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Qur'an Stories - Laying the Foundation
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Laying the Foundation
When Allah gave His command to Abraham
to build the Sacred House, Abraham immediately went to Mecca to carry out
Allah's injunction. When he arrived there, he said to his son Ishmael,
"Allah has given me a command, so what shall we do?" Ishmael replied, "Do
as Allah has commanded you." "Will you," said Abraham, "support me in it?"
Ishmael replied, "My support is with you." Thereupon Abraham, pointing
to a hill, said, "Allah has commanded me to build a shrine here."
Abraham and Ishmael set forth to lay the
foundation of the Sacred House. Ishmael brought the bricks while Abraham
laid them until the construction was erected. While engaged in the diligent
work of constructing the Holy Shrine, they kept praying to Allah, "Our
Lord! Accept (this service) from us: for Thou art the All-Hearing, the
All-Knowing. Our Lord!
Make of us Muslims bowing to Thy (Will); and show us our places for the
celebration of (due) rites; and turn unto us (in mercy); for Thou art the
Oft-Returning, most Merciful." They went
on until Allah helped them complete the building.
No authentic references state that the
Sacred House had been built before Abraham (peace be upon him). However,
some people argue that the Sacred House was built before Abraham, supporting
their argument by the Qur'anic verses, "Behold!
We gave the site, to Abraham, of the (Sacred) House." and "And
remember Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House,"
These verses suggest that the foundations and the site existed before Abraham.
Nevertheless, the sound view is that these verses mean that the location
and site of the Sacred House had been determined in Allah's Eternal Knowledge
the day He created the heavens and the earth. Thus the location of the
House had been known, but the actual process of construction was carried
out first by Abraham, the Close One to Allah, and his son, Ishmael (peace
be upon them both). Other stories related to the construction of the House
have been attributed to the Israelites. Such stories are not to be either
accepted or rejected, for the best knowledge is with Allah, the All-Knowing.
When Abraham, the Close One to Allah,
built the Sacred House, he made it according to the following specifications:
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Height: 9 cubits. |
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Length (from the Black Stone
to the Syrian Corner): 32 cubits. |
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Width (from the Syrian Corner
to the Western Corner): 22 cubits. |
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Length (from the Western Corner
to the Syrian Corner): 31 cubits. |
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Width (from the Yemeni Corner
to the Black Stone): 20 cubits. |
He made a door frame on the ground level,
but did not fix a door to it. It remained so until Tubba` of Himiar made
a door for the Sacred House. Abraham (peace be upon him) founded the House
on two pillars: the two Yemeni Corners. Next to the Black Stone, he did
not make any pillars, but built it in a half circle as it can be found
today. It has been found in some narrations that Abraham (peace be upon
him) built the Sacred House when he was one-hundred years old. Best knowledge
is with Allah.
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