The Hajar al-Aswad pillar is the southeast corner of the Ka'ba building. The structure of the Ka'ba is quadrangular, and each corner is called a rukn, and the sum of the four corners is referred to as the pillars of the Ka'ba. Hajar al-Aswad pillar, which is located in the southeast of the Ka'ba, is the starting point of the tawaf, and at a height of one and a half meters, the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) is situated there. Therefore, it is known as Rukn Hajar al-Aswad or Rukn al-Aswad.
Location
Rukn Hajar al-Aswad is located in the southeast of the Kaaba and is the starting point of the tawaf (circumambulation).(1)Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, 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. At a height of one and a half meters, the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) is located.(2) Kurdī,Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 3, p. 236. , Ibrāhīm Rafʿat Pāshā. Mirʾāt al-ḥaramayn, aw, al-raḥlāt al-ḥijāziyya wa al-ḥaj wa mashāʿirihi al-dīniyya, vol. 1, p. 264. Rukn Hajar al-Aswad is more famous than the other corners of the Kaaba. This corner is the closest to the entrance door of the Kaaba and is located opposite the Zamzam well. Facing Rukn Hajar al-Aswad is the well-known Mount Abu Qubais.(3) al-Maqdisī al-Bashārī, Aḥsan al-taqāsīm fī maʿrifat al-aqālīm, p. 72. "The distance from Rukn Hajar al-Aswad to Rukn Iraqi is 11.68 meters, and to Rukn Yamani is more than 10 meters.(4) Khārazmī, al-. Ithara al-targhīb , vol. 1, p. 227. , Ibn Rusta,Al-Aʿlāq al-nafīsa, p. 30. Rukn Hajar al-Aswad is in the direction of the qibla for the southern regions of Hijaz and the countries of Australia, India, and China, which are aligned with this corner.(5) , Ibrāhīm Rafʿat Pāshā. Mirʾāt al-ḥaramayn, aw, al-raḥlāt al-ḥijāziyya wa al-ḥaj wa mashāʿirihi al-dīniyya, vol. 1, p. 264.
Other Names
Some refer to Rukn Hajar al-Aswad as the Eastern Corner (Rukn al-Sharqi).(6) Ibn Jubayr, Riḥla Ibn Jubayr, p. 53. At times, both Rukn Hajar al-Aswad and Rukn Yamani are referred to as Rukn Yamani due to their location in the direction of Yemeni territory.(7) Qalashqandī,Ṣubḥ al-aʿshā, vol. 4, p. 258. The term 'Rukn' alone is frequently used to refer to Rukn Hajar al-Aswad, and in many contexts, 'Rukn' essentially means the Black Stone.(8) Fākihī,Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih, vol. 1, p. 134. , Kurdī,Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 3, p. 236. , Qazwīnī, Āthār al-bilād wa-akhbār al-ʿibād , p. 118.
Receiving
Receiving" refers to touching and laying hands on something. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) paid special attention to both Rukn Hajar al-Aswad and Rukn Yamani, advising his companions to respect them and perform their specific rituals and acts. He considered touching them (Estelam) a means for the forgiveness of sins.(9) Fākihī,Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih, vol. 1, p. 127. , Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, vol. 1, p. 331. , Khārazmī, al-. Ithara al-targhīb , vol. 1, p. 258. "In some Sunni sources, the practice of touching Rukn Hajar al-Aswad (Estelam) is considered recommended (mustahabb).(10) Kurdī,Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 3, p. 255. "Additionally, a number of Shia jurists, based on narrations, have considered touching Rukn Hajar al-Aswad and the other corners to be recommended (mustahabb).(11) Ṭūsī, Al-Istibṣār fīmā ikhtalafa min al-akhbār ,vol. 2, p. 216. , Ṭūsī,Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid wa-silāḥ al-mutʿabbid, p. 681. , Ibn Idrīs, Al-Sarāʾir al-ḥāwī li-taḥrīr al-fatāwī, vol. 1, p. 572.
Prayers of the Prophet
According to sources, the Prophet (PBUH) would whisper or recommend certain prayers between Rukn Hajar al-Aswad and Rukn Yamani, such as: "O Allah, our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire" and "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief and poverty.(12) ) Fākihī,Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih, vol. 1, p. 145. Among these prayers are. "Also, numerous prayers and invocations from the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions have been mentioned during the performance of the Rukn (pillar), such as:
'In the name of Allah, and Allah is the greatest.(13) Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, vol. 1, p. 339.
"In the name of Allah, and Allah is the greatest; upon what Allah has guided us. There is no god but Allah, He alone, without partner. I believe in Allah and disbelieve in the Taghut.(13) Azraqī, Akhbār Makka, vol. 1, p. 339. "In the name of Allah, and Allah is the greatest, in faith in Allah and affirming the response of Muhammad, peace be upon him.(14) ) Kurdī,Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 3, p. 257.
Notes
References
• Azraqī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Akhbār Makka. Qom: Maktaba al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, [n.d] • Kurdī, Muḥammad Ṭāhir. Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm. Beirut: : Dār al- Khiḍr, 1420 AH. • Ibn Jubayr, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Riḥla Ibn Jubayr. Beirut: Dār al-Maktaba al-Hilāl, 1986. • Ibrāhīm Rafʿat Pāshā. Mirʾāt al-ḥaramayn, aw, al-raḥlāt al-ḥijāziyya wa al-ḥaj wa mashāʿirihi al-dīniyya. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, [n.d]. . Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Maqdisī al-Bashārī, Aḥsan al-taqāsīm fī maʿrifat al-aqālīm, Cairo, Maktabat Madbūlī, 1411 AH. • Khārazmī, Muḥammad b. Isḥāq al-. Ithara al-targhīb. Mecca: Maktabat Nazār Muṣṭafā al-Bāz, 1418 AH. .Qalashqandī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Ṣubḥ al-aʿshā. Cairo: 1383 AH-1963. • Fākihī, Muḥammad b. Isḥāq. Akhbār Makka fī qadīm al-dahr wa ḥaīthih. Beirut: Dār al- Khiḍr, 1414 AH. .Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā b. Muḥammad al-. *Āthār al-bilād wa-akhbār al-ʿibād*. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1998 CE. .Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al- (Shaykh Ṭūsī). *Al-Istibṣār fīmā ikhtalafa min al-akhbār*. Edited by Sayyid Ḥasan Mūsawī al-Khurasān. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1363 SH. .Ibn Rusta, Aḥmad b. ʿUmar. *Al-Aʿlāq al-nafīsa*. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1892 CE. .Sibāʿī, Aḥmad al-. *Tārīkh Makka*. Mecca: Maktabat Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1420 AH. .Ibn Idrīs, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. *Al-Sarāʾir al-ḥāwī li-taḥrīr al-fatāwī*. Qom: Intishārāt al-Islāmī, 1410 AH. .Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al- (Shaykh Ṭūsī). *Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid wa-silāḥ al-mutʿabbid*. Edited by Ismāʿīl Anṣārī Zanjānī, prepared by ʿAlī Aṣghar Marwārīd. Beirut: Fiqh al-Shīʿa, 1411 AH. .Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.