hijr), thinking that the Ka'bah is the name for the elevated structure only, or to shorten the walking, or to avoid the crowding and tightness during the peak seasons. This is a great error. Any person who enters between the standing Ka'bah and the Hajar (Hijr) has not performed tawaf around the House. The tawaf is not valid until a person performs tawaf around the House, meaning the entire House. Why is the one who enters between the Hajar (Hijr) and the standing structure of the Ka'bah not considered to be performing tawaf around the House?
Because most of this Hajar (Hijr) is part of the Ka'bah. The scholars say that approximately six and a half cubits of it are all part of the Ka'bah. Therefore, whoever enters from these two gates has not performed tawaf around the House.
So if someone says: If it is part of the Ka'bah, why was it not included inside it?
The answer is: The Ka'bah that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Isma'il built extended toward the north, encompassing approximately six and a half cubits of the Hajar (Hijr). But when it collapsed during the time of Quraysh, they gathered lawful funds that did not contain any forbidden earnings. This is part of protecting the House of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that nothing forbidden enters into its construction, and part of honoring this House, even by the disbelieving polytheists. They gathered the funds, but it was not enough to cover the entire House. So they said: Then we must exclude part of it. What shall we do? They said: The Yemeni side remains, because it contains the Black Stone, and it cannot be cut off. As for the northern side, it does not contain the Black Stone, so it can be cut off. So they cut it off, then they enclosed this wall so that people would perform tawaf behind it.
Then they took control of the Ka'bah, gave it only one door, and raised it so that they could let in whom they wished and prevent whom they wished. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to A'ishah after the conquest of Makkah: But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) refrained from doing so because the people were recently converted from disbelief. He (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to win their hearts and not do what would alienate them, even though this is the thing that is desirable and beloved in the Shari'ah. But winning hearts has a great status in the Islamic religion, so it was left as it was.
When 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) took over the caliphate of the Hijaz, he demolished the Ka'bah and traced the foundations of Ibrahim until he reached the limit of the foundations. He made the people bear witness to the foundations and built it as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had desired. So the Ka'bah extended north to the limit that Ibrahim had built, and 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr gave it two doors: a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit. It is not meant that they enter and exit during tawaf, but rather that they enter in order to pray inside it.
When he was killed (may Allah be pleased with him) and his caliphate ended, and the Umayyads took over Makkah, al-Hajjaj built it and returned it to the state it was in during the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and he excluded the Hajar (Hijr) from it.
After a while, some of the Abbasid caliphs wanted to restore it to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had desired. They consulted Malik ibn Anas, the Imam of the City of Migration, and he said to him: "O Commander of the Faithful, do not make the House of Allah a plaything for kings, where every time a king comes he says, 'I will build it this way.' Leave it as it is." So they left it, and the best choice, praise be to Allah, was to leave it as it was.
Now the northern side of the Ka'bah remains open. Are you with us? It remains open?
The student: Yes, it is open.
The Shaykh : The northern side of the Ka'bah remains open?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Open?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Because most of the Hajar (Hijr) is part of the Ka'bah, and it came to have two doors: a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit. So what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had hoped for was realized without any hardship. What do you think would happen if the Ka'bah had extended to the foundations of Ibrahim on the northern side, and had a roof and two doors, a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit? What do you think would happen regarding the fighting to enter the Ka'bah, the suffocation, and the severe exhaustion? What do you think?
We think of a matter whose bad outcome a person cannot imagine, as we see now. Now people kill each other when stoning the pillars, they kill each other when climbing to al-Safa or to al-Marwah, or when touching the Black Stone. So what about entering the Ka'bah?
But from the grace of Allah and His mercy (Mighty and Majestic) and His perfect wisdom, the northern side of the Ka'bah remained open and has two doors. Now, whoever enters from this eastern door of the Hajar (Hijr) and prays in it, it is as if he prayed inside the Ka'bah exactly, with no difference between them.
Then, some people think that when we say: they think that the meaning is that they enter from it during tawaf and exit from it. That is not the case, because tawaf must encompass the entire Ka'bah, the standing structure and the Hajar (Hijr). If a person enters from this door between the standing structure and the Hajar (Hijr) and exits from the other, his lap is not complete. How many times have we turned away a person who performed the tawaf of ifadah, entered from the eastern door of the Hajar (Hijr), and exited from the western door? We asked him: Why did you do this? He said: Because I was squeezed by the crowd, and I saw that this path was easier. And I add to that that it is also a shorter path. But it is not permissible for a person to enter from this door and exit from the other during tawaf; it is necessary to encompass the House.
As for the serious issue, it is that some people, when they perform tawaf around the House, enter in their lap between the elevated structure of the Ka'bah and the Hajar (Hijr), thinking that the Ka'bah is the name for the elevated structure only, or to shorten the walking, or to avoid the crowding and tightness during the peak seasons. This is a great error. Any person who enters between the standing Ka'bah and the Hajar (Hijr) has not performed tawaf around the House. The tawaf is not valid until a person performs tawaf around the House, meaning the entire House. Why is the one who enters between the Hajar (Hijr) and the standing structure of the Ka'bah not considered to be performing tawaf around the House?
Because most of this Hajar (Hijr) is part of the Ka'bah. The scholars say that approximately six and a half cubits of it are all part of the Ka'bah. Therefore, whoever enters from these two gates has not performed tawaf around the House.
So if someone says: If it is part of the Ka'bah, why was it not included inside it?
The answer is: The Ka'bah that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and Isma'il built extended toward the north, encompassing approximately six and a half cubits of the Hajar (Hijr). But when it collapsed during the time of Quraysh, they gathered lawful funds that did not contain any forbidden earnings. This is part of protecting the House of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that nothing forbidden enters into its construction, and part of honoring this House, even by the disbelieving polytheists. They gathered the funds, but it was not enough to cover the entire House. So they said: Then we must exclude part of it. What shall we do? They said: The Yemeni side remains, because it contains the Black Stone, and it cannot be cut off. As for the northern side, it does not contain the Black Stone, so it can be cut off. So they cut it off, then they enclosed this wall so that people would perform tawaf behind it.
Then they took control of the Ka'bah, gave it only one door, and raised it so that they could let in whom they wished and prevent whom they wished. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to A'ishah after the conquest of Makkah:
If it had not been that your people were recently converted from disbelief, the Ka'bah would have been built on the foundations of Ibrahim, and two doors would have been made for it: a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit.
لولا أن قومك حديثوا عهد بكفر لبنيت الكعبة على قواعد إبراهيم ، ولجعلت لها بابين بابا يدخل منه الناس وبابا يخرجون منهWhen 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) took over the caliphate of the Hijaz, he demolished the Ka'bah and traced the foundations of Ibrahim until he reached the limit of the foundations. He made the people bear witness to the foundations and built it as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had desired. So the Ka'bah extended north to the limit that Ibrahim had built, and 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr gave it two doors: a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit. It is not meant that they enter and exit during tawaf, but rather that they enter in order to pray inside it.
When he was killed (may Allah be pleased with him) and his caliphate ended, and the Umayyads took over Makkah, al-Hajjaj built it and returned it to the state it was in during the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and he excluded the Hajar (Hijr) from it.
After a while, some of the Abbasid caliphs wanted to restore it to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had desired. They consulted Malik ibn Anas, the Imam of the City of Migration, and he said to him: "O Commander of the Faithful, do not make the House of Allah a plaything for kings, where every time a king comes he says, 'I will build it this way.' Leave it as it is." So they left it, and the best choice, praise be to Allah, was to leave it as it was.
Now the northern side of the Ka'bah remains open. Are you with us? It remains open?
The student: Yes, it is open.
The Shaykh : The northern side of the Ka'bah remains open?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Open?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Because most of the Hajar (Hijr) is part of the Ka'bah, and it came to have two doors: a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit. So what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had hoped for was realized without any hardship. What do you think would happen if the Ka'bah had extended to the foundations of Ibrahim on the northern side, and had a roof and two doors, a door for people to enter and a door for them to exit? What do you think would happen regarding the fighting to enter the Ka'bah, the suffocation, and the severe exhaustion? What do you think?
We think of a matter whose bad outcome a person cannot imagine, as we see now. Now people kill each other when stoning the pillars, they kill each other when climbing to al-Safa or to al-Marwah, or when touching the Black Stone. So what about entering the Ka'bah?
But from the grace of Allah and His mercy (Mighty and Majestic) and His perfect wisdom, the northern side of the Ka'bah remained open and has two doors. Now, whoever enters from this eastern door of the Hajar (Hijr) and prays in it, it is as if he prayed inside the Ka'bah exactly, with no difference between them.
Then, some people think that when we say: