The two big sanctuaries of Islam have been constantly represented in art. The previous representations are completed with the following ones. They are presented in logical chronological order, to better keep up with the evolution of styles.
Representations of the Ka’aba
The Ka’aba surrounded by pilgrims has been wonderfully expressed in a representation in the Anthologie d’Iskandar Sultan, Shiraz, 1410-1411, today in the British Library in London. The lower part is built with square stones, and the rest with rectangular slabs. The gate can be found in the middle. The upper part is a black skirting board that ends in a narrow yellow one. A pilgrim knocks on the door [1] (fig. 1).
The pilgrims used to return from their visit to the Ka’aba with some kind of souvenir, like a pilgrimage certificate. An excellent example is kept at the same British Library, and dates from the 15th century. The Ka’aba is represented in the middle, inside a circle [2] (fig. 2). The foot of the Prophet has been placed beneath.
Four were the main routes that took the pilgrims to the Islamic sanctuaries: the Yemen route, also receiving pilgrims from Ethiopia; the Iraq route, travelled by pilgrims from Iraq, Iran and Central Asia; the Syria route, frequented by Syrian and Anatolian pilgrims; and the Egypt route, that started in Cairo and picked up Egyptian, North African and Sub-Saharan African pilgrims, and passed through Aqaba. Pilgrims from Gaza and Palestine joined into it. The year 1321 had probably the biggest pilgrim affluence of the Middle Age. Thirty caravans camped in Aqaba. The number of pilgrims is hard to specify, according to J. Loisseau. In the year 1279, Egyptian pilgrims were about 40,000, and as many in the Syrian and Iraqi caravans. This pilgrim affluence on specific dates required a well perfected organization and a collaboration of the regions crossed, mainly to feed such a numerous population. Some towns on the routes were important food market centres, supplied by the Beduins, as Al-Azlam, on the Egyptian route, and Fayard, on the Iraqi route. Syrian Christian traders sold their products up to Al-‘Ula, three days away from Mecca. J. Loisseau thinks the pilgrimage was possible thanks to the Egyptian wheat unloaded in the harbour of Yanbuo, which was transported by a caravan followed by hundred dromedaries. Religious foundations collaborated in supplying food for the pilgrims. The Sultans of Egypt collaborated, supplying the holy cities with food products coming from Upper Egypt. Several Sultans of Cairo, as al-Zahir Barquq (1382-1399), founded pious perpetual associations to favour the poorest pilgrims.
A flagstone with a representation of the Ka’aba, signed by ‘Abd al-Rahman Abi Harami al-Makki, currently in the Museum of Iraq in Bagdad, is decorated with the Ka’aba inside a series of arches. On the right side are there are three identical buildings placed in line and other worship objects, and the arch at the front. The building placing is very original [3] (fig. 3).
The al-Mala trails have inscriptions with the name of the deceased, but not the date of death, something that indicates they were manufactured before the passing away of the dead. The date was placed at the moment of burial. Muslims wanted to be buried close to Mecca. The names of the artisans are scarce in al-Mala trails. Since the end of the 12th century, the names on trails forming a mirhab multiply themselves. In the trails from Mecca, 11 out of 23 are the work of ‘Abd al-Kahman, 6 of his nephew Muhammad, and 3 are signed by both.
A Ka’aba gate, probably from Turkey and dating from 1635-1636, is built with hammered golden leaves on wood. It is in the National Museum in Ryadh [4] (fig. 4). An inscription can be read on the upper part. The upper lines are copied from the Koran (17.80). Sultan Murad Khan and his ancestors are mentioned in the lower part. God was asked to extend his victory and to perpetuate the Sultanate with his assistance. The inscription ends with the date of the Hijra, 1845.
The habit of decorating the Ka’aba gate with golden or silver plates is very old, dating from the Umayyad period. The wooden larders date from the time of the Abbasid Caliphs al-Mahdi (775-785), al-Amin (809-813) and al-Mu’tadid (892-902). Ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi, at the end of the 9th Spanish century, and Nasir-i-Kusraw from Persia, at the end of the 10th century, describe the gate similar to the one reproduced here. During the time of Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtafi, in 1155 according to Ibn Jubary, a new plane tree wood gate covered with golden silver plates was placed. Sources from the first Islam centuries frequently mention the deterioration suffered by the gate, caused by flooding, by the hands of the pilgrims and by the avarice of local authorities. During the second half of the 12th century, a new ebony gate covered with silver is owed to cabinetmaker from Yemen. It was replaced by Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad in the early 1330’s. Sultan Mu’ayyad Shaykh did another change in 1414. Ottoman Sultan Murad III (1574-1595) sent the necessary metal to gild the gate again to Mecca. At the beginning of the 17th century, under Sultan Ahmad I, an important restoration of the Ka’aba took place, but sources scarcely mention a possible modification of the gate. During the time of his successor, Murad IV (1623-1640), a big flood considerably harmed the Ka’aba. Restoration works were undertaken after consultation with the authorities, who were reluctant to it. Under supervision of the Governor of Egypt, Mehmet Pasha, and his boss, Ridwan Bey, the structure was dismantled and replaced stone after stone. Sources mention the new installation of the silver gate, framed by columns, but not the manufacturing of a new gate. The inscription calligraphy shows the date 1635-1636, subsequent to reconstruction work. This gate was not replaced until the 20th century. It was replaced in 1947 by a gate with a very similar decoration. This is the short history of the Ka’aba gates on account of C. Juvin.
The Ka’aba sanctuary was drawn in a manuscript of Futuh al-Haramayn, copied by Mulla Salih Muzahhih. It dates from the 16th century. It can be found nowadays in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. It is a superb painting with certain innovations, like the light bluish colour of the sanctuary patio, and the intense blue of the floor surrounding the cube. The buildings are the traditional ones. Lamps hang from the series of arches, which is crowned by domes. The whole set is topped by domes on the right side, and by terraced constructions on all four sides [5] (Fig. 5)
The Mecca mosque is like no other mosque. It is a holy place in the open, delimited by a precinct from the period of Caliph ‘Umar (634-644) and Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir (908-932), already reaching the dimensions of the 20th century. The Ka’aba has a cubic structure, its angles pointing to all four cardinal points. At the end of the 7th century, during the period of Umayyad governor al-Ajjaj, its dimensions and present plant were defined. The primitive Ka’aba was less high than the present one. In Ottoman times, it was covered with an aedicula crowned with a dome. The Zamzam fountain, discovered by Agar and his son Ismael and where both quenched their thirst, lies to the northwest. Pilgrims do their ritual convolutions. The sanctuary appearance changed when the porches crowned by marble columns were covered, a work started by Selim II (1566-1574) and finished by Murat III (1574-1595). Suleiman added a madrassa to teach the four Sunni rites.
The Ka’aba has several access points and seven minarets, six of them from the Ottoman period, one on each angle of the precinct, according to the brief description by C. Maury.
A painting of Safat al-haramayn, dating from around 1512, can be found in a bookplate from the treasure of Suleiman the Magnificent. The text is a long narrative poem titled “Qualities of the two Sanctuaries”. The Qa’itaby madrassa and its minarets, erected forty years earlier, are built against the north-eastern sanctuary wall. Apparently, it was built towards the interior of the patio. The patio porches are double, with lamps on the inside, and are not covered with domes. It is a very unique representation of the sanctuary and is in the Municipal Library in Manisa, Turkey [6] (Fig. 6).
Also very original is the representation of the Mecca sanctuary from the manuscript of Futuh al-haramayn, copied in Mecca in 1597-1598 by Ghulam ‘Ali. It is nowadays in the Museum of Istanbul. The sanctuary floor has a greenish colour. The distribution of the buildings surrounding the cube is slightly new. Lamps also hang from the arches of the archery. The façade has four identical access gates, different to the usual ones [7] (Fig. 7). The copyist, whose name is repeated in other works, must have worked for a long time.
From this moment on, three-dimensionality and reduction of reading direction is introduced in representations. At the beginning of the Ottoman period, during the 16th century, certain images of the two most famous sanctuaries of Islam show the introduction of spatial effects, as C. Maury indicates, despite the vertical representation of the monument precinct, which had not yet been developed in depth. A discreet introduction of three-dimensionality in the treatment of structures can be seen in the atrium and the arcades of the porches. The character of the image is toned down. The display effect is less systematic. The porches of the north-eastern side do not appear the other way round. The viewer is shown the exterior side of the precinct wall. Unification is not fully completed until the 17th century.
The Musée du Louvre has a ceramic slab from Iznik from the second half of the 17th century decorated with the Ka’aba. The Ka’aba is represented in depth, while the minarets are horizontal. There is an inscription inside an arch in the upper part [8] (Fig. 8).
A slab with the Ka’aba sanctuary from Izmik, Turkey, dating from the first half of the 17th century, is kept in the Musée du Louvre. The Iznik and Kütahya workshops in Turkey produced coating slabs for civil and religious buildings since the 17th century. Its decoration frequently had a religious character. Representations of the Ka’aba and Medina sanctuaries were placed on the qibla wall of the prayer rooms. An inscription beneath a triangular fronton full of arabesques crowns the architecture. This is framed inside a frieze with double draperies of canes or false trees. Although schematically, these representations are true to the general topography of both Islamic sanctuaries, which does not vary between the 17th century and the start of the 19th century. They do not follow the current plan of the buildings, which have been extended during the 20th century to absorb the increasing number of pilgrims.
The building distribution did not change from the 17th century until the 20th century. The patio in Mecca is surrounded by an archery crowned with domes. The different access gates to the sanctuary are signalled in the arcades. The sanctuary precinct buildings represent the Sultan Qa’itabay (1468-1496) madrassa to the northeast; on the north-western side that of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566); and on the western angle, the Dawudiya madrassa. The seven minarets seem to be built behind the domes. They cause an effect of depth on the viwer. The Ka’aba is painted black, and the floor surrounding it, blue [9] (Fig. 9).
The Ka’aba was depicted in the Dala ‘il al-Kharyat, a little book that contains some prayers in honour of Muhammad, the different names of the Prophet and the description of his grave. It was copied by Muhammad al-Shahri in 1738-1739. It reaches back to a work from the 15the century composed by the Sufi of Morocco, Muhammad Ibn Sulayman al-Jazuly. Numerous copies of this work were made. Some of them show the mosques of Medina and Mecca together. Two manuscripts from Morocco follow an ancient tradition. The Ottoman copies from the 19th century show both sanctuaries, but its origin dates back to the 18th century. The sanctuary is surrounded by hills on the upper part, and by the city on three sides. The sanctuary of Mecca is shown from the air. Both sanctuaries are surrounded by little square houses with balconies. The double page is painted on thicker paper than the rest of the manuscript. According to C. Maury, if the illustration is contemporary to the writing of Dala ‘il al-Kharyat, it is one of the oldest double pages in cavalier projection documented in manuscripts [10] (Fig. 10). This manuscript is in the Bibliothèque Nationales de France.
A view of the city of Mecca owed to Ignatius Mouradgea d’Ohsson (1740-1807), of French-Armenian descent, who worked in the Ottoman court. The view is in the Tableau general de l’empire othoman, published in three volumes in Paris in 1787-1789, a reference work for the social and political knowledge of the Ottoman world. Volumes II and III are decorated with numerous sheets engraved by the best French artists of the moment, following the paintings of Istanbul artists made on instruction of d’Ohsson. The depicted sheet decorates the book of pilgrimage. The artist wonderfully depicts the wide, long and winding line of pilgrims who are about to enter the sanctuary. According to C. Juvin, the preparatory design for the engraving is attributed to Louis Nicolas l’Espinasse, maybe following a painting by Constantine, a painter of the Istanbul court. The holy city is shown in cavalier projection, and these are the images of the two Islamic holy cities that circulated throughout Europe. The town planning surrounding the Ka’aba is done with great realism, as is the landscape with the hills at the back [11] (Fig. 11). It is the best and most comprehensive view of Mecca and its surroundings, possibly a copy from life. It is at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
This annex to the already mentioned sanctuaries of the Ka’aba ends with the miniature from the mid 16th century from Shiraz of the Khalili collection that shows the visit of Alexander the Great to the Ka’aba. It is very original and has great artistic value. The Ka’aba is surrounded by six pilgrims dressed in white, according to ritual, three on each side. Alexander comes near. At the front, a male bows down in prayer and touches the floor with his forehead. In front of him, another one kneels on a rug and lifts his hands and face while he prays. Two other males, one on a rug and the other one on the floor, bow down and touch the floor with their forehead. They are in the upper part of the precinct. In front of the first one, a third one who sits on the floor, prays. The guard surrounds the centre [12] (Fig. 12).
Muslims stand out in miniature art, particularly Iranians and Turks.
Medina Mosque
One of the most original representations of the Medina Mosque is the one by Mouradgea d’Ohsson. It is surrounded by the wall with circular towers. The landscape is shown at the back and in close-up. The characteristics are the same than those of the already mentioned representation of the Ka’aba [13] (Fig. 13).
The Medina Mosque takes up the place of the mosque frequented by Muhammad. It was located west of his house and it was the place of his grave. The two first Caliphs, Abu Bakr (632-634) and Umar (634-644), were buried on its side. Since the Umayyad period, the three graves were included in the eastern part, in the prayer room, which was extended over time. During the time of reformer Abdulmedjid I (1839-1861), the mosque took up a huge extension.
The mosque has a hypostyle and is preceded by an atrium with porches all around. It had many mirhab that indicated the direction of Mecca. The oldest one dates from the Umayyad period. A mirhab was renovated during the time of Suleiman (1531-1532). The Prophet mirhab, as C. Maury points out, was burnt and rebuilt in its old place. Sultan Murad III offered a new marble minbar that still exists. The minbar in Medina has, as C. Maury states, besides its practical use, a particular symbolic meaning. The space comprised between the Prophet minbar and its grave is a place that bestows favours. It was called Al-rawda. Prayers done in it have a special power.
During the time of Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I (705-715), the space for the grave was surrounded by a wall that delimited a pentagonal precinct that isolated it from the prayer room. This precinct was soon isolated from the prayer room with metal bars. The zone was covered with a dome, made of wood at first, and then of stone; therefore, the grave is frequently portrayed as a quadrangular mausoleum. During the time of Mahmud II (1808-1893) the grave was reconstructed and painted green. This colour has remained until today. There was also the grave of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet, and of his first wife, Khadija. In the north south side of the prayer room is an atrium with arcades that had planted palm trees during the Ottoman period. It has been assumed it was Fatima’s Garden. Next to it is a well. A little building with a dome stored oil for lighting and other lamps. The mosque has four entries and four minarets since the Umayyad period. One of them was financed by Suleiman.
In a painting of Sifat ab hara-mayn dating from around 1521, nowadays in the Manisa Municipal Library, it only has four minarets. The lines of columns in the prayer room are represented by rows of superimposed arcades. The grave is inside a grille. The Prophet mirhab is in the grave area. Also shown is the grave of Fatima covered with black cloths [14] (Fig. 14). The Fujuh al-haramyan manuscript, copied by ‘Ali in 1597-1598, nowadays in Istanbul, is decorated with the Medina mosque. The three-dimensional vision and the unification of the reading direction are applied. The porticoes still occupy all four sides. It only has four domes and the Prophet grave is covered by a dome. Three tombs were placed inside the grave [15] (Fig. 15). It is also kept in Istanbul.
A manuscript from the early 18th century of a Dala’il al-Khayrat, signed by Levni and nowadays in a private collection, illustrates the Medina mosque. According to C. Maury, it is one of the oldest cavalier projections. The whole representation is made from above. The rectangular precinct is not presented in vertical, but in depth. The grave walls and the qibla have no thickness. The prayer room distinguishes itself from the atrium by its colour. Three graves are inside the grating. The artist expresses a clumsy attempt at producing an impression of depth [16] (Fig. 16).
The three graves placed on top in the eastern part of the prayer room can be seen in a pigmented ochre-coloured paper with fragments of Futh al-haramyan by Muhyi al-din Lari, copied by Muhammad Yar Badakeshani in Mecca, that dates from 1974-1975 and is nowadays in the National Library in Paris: the Prophet grave, the grave of Abu Bakr and the grave of Umar, covered with a big-sized dome. The location of the first minbar and the first mirhab, which were rebuilt many times, is preserved. The mosque is surrounded by a portico. The palm trees indicate the supposed location of the Garden of Fatima. It has five minarets, one on each corner, and the fifth one, that was added in the 16th century, on the right side. There were four entry gates until the early 20th century.
Pilgrims who went to Mecca already visited the Medina mosque during the Middle Age, and received illustrated pilgrimage certificates. Later on, these certificates had inscriptions written in verse or prose relating to the pilgrimage ritual, with the history of Medina or praising the Prophet. According to C. Maury, the Futh al-haramyan manuscript describes the ritual in the Muhammad mosque. A line of arcades crowned with merlons delimits the rectangular mosque perimeter. There are four access entries. Pilgrims entered through the gate on the upper right angle. There are five vertical minarets. The graves of the Prophet and the two first Caliphs are west of the prayer room. The background is golden. The space in front of the graves has been considered to be the grave of Fatima. The grave is crowned with a dome. The minbar and two mirhabs have been represented inside; the one on the left is the so called Prophet mirhab. From the 16th century on, Ottoman Sultans were the keepers of the Holy Sites of Islam [17] (Fig. 17).
A painting of a slip from Iznik or Kütahya from the first half of the 16th century, nowadays in the Louvre Museum, shows the Medina mosque. These images are less numerous than those of the Ka’aba. On the upper side there are three domes in between palm trees. The arcades are very similar to those in the Ka’aba sheet mentioned before [18] (Fig. 18).
The city of Medina goes along with the representation of Mecca in the aforementioned Dala’il al-Khayrat of Muhammad ibn-Sulayman al-Jazuli. The style is similar, as is the landscape in the upper part. The city and the landscape play a special role in both representations. Some buildings have a public character and Ottoman style. The city is fortified. Baqi cemetery is on the left, where many comrades of the Prophet were buried. It was also a pilgrimage location [19] (Fig. 19).
[1] J. Chabbi, Aux origins de l’Islam, AA.VV., Routes d’Arabie. Archeologie et Histoire du Royaume d’Arabie Saudite, Paris, 2010, 103-104.
[2] J. Loisseau, L’Arabie et les villes saintes, Routes d’Arabie, 414-415.
[3] C. Juvin, Les stèles du cimitiére d’Al-Macla a Le Meque, Routes d’Arabie, 499, fig. 6.
[4] C. Juvin, in G. Veinstein, Les lieux Saints du Hijaz sous les ottomains, Routes de l’Arabie, 536-538, cat. N. 305.
[5] C. Maury, Les representations des deux sanctuaires à l’époque ottomane: du schema topographique à la vue perspective, Routes de l’Arabie, 546-547, fig. 1.
[6] C. Maury, op. cit., 551-552, fig. 2.
[7] C. Maury, op. cit., 555, fig. 4.
[8] C. Maury, op. cit., 557, fig. 6.
[9] C. Maury, Objects additionels, Routes d’Arabie, 568-570, cat. N. 317.
[10] C. Maury, Objects additionels, 571-572, cat. N. 319.
[11] C. Maury, Objets additionels, 572-573, cat. N. 320.
[12] G. Migeon, H. Saladin, Art of Islam, Vietnam, 2009, 209.
[13] G. Veinstein, op. cit., 533.
[14] C. Maury, op. cit., 551, fig. 2.
[15] C. Maury, op. cit., 566-567, fig. 5.
[16] C. Maury, op. cit., 558, fig. 7.
[17] C. Maury, op. cit., 567-568, cat. N. 316.
[18] C. Maury, op. cit., 668-670, cat. N. 316.
Abu Moin Hamid Al-Din Naser Ebne Josrow Gobadiyani Marwazi was born on Zigadeh in the year 394 of the Hajri calendar in Gobadian, Marw, and died in the year 481 of the Hajri calendar in Yamgan, Badakhshan. After his childhood and until the age of 42, he was an erudite writer, and afterwards he had a royal position. At the end of the first stage of his life, he travelled away from Marw, having a royal position during the first Rabi of the year 437 of the Hajri calendar, and he went five towns away from Marw Al-Rud, and after that to Jozjanan, where he stayed for a whole month. There ha dreamt one night that someone encouraged him to travel to the Ka'aba to find the truth. The next morning, at daybreak, he decided to step out of his forty year long dream and make his way to Mecca, a journey that took him seven years. When he came back from this journey he devoted himself to the guidance of his people. He was sent by the government of that time into exile, where he died in the year 481 of the Hajri calendar. The journey of Naser Josrow started from Marw to Tabriz, Ijlat, Miafarguin, Seida, Tur and finally, Jerusalem. From there, Naser Josrow went to Mecca, and afterwards to Medina, returning from there to Jerusalem. After that, he went to Egypt, and one more time to Mecca, where he stayed for six months. Finally, he returned by sea to Iran, and arrived one more time in Balj on Tuesday 26 of the last Jamadi of the year 444 of the Hajri calendar, after a journey that took him six years, seven months and twenty-two days. The outcome of this journey is some beautiful notes of what he saw and heard, written on a daily basis.
The travel literature of Naser Josrow is a book that holds valuable information for the knowledge of a thriving part of the Islamic world during the first half of the fifth century of the Hajri calendar, including trends, beliefs, activities, customs and traditions of his people. Only Mecca and Medina have been considered for this report.
Travel literature by Naser Josrow
Abu Moin Hamid Al-Din Naser Ebne Josrow Gobadiyani Marwazi says: “My profession was only writing. Besides, I was one of the persons who had authority over the goods of the Sultan and I was in charge of the royal court, and for some time I devoted myself to that position and I got famous among people.”
On Rabi of the year 437 of the Hajri calendar, when Abu Suleiman Jafari Beik Davud Ebne Mikal Ebne Sljug was Emir of Jorasan, I left Marw, going about five towns from Marw-Alrud. That day, Castor reached Jupiter. They say that on that day, Almighty God satisfies all wishes. Then I went into a corner, where I prayed and asked God until he gave me true strength. As I came back towards my companions, one of them was reciting a Persian poem. I remembered a poem for him to read, I wrote it on a paper to give it to him. I still did not have given him the paper, when he started reciting the same poem. I took this as a good omen and said to myself: Almighty God fulfilled my wish.
I left that place and went to Jozjanan, and stayed there for about a month, drinking date whine. The great Prophet says: “speak the truth, even if it is against one self.”
I dreamt one night that someone said to me: “You drink so much wine that it disturbs your mind, you better pay attention.” I answered: “The wise men could not find a better remedy than this to reduce pains and grieves.” He answered: “There is no relief and consolation in unconsciousness. You can not call someone wise who channels people to unconsciousness, but you have to look for what increases intelligence and consciousness.” I told him: “How can I achieve doing this?” He told me that “he who tries, succeeds”, and after that he pointed the qibla with his finger and kept in silent. When I woke up, I remembered all details of the dream, and that helped me. I told to myself that “I woke up from the dream last night, now I also have to wake up from the dream of forty years.” I decided to have no rest unless I change my actions and acts.
On Thursday, 6th of the last Jamadi of the year 437 of the Hajri calendar, I took a shower and went to the mosque with in order to pray. I asked God almighty for help t fulfil my duties and abstain from illicit acts, according to what God almighty has ordered.
From there I went to Shburgan, spent the night in the village of Baryab, and from there I followed the route of Samangan, Talegan and Marw Al-Rud. Then I went to Marw and resigned from my job, saying: “I am going to go visit the sacred qibla.” Then I accounted to the authorities and dispensed of earthly possessions, except the essentials for my journey, and on Shaban 23 I left with destination Nishabur, and I went from Marw to Sarajs. The distance from Marw to Sarajs was 30 parasangs, and from Sarajs to Nishabur there is a distance of forty parasangs.”
During this journey, Naser Josrow went several times to Mecca. The first time, he went from Jerusalem to Mecca. He says:”
“I went from there to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem I walked with a group that was going to Hijas. The guide was an agile man and walked very well. They called him Abu Bakr Hamadani. I left Jerusalem during the first half of Zilgadeh of the year 438 of the Hajri calendar. On the third day, we arrived at a place called Arar, from there we got to another place, and from there in ten days we arrived in Mecca, and that year I saw no Hajj caravan to the holy city due to the lack of provisions. We lived in the spice merchant alley, in front of the gate of the Prophet. On Monday we were in Arafat. The Arabs were in danger. When I came back from Arafat, I stopped for two days in Mecca and returned to Jerusalem through the Sham way. The fifth of Moharram in the year 439 of the Hajri calendar we arrived in Jerusalem. I did not explain about Mecca and Medina because I wanted to explain in detail in the last Hajj journey.” Naser Josrow returned to Jerusalem and from there he went to Cairo:
“At the start of Zilgadeh, I went out of Egypt, and the eight of that Hajri month I arrived in Kolzom. From here on, we got on the ship. After fifteen days, we arrived at a town called Jar. It was the twenty-second of the Hajri month, and from there, we got four days later to the Medina of the Prophet, a city located next to the desert, that has humid and salty soil, is short of fluent water and palm groves, and the holy Ka’aba located in the South of it all. The mosque of the Prophet looks like the mosque of al-Haram. The tomb of the Prophet was located near the pulpit of the mosque, left of someone standing in the direction of qibla. When the orator mentioned the name of the Prophet, he was standing at the right and pointed towards the tomb, which is a pentagonal house, and its walls are right next to the five pillars of the mosque. There was a place covered with marble and nicknamed the orchard right between the tomb and the pulpit. People use to say it is an orchard of the orchards of paradise, quoting what the Prophet said: “between my tomb and my pulpit, there is an orchard of the orchards of paradise.” The Shiites say that Fatima’s tomb is there, inside his father’s sepulchre. The mosque had a gate towards the South of the city, where there was a desert and the tomb of Hamzeh Ben Abdol Mottaleb (may God be happy with him). That place was nicknamed the cemetery of martyrs.
We spent two days in Medina, and due to the lack of time, we went to the Eastern part of town. There was a mountain and a little valley called Johfah, which was the place to get dressed with the ihram of the visitors that came from Egypt, Sham and Morocco. Visitors wear the ihram at that place. It was said that before the Hajj season there were a lot of visitors there, and all of a sudden, there was a flood that killed them all. Therefore, that place was called Johfah.
The distance between Mecca and Medina is about one hundred parasangs, but it was an even way and we managed to cross it in eight days.
We arrived in Mecca on Sunday, sixth of Zelgadeh, and we stayed in the gate of Al-Safa. There was hunger that year in Mecca. Ten kilograms of wheat cost about one Nishaburi Dinar, and all those who lived nearby Mecca were leaving there homes and nobody was coming on pilgrimage to Mecca.
On Wednesday we carried out the Hajj en in the Arafat valley with the help of God almighty. We stayed two days in Mecca, and a huge number of Mecca inhabitants left Hijas because of hunger and poverty, and in search of food in other parts of the desert. I leave the description of Hajj and the conditions in Mecca for another occasion, because in another time we stayed in Mecca for six months.
From here, Naser Josrow returned to Egypt, and he describes hunger in those days:
“In Rajab of the year 440 of the Hajri calendar, the Sultan found out about the drought and hunger of that year, and that the sending of pilgrims might be dangerous. No pilgrim went that year to Hijas, although the sending of pilgrims to Hijas was the duty of the Sultan, but he had his excuses. There was a person that year called judge Abdollah. He was a judge in Sham. I went with him on our way to Kolzom. In those days, our ship arrived in Jar the twenty-fifth of Zigadeh, and the Hajj season was almost there, we rushed to get there. A camel cost five Dinars.
We got to Mecca on the eighth of Dhu al Hiyya, and with the help of God almighty, we were able to carry out the Hajj.
A very big caravan had arrived that year from Morocco. The Arabs asked some of them at the Medina gate to protect the city. When coming back from Hajj, a war had broken out between both parties, in which more than two thousand Moroccan pilgrims died. Only thirty pilgrims were able to arrive safe to their country.
During that season of Hajj, there were pilgrims from Jorasan. They went to Sham and Egypt, and from there, they arrived to Mecca by ship. The sixth of Dhu al Hiyya, they were one hundred and four parasangs away Arafat. That is why they had said:
“He who makes us get to Mecca in these three days left, and in case that we can carry out the Hajj, will receive forty Dinars from each one of us.” The Arabs made them get to Arafat in two and a half days, and they received their money, and the Beduins quickly tied one after the other to their fast camels. Two of them had died, and four were alive, but in a bad condition and half dead. They arrived at the time of the afternoon prayer, and we were there. They were in such condition that they could not stand and they could not speak. They said: “Halfway through we asked them to leave us, and we told them: “The money we have given you shall be yours, just leave us, because we can no more”, but they would not listen to us and kept riding.” To sum it up, those four people carried out the Hajj and returned to Sham. And when I carried out the Hajj, went again to Egypt, because I had some books there and had no intention of leaving that country.
And that year, the Emir of Medina came to Egypt, who was the official Sultan. That is why he had some relatives from the sons of Imam Husein Ibn Ali. That position was appointed each year. I was with him in the same ship. We arrived in Kolzom and from there we went to Egypt.
Naser Josrow came back to Mecca after his visit to Egypt
Now I am going to tell how I came from Egypt to Mecca (God may protect it): “In Cairo I did the Eid prayer, and then I went to the higher lands of Egypt by ship on Tuesday the fourteenth of Dhu al Hiyya of the year 441 of the Hajri calendar.
During this journey, Naser Josrow crossed Ajmin, Gaws, Aswan and Izab, and arrived in Jiddah and explained Mecca and Medina in detail.
Jiddah is a big city with well fortified walls. It is located by the sea and has about five thousand inhabitants. It is located north of the sea and has flourishing markets. The qibla of its magnificent mosque lies to the East. There are no buildings in the suburbs of the city, except for the mosque of the Prophet, and it has two gates: one of them to Mecca in the East, and the other one to the West and the sea. If someone would walk along the seashore towards the south, he would arrive in Yemen and would have to cover about fifty parasangs. And if he was to walk to the north, he would arrive in the city of Jar. Jiddah lacks trees and green land, and all provisions they need are provided by several small villages. The distance from Mecca and Jiddah is twelve parasangs. The Emir of Jiddah and Medina of the time was Taj al-Maali of Ben Abby al-Fotooh. I went to see the Emir of Jiddah and he was so kind to me that he exempted me from paying taxes. When I was approaching the Moslem gate, he wrote the Mecca government employees to not charge me anything because of my wisdom, as he believed.
We left Jiddah next Friday, and got to Mecca on Sunday, at the end of the Jamadi al-Ajar month. During the first day of Rajab, many visitors come to Mecca from Hijaz and Yemen for the fulfilment of Hajj Umrah, and this is a special season, like the Eid of Ramadan. These visitors also come at the time of Hajj, and due to the short distance and the easiness of the path, they come three times a year.
Mecca, God shall keep it, is a city surrounded by high mountains. The nearest mountain to the city is Abu Kobais; it looks like a vault and it is located east of the city. If you are in the al-Haram mosque in Mecca in January, you will see the sun rising over the top of that mountain. The top of that mountain looks like a stony prominent stick. History said Abraham made the mountain top like that. The al-Haram mosque in Mecca and the adjacent markets and narrow streets are surrounded by high walls with several gates; the city lacks trees, although there are a few trees close to the main gate of the al-Haram mosque, which is called Abraham gate.
East of the al-Haram mosque is a big market that stretches from North to South. The entrance of this market is near the Abu Kobais mountain. There is a mound called Safa in the mountain side. A large number of visitors and pilgrims come here to pray, and call this place “Safa and Marwa”. The end of this market is located to the North, near Marwa. Several residential houses have been built there, and people run from the start until the end of the market. This is an act of the Umrah rituals.
Those who come to Mecca from distant places to do the Umrah rituals must dress with the Ihram at a place that is half a parasang away from Mecca. Granted, the pilgrims and visitors must dress with the Ihram in one of the mosques there. After this act, the pilgrims go to Mecca loudly repeating following version: “We obey his order, there will be no partner with you, all favour and blessing is yours.” Those who are in Mecca and intend to do Umrah, shall go to a place where pillars are stuck on the ground, and there they will dress with the Ihram, and then they will go to Mecca with the purpose of the Umrah. After a pilgrim enters the al-Haram mosque, he must make seven turns (Tawaf), starting from the corner where the Black Stone is located counter clockwise. After doing Tawaf, he must do a two genuflection prayer called Tawaf prayer. Behind Ibrahim Maqam, the pilgrims go to Zam Zam well to have some water and wash their faces. Then, they exit al-Haram mosque to do Sa’i in between Safa and Marwa. There is a market between both these mounds, which is about one hundred and fifty steps long. This is what the Prophet did during Hajj season. He ordered Muslims to do the same. There are two minarets near the market. They run four times from Safa to Marwa, and three times from Marwa to Safa, and they run seven times altogether. When the pilgrims are doing Sa’i, they read some prayers. When finished with Sa’i, there are some hairdressers to shave the pilgrims their hair off and be free of Ihram. This market is called Herbalist market. It has some pleasant shops and buildings. There are two public baths in Mecca, its floors covered with green stone. In my opinion, Mecca has two thousand inhabitants, the rest of the population were visitors. Under these circumstances, the city was experiencing a very bad drought, and the price of forty wheat kilograms was around one Moroccan Dinar. There were residential houses in the city of Mecca for the Jorasan visitors from Iraq and other Muslim nations, but the most part of these houses were demolished. The Caliphs of Bagdad built spacious buildings in Mecca. When we got there, some of these buildings got demolished. There are wells in Mecca, but its water is salty and not potable. That is why big ponds were built to keep the rainwater. The cost of building each pond was ten thousand Dinars. These ponds were empty of water when we were in Mecca. An Emir of Eden brought underground water to Mecca, what cost him an enormous sum of money. That water was used for irrigation in Arafat. To save Mecca from flooding, the government workers built a dam, and to keep the superfluous water, they built a big pond. Some people used to sell the pond water. Besides this pond, there is a well half a parasang away from Mecca, on the road of “Borque”, called al-Zahed well. There is a beautiful mosque with good water there as well, and those who bring water use to sell water from this well to the pilgrims.
The weather in Mecca is too hot. That was my fourth journey to the holy city since the start of Rajab in the year 442 until the twentieth of this month. I had stayed close to the holy city. On Farvadin fifteen, the grape had ripened and they had brought it from the small villages and it was being sold at the market, and on Ordibehesht first there were plentiful melons, and even during the winter all kinds of fruits can be found in Mecca.
I said further above that the Ka'aba is located inside the mosque of al-Haram in Mecca. The length of the mosque goes from East to West, and its width from North to South. The corners of the mosque seem to be circular, the longest of them, located in between the gate of Abraham and the gate of Bani Hashim, is about fifty meters long. The width of the mosque starts at the gate of al-Nadwa in the North and the gate of Safa in the South, and is about six hundred meters long. Al-Haram mosque is surrounded by three open galleries with one hundred and eighty marble pillars. It has eighteen gates, four of them to the East. They are: the gate of the Prophet in the northern corner, which unites three open galleries. Another gate in the southern corner is also called gate of the Prophet. The distance between these two gates is two hundred meters. This gate has two rafters.
The herbalist marquet is outside this gate, and it holds the house of the Prophet, and people walk into the mosque through this gate for their prayers. After this gate comes the gate of Ali, which is also located on the eastern wall and has three rafters. After this gate, there is a minaret close to Safa and Marwa. This is one of four minarets close to the gate of Bani Hashim, which I mentioned before. In the southern wall, which is the length of the mosque, there are seven gates. The first gate next to the corner is half round and has two rafters, and there is another gate with two rafters in the western corner. Then comes the gate of Safa, with five rafters, of which the middle pair is the biggest one, with two smaller pairs on each side.
Mahoma the Prophet walked through this gate when he went to pray to Safa. There is a big white stone at the threshold of the middle pair. This stone was black before, but when Prophet Mohammed put his blessed foot upon it, his footprint got mixed up with the black colour, and then its colour changed to white. The fingertips point towards the entrance of the mosque. Some pilgrims put their cheeks on this footprint seeking the blessings of the Prophet. I believe this is more of a compulsory thing.
After the Safa gate, there is another one called Towa gate, which has two pairs. Close to it is Tammarin gate, which has two pairs, and after this one comes al-Maamel gate, and in front of this gate stands the house of Abu Jahl, which has recently been converted into a bath. There are three gates in the western wall, which is the width of the holy mosque: the Orwa gate, with two pairs; in the middle of the corner of this gate is the gate of Abraham, with three pairs. In the northern wall, which is the length of the mosque, there are four gates. In the western corner is Wasit gate, with one pair. After that, in the middle of the northern corner, is Nadwa gate, which has two pairs, then Moshawerah gate, with one pair. In the northeastern corner of the mosque is Bani Shaiba gate and the holy Ka'aba, which stands in the middle of al-Haram mosque. The Ka'aba has a square shape, and its length goes from North to South, while its width goes from East to West. The length of the Ka'aba is about thirty-four meters, and its width is about thirty-two meters. When entering the Ka'aba, the Iraqi corner can be seen to the right, and the Black Stone to the left. The southern-western corner is called Yamani, while the northern-wester corner is called Shami.
The Black Stone is located in one corner of a high wall, so that the chest of a standing man can reach the stone. The Black Stone is one handspan and four fingers long and eight fingers wide, and is round. The distance between the Black Stone and the Ka'aba gate is four elbows, and this distance is called Moltazem. The Ka'aba gate is four elbows above the ground, so that the head of a standing man reaches the threshold of the gate. A hand ladder has been built and people climb on it when needed to enter the Ka'aba. This ladder has been built so that ten men can climb up and down at the same time, and the height of the Ka'aba is the one mentioned before.
Characteristics of the Ka'aba gate
The Ka'aba gate is a two leaf gate made of teakwood. Its height is six and a half elbows, the width of each leaf is about two meters, and, therefore, the width of both leafs is about four meters. The gate has been decorated with silver writings and epigraphs, where some marquetry has been made. All writings are golden and silver and the following ayah can be read: “the first and most important house set up for the people, is that of Mecca; a holy lighthouse for all people”.
There are two silver rings on both leafs of the Ka'aba gate. These two rings were sent by Ghaznin for the pilgrims, who are not able to touch them. Two smaller silver rings have also been placed, so they can touch them easily. The Ka'aba gate is locked with a big silver padlock that assembles both leafs.
Characteristics of the interior of the Ka'aba
The wall of the Ka'aba is six handspans thick, the floor of the house is covered with white marble, and inside the house there are three seclusions identical to a tent. One of them is in front of the gate, and the other two North and South of the columns of the house that is under the ceiling. Their pillars are made of teak wood and they are brushed on four sides, except one that has a circular shape. North of the house is a red marble stone leaf that covers the floor, and it is said that Prophet Mohammed prayed there, and those who know that, try to do their prayers there. The Ka'aba walls are covered with coloured marble, and on the western side there are six silver altars fixed with nails on the wall. All of them are higher than a man and are adorned with solid gold and silver, and these altars are higher than the floor, and the space of the wall of the house rises four elbows above the floor and is simple, and the rest of the wall is marble and decorated up to the ceiling. The four walls are mostly covered with gold, and, as I mentioned before, in every one of these three seclusions, one of them in the Iraqi corner, another one in the Shami corner and the other one in the Yamani corner, there are two pieces of timber stuck on the wall with silver nails. These pieces of timber are remnants of Noah's Ark, and the length of each timber is about five meters, and its width is about one meter. Behind the Black Stone is a seclusion covered with red silk. As you walk out of the Ka'aba, there is a square corner on the right hand, and each one of its sides is three meters long. And there is a ladder that leads to the roof of the Ka'aba, and a silver gate called Babb Al-Rahmah (the gate of grace), that is closed with a silver padlock. On the roof of the Ka'aba is another gate, with both sides silverplated. The roof is covered with wood, and the wood itself is covered with red silk, so that the wood can not be seen at all. And on the front wall of the gate, above the woods of the Ka'aba, there is a golden inscription with the name of al-Moez, the sultan of Egypt (who took over the city of Mecca from the caliphs of Beni Abbas).
There are four other big silver timbers fixed with silver nails on the house wall. Each of them has the names of the sultans of Egypt, who sent these timbers.
Three candlesticks hang between the pillars, and behind the Ka'aba, it is covered with Yamani marble that looks like crystal, and in each of its corners there is a hole with a mirror that lights the Ka'aba and prevents the penetration of rainwater. The gutter of the Ka'aba is located North and its length is about three meters. There are golden inscriptions on every part of the gutter. The cloak covering the Ka'aba was white and had borders in two places. Each border was about one meter wide and the distance between both borders was about ten meters, so because of these two borders, the height of the building was divided in three parts. And on four sides of the cloak there are altars sewn and decorated with golden threads. Each wall has three altars, a big one in the middle, and two small ones on each side, so that there are twelve altars on four walls. North of the Ka'aba is a one and a half meter high wall, that has a round shape and stands almost fifteen meters away from the Ka'aba. The sand at this place is covered with coloured marble. This place is called “the place of Ishmael”. The water of the roof gutter pours into the place of Ishmael. There is a green stone below this gutter on which the gutter water pours that looks like an altar on which you can pray.
The Maqam of Ibrahim is located towards the East of the Ka'aba. It is a stone that represents the footprints of Abraham and is preserved in a box covered with silver leaves and tied to the chains and big stones with two padlocks, so that nobody can access it. The distance between the Ka'aba and the Maqam of Ibrahim is about thirty meters. The Zamzam well is also located to the East, on the Black Stone corner, and forty-six elbows away from the Ka'aba, and its width is 3,5 meters. Basins have been built on four sides of the well so that people can do their ablutions. The water is is salty but potable. It is covered with the white marble leaves. The floor in the Zamzam house is reticular and built with wood, for the water to drain promptly. The gate of this house is located to the East.
And in front of the Zamzam house, on its eastern side, is another square house with a dome called Segayat al-Hajj. That is where there are earthenware jars, from which the Hajji drink water. East of this place is another long house with three domes called Jazanat al-Zit, which holds candles, candlestick and oil. The pillars around the Ka'aba have been wrapped, and a stick has been placed on every second pillar. It has been decorated and carved, and rings and hooks hang from it until the candles and lamps are placed there at night and the candlestick is hung. This is called the torch. The distance between the torches and the Ka'aba walls is about one hundred and fifty meters, and it is the place of Tawaf. The houses inside the patio of al-Haram mosque, with the exception of the holy Ka'aba, are three: the Zamzam house, Segayat al-Hajj and Jazanat al-Zit. Around al-Haram mosque, close to its wall, there are several boxes for pilgrims from the countries of Morocco, Egypt, Sham, Rome, Jorasan and other Muslim countries.
Four parasangs from Mecca is a place called “Borgah”, where the emir of Mecca and his army stay. There are trees and current water there, and this area is two pasarangs long and the same amount wide. I had stayed in Mecca that year during Rajab. The residents of Mecca have the habit of opening the gate of the Ka'aba every day at sunrise during the month of Rajab.
Description of the procedure used to open the Ka'aba gate
An arabic tribe called “Bani Shaibah” has the key to the Ka'aba, and they serve in the Ka'aba. These individuals received monthly wages and other gifts from the sultan of Egypt. They have a leader who holds the Ka'aba key. When he arrives, he is accompanied by five or six people. Once they get to the Ka'aba, ten other pilgrims help them carry the ladder (we mentioned before) and they put it close to the gate of the Ka'aba. Then, the leader of the group, who is an old man, climbs this ladder and stands on the threshold of the gate, while two people hurry up opening the cloaks and silks of the gate. Then, the old man opens the gate. A group of Hajji stands in front of the house gate. Once the gate is open, all pilgrims raise their hands as a signal of prayer. All those in Mecca, upon hearing the voice of the Hajji, realize the door has been opened. All people pray loudly at once. This old man goes inside the Ka'aba to do his prayer, while those two other people still hold the cloaks at the gate. The old man does his prayer and walks out, opens both gate leafs and stands on the threshold, gives a speech, lectures and praises the Prophet and his family. Then the old man and his companions stand on both sides of the Ka'aba gate, and the pilgrims enter the Ka'aba and do a prayer with four prostrations. The old man walks out of the holy Ka'aba and the pilgrims do midday prayers. According to my estimation, the number of people when the house was full was about seven hundred and twenty people.
The pilgrims from Yemen who go to Mecca on pilgrimage look like Indians based on their appearance. They put on a loincloth and let their hair and beards grow, and each of them carries a Garifi saber, like the Indians. Moreover, the Ka'aba only opens on mondays, thursdays and fridays during the months of Shaban, Ramadan and Shawal, and come the month of Zelgadeh, the house of the holy Ka'aba will not be opened anymore.
Umrah of Jaaraneh
There is a place north of Mecca and four parasangs from there called Jaaraneh. Prophet Mahoma and his soldiers have put on the Ihram there on Zelgadeh sixteenth, and he has come to Mecca to do the Umrah rituals.
There are two wells in that place; one of them belongs to the Prophet, while the other one belongs to Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Both wells have potable water. There is a ten meter distance between both wells, and they still keep the habit and during that season the Umrah is done there. Close to these two wells is a mountain and holes like bowls. It is said that Prophet Mahoma has kneaded flour with this own hands inside these holes, and a huge number of Muslims, when they go there, knead flour with the water of these wells. And there are lots of trees there, and the visitors prepare wood and cook the bread and take it to their lands as holy bread. There is also a mountain there, and it is said that Bilal has called for prayer on this mountain. Following the example of Bilal, people climb that mountain and on top of it, they call for prayer. And then, when I was there, there was a crowd and more than a thousand howdah camels and even more other camels.
This time that I came from Egypt to Mecca for the Hajj season, the distance between both cities was three hundred parasangs, while the distance between Mecca and Yemen was twelve parasangs. The Arafat valley is surrounded by low mountains; its height is not more than the height of the hills.
The valley surface is about two parasangs. There had been a mosque built by Abraham in that valley, of which only the pulpit stands from that mosque. At the time of prayer, the orator gets on the pulpit two pronounce two sermons, and then they call to pray and do the community two genuflection prayer, like the travellers, and do another community two genuflection prayer. The orator climbs on a camel and they go East. One parasang from there is a little stony mountain called Jabal al-Rahmah (mountain of grace). They all stop there and pray until sunset.
The Emir of Eden, spending a lot of money, has brought water from that mountain to Arafat, and has built ponds there that get filled during the Hajj season. This Emir has built four domes above Jabal al-Ramah, which are full of candles and lamps to light during night and day, so that the candles can be seen two parasangs from there. It was said that the Emir of Mecca received a thousand Dinars in exchange for allowing the building of these domes.
On the ninth of Dhu al Hiyya of the year 442 of the Hajri calendr, I did my fourth Hajj with the help of God almighty, and at sunset, all pilgrims and orators came back from Arafat. After travelling one parasang, they arrived to Mashaar Al-Hiram, also called Muzdalifa. There is a nice compartment for praying in that place, from where the pilgrims pick up pebbles to throw them in Mina. On the eve of Eid (wonderful festivity), the pilgrims have the habit of spending the night in Muzdalifa, and they do the morning prayer. When the sun comes out, they go to Mina, and the pilgrims do sacrifices there. There is a big mosque there called al-Jaif. And on that day, no sermon is pronounced and the Eid prayer is not done in Mina, and that is something that Prophet Mahoma has not advised. On the tenth day, they go to Mina and symbolically throw stones at the devil – it has been described in the Hajj rituals. On the twelfth of Dhu al Hiyya, all pilgrims can go back to their countries or go from there to Mecca.
After I did the Hajj rituals, I rented a camel from Mecca to Lahsa. They told me it would cover the distance between Mecca and Lhasa in thirteen days. I said goodbye to the House of God almighty. On Friday, the nineteenth of Dhu al Hiyya of the year 442 of the Hajri calendar, which coincided with the first of Jordad, we left Mecca. There was a prairie seven parasangs from Mecca.
(Translation by Nahmeh Shobeyri, Teheran University)
Reconstruction of the Ka'aba according to Muhammad Ibn Garir al Tabari
Muhammad Ibn Garir al Tabari was a Persian historian, who lived in the mid 9th century, and who wrote a History of the Prophets and Kings, where he tells in depth about the life of Muhammad [1a]. He is worthy of having looked up many previous sources he mentions, citing the names of the authors. He pays special attention to three points in the life of the Prophet which are especially relevant for this research: the reconstruction of the Ka'aba, the physical appearance of Muhammad, and his tomb. We will summarize all three.
When Muhammad was 35 years of age, the Quraysh demolished the Ka'aba to rebuild it, something which happened several times throughout its history. When the moment came to place the black stone inside the Ka'aba, everybody wanted to do it. Such honour was reserved for Muhammad, who placed it with his own hands.
Abraham and his son Ismail were the ones who raised the primitive temple of the Ka'aba on flat soil in between two hills. Every time it rained, a torrent formed and the water penetrated inside the temple. The idea of demolishing it to raise the floor and thus avoid the water to penetrate inside the temple existed for years, but nobody dared to do it. The Quraysh were subdivided in four big tribes, to which the inhabitants of Mecca united themselves. The demolition of one of the four sides of the building was entrusted to each tribe. The reparation of the ceiling was in charge of the Banu Gumash and the Banu Sahm. It was decided to start to work together. Therefore, if God punished the reconstruction, punishment would fall equal upon all. The workers got there with picks all four days. They stayed far away from the temple and nobody dared to start working. On the fith day, Walid, son of Mugirah and head of the Benu Bahzum, came by and said: “People, this decision did not need to be taken, but you have taken it; it is necessary to go on with it. God knows of our intentions with the temple”. The others answered: “You are the oldest one. You start”. Walid took the pick, got close to the wall on the part assigned to the Banu Mahzum: “Lord, You know what we intend with this destruction: to rebuild the temple more solid than it is now.” Then, he chipped a piece of wall with the pick and made a big hole. The remaining workers looked from afar and nobody dared to come closer. Walid moved away, and the others imitated him. After Walid passed the night without problems, everyone demolished the part that was his job. It was demolished to the ground.
Then they went as deep as the height of a person. They found a green stone that offered resistance to the action of iron and that belonged to the foundations of the temple according to the Qur'an (II.121). When they realized they could not go on with the excavation, they piled up stones above the foundations, as can be seen nowadays, and they lifted the basement to the height of a person above the ground. After that they started to raise the walls. This way, they were sure that the water would not damage the walls. They rebuild four walls of the same height than the first ones, each one with the same type of stone. They fitted the stones together likewise above the ceiling. Then, they placed the same iron door covered with golden sheets that had been manufactured by 'Abd al-Mutalib and that exists until today.
When it was time to put the black stone in the same place where the first one was, the four Quraysh tribes competed for that honour. Each tribe expected to have more rights to do it than the other ones, alleging bigger nobility, fame and power among the Arabs. The elderly men of the four groups met in assembly inside the mosque. The black stone was in front of them. Each party asserted its glory and that of their grandparents. Some said: “Well, your ancestors had fought on that day of the war on that era, our nobility is superior.” Others alleged their own nobility and that of their family and their origin. These conversations lasted for four or five days. The elderly men met every day and repeated the same things; they accused each other of being liars. They insulted themselves and threw stones of the temple at each other. The dispute threatened to turn into an armed fight. Fearing this, Walid, chief because of his age, exhorted the elderly men to end the quarrels in order to avoid a civil war, and suggested: “Let's agree on having the first person who walks inside the temple as a referee, and accept his decision.” All assented and compromised themselves by oath. They were speaking when Muhammed appeared from far away; they shouted: “Let us call al-Amin as referee.” Muhammad sat among them and they put him up to date with what had been decided, telling him that they would accept his decision. “You will choose the one that will have the honour of putting the black stone on its place.”
Muhammad took off the cloak and spread it on the floor. He put the black stone in the middle and said: “Each of the four parties will take a corner of the cloak and lift it to the level of the temple wall; thus, all of you will participate in the honour.” Happy to end the dispute, they all grabbed their end of the cloak and lifted it to the height of the wall, with the black stone in the middle of it. “Who will take the black stone now to put it in the place it has to take up in the wall?” Muhammad said: “Now that all of you have the honour of having lifted the stone, reach an agreement on who shall place it.” They designated Muhammad unanimously, who took the stone with his hands and put it in the wall, in the place it should take up.
Construction of the temple was finished. Only the roof was missing. During that time there was no wood nor were there carpenters in Mecca. A trade ship carrying wood tied up in Yeddah. The inhabitants of Mecca purchased the load, and a Copt carpenter who had settled in town was put in charge of construction.
According to another tradition, also passed on by Tabari, Negus, the King of Abyssinia, wanted to build a church by his name in Antioch, Syria. He told someone to budget the expense and the necessary amount of wood, and that he collected all the wood of big and small size, already cut and ready to use in the building work; he loaded a bigger quantity than needed of it on a big ship. He embarked skilful carpenters and an inspector with enough money. He made them leave for Syria, to build the church. In Syria there was an abundance of wood, but the King of Abyssinia wanted to use his own wood on a whim typical of kings. The ship ran aground next to Gedda. The wood was left floating. The people of the ship climbed on it and the wind took them to Gedda, where they arrived. They collected and took to land all the wood that was floating on the sea. When the inhabitants of Mecca knew what had happened, Abu Talib and the elderly men of the cities went to Gedda and asked the inspector to buy the wood at whatever price he wanted. They told him: “Sell us the wood and lend us the carpenters for a salary you set. We are rebuilding the temple of the Ka’aba, a temple that was raised to God by Abraham.” The inspector answered: “Wait until I receive orders of the King.” He chartered a ship and sent a messenger with a letter for Negus and told him what had happened; he asked him if he should go back again to Syria. Lastly, he told him about the offer of the inhabitants of Mecca. Negus answered the inspector: “I give all the wood for the temple of the Ka’aba. Go to Mecca with the carpenters; take care of the building of the temple and balance the money you have with the expenses of construction.” The inspector did all of this and then came back.
Muhammad Ibn Garir al-Tabari end his description of the reconstruction of the Ka’aba stating that the temple still exists today as it was built, except for one point that was destroyed by a war machine of Haggag, son of Yusuf, who rebuilt it as it was before. It is the war at the end of the 6th century, when general Haggag defeated Ibn al-Zubayr, who had settled down in Mecca. He remembers once again that during the time of the reconstruction of the building, Muhammad was 35 years old, and that he was ordered his prophetic mission by the age of 40.
The account points out that the Prophet was a profoundly religious man and related to the Ka’aba before his mission. It also proves the good relationship of Negus with Syria and the inhabitants of Mecca. This is the Ka’aba known and frequented by Muhammad.
Physical appearance of Muhammad
Muhammad Ibn Garir al-Tabari [2a] has described the appearance of the Prophet. His source is Ali. He was of medium height. His skin was rosy. His eyes black. His hair was thick, brilliant and beautiful. A thick beard surrounded his face. His neck was white. From chest to navel ran a line of black hair, so fine that one would say it was drawn with a pen. He has no hair on the lower part of the body. He had a round head, neither big nor small. His feet and hands were well proportioned, neither too thick nor too thin. The back was plump and strong. He had a lump on his back the size of a dirham, surrounded by hair, not scarce in number, but rather thick. His footsteps were so secure as to say his feet were made of stone, and at the same time, so nimble it looked as if he was flying. He did not walk with arrogance, as princes use to do. His face was so sweet that it was impossible to give up on it when in front of him.
Everybody forgot his pains when in front of him, fascinated by the sweetness of his face and his conversation. Those who saw him admitted to never have met him before. He was a fascinating interlocutor. He had a straight nose and loose hair, sometimes tied up. At the age of 63 he had only fifteen hairs, and somewhere in between ten and twenty white beard hairs. There was no man on Earth with such a kind, generous and brave character.
The grave of Muhammad
Muhammad Ibn Garir al-Tabari [3a] describes the funerals and the grave of the Prophet. The historian has looked up several sources, something which gives a good description of how he writes History. It has been passed on that the funeral washing of the Prophet, who died on Monday, took place on Tuesday, at the time of prayer.
Another source says that his body was left without care during Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until the time of prayer. Abu Bakr feared that the body might rot. Inside the chamber, he got next to the Prophet, unveiled his face and kissed it. The body gave off a soft perfume. Abu Bakr lent over his face and said: “You, whom I love more than father and mother, exhale such a soft smell, dead as well as alive.” He heard the Prophet say that his closest relatives ought to be the ones who washed him. He called Abbas and Ali. Abbas and two of shis sons, Fade and Quitam, and Ali arrived together, and Abu Bakr told them to wash the corpse and ordered two Freedmen of the Prophet, Suqran and Usamah, son of Zayd, to help them. He sat in fronto f the door with the Muhagar and the Ansar. Abu Bakr told Aws to go help wash the Prophet. Aws walked into the house.
Ali placed the body of the Prophet on the washboard, without taking off the dress he was wearing at the moment of death, and poured the water that Suqran and Usamah were giving him in between dress and body. Fade, son of Abbas, and his brother Qutam, turned the corpse and Ali washed it, while Abbas and Aws stayed away and watched. Once this operation was finished, they wrapped up the body with three shrouds, two of white cloth and one of stripped cloth from Yemen, all three seemless; they sprinkled it with perfumes and performed all the operations of the place for the grave.
The gravedigger of Medina, called Abu Talhah, was told to come with Ansar, to dig the grave. Opinions on where the dig the grave differed; some wanted it in the mosque; others defended that it was necessary to bury the Prophet in Baqi al-Garqad, the Muslim cemetery. Abu Bakr said: “I have understood that the apostle of God says a Prophet shall be buried there where he was inspired.” Therefore, his deathbed was discarded, and it was dug in the chamber of A’isah, next to the mosque. When the grave was dug, the body was placed next to it. People came in groups to pray for him, without anybody guiding the prayer. Then, all the Ansar and the Muhagir appeared, including women and children, and they spent there all day and half the night. The Prophet was buried at midnight. Some support the idea that the funeral washing and the prayers were held on Tuesday, and the burial on Wednesday night. Others defend that the ceremonies took place on Thursday and during Friday night.
The Prophet had a shawl that in Arabia was made of camel hair, thicker than the softest tapestries. Suqran the freedman took this shawl and threw it inside the grave, next to the Prophet, saying: “By God, nobody after you will lay upon this shawl.” Ali, Fadl, Qutam and Suqran all descended into the grave, which the Muslims were crowding. The last one to get up was Ali. Then they covered it with sand. Mugirah was one of those who stood next to the grave. Then he pretended to have been the last one to see the face of the Prophet, when Ali got out and they wanted to cover him; to have let his ring fall and yelling: “Do not throw sand yet, let me find my ring!”; to have descended inside the grave; to have uncovered the face of the Prophet; to have gazed at it, and then recovered it, and to get up without worrying for his ring. When questioned about this episode, Ali declared: “Mugirah lies, I would not have dared to do such a thing.”
Sources do not agree on the age of the Prophet at the moment of his death. Some state he was 63, that he started his mission at 40, and that he still lived afterwards ten years in Mecca and ten in Medina. This is the most credible tradition. Others pretend he was 65, but this is not true. Others say he was 60 when he died. All sources match up in some aspects; that the Prophet was born on Monday; that he was entrusted to place the Black Stone in the temple wall when he was 16 or 17; that it was Monday when he did the Hijra to Mecca; that he arrived to Medina on Monday and that he died on Monday.
The Ka’aba and the centre of the world
Muhammad taught that the Ka’aba had not only been erected by Abraham and by his son Ismael, but that it symbolized the centre of the world, which developed itself afterwards following the Jerusalem model. It had been built two thousand years before the creation of the world. The body of Adam had been modelled near the Ka’aba. The substance of the body of Muhammad would have been gathered in the centre of the world, which was in Mecca. Muslim mystics and Muslim theosophists have always interpreted the symbolism of the Ka’aba [4a]. Adam himself went on pilgrimage to Mecca. The terrestrial Ka’aba temple corresponds to its celestial archetype. According to a tradition that goes back to the 6th Imam, Ja’far al-Sadiq, when Adam became God again, angel Gabriel took it to the future location of the temple. Gabriel ordered Adam to trace a furrow with his foot, which should delimit the Ka’aba temple perimeter. The Black Stone, according to other traditions, would relate to the first pilgrimage of Adam to the Ka’aba. The Ka’aba would be then the centre of the terrestrial world and the centre of the spiritual universe.
According to traditional spirituality teachings of Islam, there are two types of pilgrimage: the pilgrimage of the faithful to the Ka’aba, and the pilgrimage of those initiated in mysticism. The temple of the Ka’aba around which the pilgrims did their ritual circumambulations, is a celestial archetype, as is the ritual. The stages of Adam’s pilgrimage to Mecca are these: Gabriel takes Adam to Mina, a valley near Mecca; from Mina they go to Arafat, a mountain twelve miles away from Mecca, just like pilgrims do nowadays; Adam arrives in Mozdalifa, a hill located between Arafat ans Mecca; they take the road to Mecca. The rites Adam did are the same that pilgrims do today. They have a spiritual significance; the angel leads Adam to the temple and orders him to do the seven turns.
[1a] S. Noja, G. Buzzi, Muhammad Ibn al-Tabari, Vita di Mahometo, Milan, 1992, 53-57.
[2a] S. Noja, G. Buzzi, op. cit., 372-374.
[3a] S. Noja, G. Buzzi, op. cit., 390-393.
[4a] H. Corbin, La configuration du temple de la Ka’aba comme secret de la vie spirituelle d’après l’oeuvre de Qâzî Sa’îd Qommî (1103/1691), Eranos-Jahrbuch 1965, 79-166.
