The pillars of the Ka'ba: Difference between revisions

==The Hajar al-Aswad Pillar==

The eastern pillar, known as the pillar of the Black Stone (Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad), is the starting point of the Tawaf. This pillar is located in the southeast of the [[Ka'ba]].<ref>Azraqī, '' Akhbār Makkah'', Vol. 1, p. 65; Kurdī,''Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm'', vol.3, p. 236; Ibn Jubayr,''Riḥla Ibn Jubayr'', p. 53.</ref>  

This corner is situated in the southeast of the Kaaba. It is the closest corner to the entrance door of the Kaaba and faces the [[Well of Zamzam]]. Opposite Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad lies the well-known [[Mount Abu Qubais]].<ref>Maqdisī al-Bashārī, '' Aḥsan al-taqāsīm fī maʿrifat al-aqālīm'', p. 72.</ref> The section of the Kaaba's wall near this corner is called [[Al-Multazam]].

==The Iraqi Pillar==

Rukn al-Iraqi is the second corner of the Kaaba encountered during the circumambulation (Tawaf),<ref>Baghdādī, ''Marāṣid al-ʾiṭṭlāʿ ʿlā ʾasmāʾi al-amkina wa al-buqāʿ'', vol. 2, p. 629; Fārisī al-Aṣṭakhrī, ''Al-Masālik wa al-mamālik'', p. 16.</ref>

following Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad and preceding Rukn al-Shami. It is situated towards the [[Bab al-Umrah]] (Umrah Gate).<ref>Marjānī, '' Bahjat al-nufūs wa al-asrār'', vol. 2, p. 763; Kurdī,''Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm'', vol. 3, p. 248; Ibn Baṭūṭa,''Al-Raḥla Ibn Baṭūṭa'', vol. 1, p. 374.</ref>  

This corner is named Rukn al-Iraqi due to its orientation towards [[Iraq]] and the fact that it faces the qibla for the people of Iraq.<ref>Ṭūsī, '' Muṣbaḥ al-mutahajjid wa silāḥ al-mutaʿabbid'', p. 27; Ibn Ṭāwūs, ''Falāḥ al-sāʾil wa najāḥ al-masāʾil fī ʿamal al-yawm wa al-layl'', p. 129; Shurrāb,'' Al-Ma'ālim al-Athīrah fī al-Sunnah wa al-Sīrah'', p. 129.</ref>

==The Shami Pillar==

Rukn al-Shami is the third corner of the Kaaba encountered during the circumambulation [[(Tawaf)]]. .<ref>Qalqashandī,''Ṣubḥ al-Aʿshá fī ṣināʿat al-inshā'', vol. 4, p. 258; Muʿtamid al-Dawlah, '' Safarnāmah-i Farhād Mīrzā'', p. 257; Kurdī,''Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm'', vol. 3, p. 247-248.</ref>

] It follows Rukn al-Iraqi and precedes Rukn al-Yamani. This corner is situated towards the [[Bab al-Ziyada]] (Increase Gate).<ref>Khwārazmī, ''Iṣārat al-targhīb wa al-tashwīq ilá al-masājid al-thalātha wa al-bayt al-ʿatīq'', vol. 1, p.  289-290; Marjānī, '' Bahjat al-nufūs wa al-asrār'', vol. 2, p. 763; Ibn Baṭūṭa,''Al-Raḥla Ibn Baṭūṭa'', vol. 1, p. 374.</ref>

==The Yamani Pillar==

Rukn al-Yamani, according to the circumambulation (Tawaf) route, is recognized as the fourth and final corner of the Kaaba, preceding Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad.<ref>Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī,'' Muʿjam al-buldān'', vol. 4, p. 465; Ibn Baṭūṭa,'' Al-Raḥla Ibn Baṭūṭa'', vol. 1, p. 374; Muʿtamid al-Dawlah, '' Safarnāmah-i Farhād Mīrzā'', p. 375.</ref>

This corner (pillar) is situated on the southern side of the Kaaba, hence it is also known as the Southern Corner.<ref>Nāṣir Khusraw, ''Safarnāmah-i Nāṣir Khusraw'', p. 129; Burckhardt, ''Tarḥāl fī al-Jazīrah al-ʿArabīyah'', p. 176; Khalīlī, ''Mawsūʿat al-ʿAtābāt al-Muqaddasah'', vol. 2, p. 333.</ref>