The Gutter of the Ka'ba
 | |
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Other Names | Mizab al-Dhahab, Mizab al-Rahma |
| Place | North side of Ka'ba, on Hijr Ismail side |
| Usage | Directing the water from the roof of the Ka'ba down |
| History | |
| Founder | Quraysh |
The Gutter of the Ka'ba (in Arabic: ميزاب الكعبة) is a channel on the northern wall of the Ka'ba for draining rainwater from its roof. The gutter is located on the side of Hijr Ismail. The Quraysh were the first to build this gutter during the construction of the Ka'ba. This gutter has been reconstructed during various reigns.
Furthermore, in the sayings of the infallibles, the Gutter of the Ka'ba is introduced as a blessed place and a site of worship for the prophets and the Ahl al-Bayt. In Persian literature, poets such as Lari and Khaqani have composed poems about this gutter.
Location
The location of the Gutter of the Ka'ba is on its eastern side, where the rainwater from the roof of the Ka'ba flows into the Hijr Ismail. The Gutter of the Ka'ba is installed on the northern side, on the roof of the Ka'ba, and directs rainwater into the Hijr Ismail.[1]
Terminology
"Mizab" in Arabic means "gutter," and some believe that "mizab" has a Persian origin from the word "marzab," meaning a water channel or drainage.[2] This gutter is also known by the names "Mizab al-Dhahab" (Golden Gutter).[3] and "Mizab al-Rahma" (Gutter of Mercy).[4]
History
The Gutter of the Ka'ba has been replaced multiple times throughout history. The Ka'ba built by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (peace be upon him) did not have a roof.[5] Therefore, it did not require a gutter. Later, Qusayy b. Kilab built a wooden roof for the Ka'ba but did not include a gutter for the roof. The Quraysh, who constructed the first sturdy roof for the Ka'ba, also created a place for the rainwater to flow, directing the water into the Hijr Ismail.[6] "According to Mohammad Taher Kordi in the book 'Tareekh al-Qawim'[7] The history of the reconstruction of the Gutter of the Ka'ba is as follows: Here is the history of the reconstruction of the Gutter of the Ka'ba:
- In the year 64 AH/683-4, Ibn Zubayr reconstructed the Ka'ba and installed a gutter for it.
Additional details include:
- Hajjaj b. Yusuf made a gutter from brass for the roof of the Ka'ba.
- Walid b. Abd al-Malik plated a page with gold on this gutter.
- Reconstruction of the mizab in 539 AH/1144-5 by Ramshat, who was the builder of Ramshat Ribat in Mecca.
- Replacement of the gutter ordered by Caliph al-Muqtadir in 541 AH/1146-7.
- According to reports, Rameshah, one of the dignitaries of Mecca, ruled Mecca from 701/1301-2 to 746 AH/1345-6 and also constructed a gutter for the Ka'ba.
- Nasser al-Din Allah also constructed a gutter for the Ka'ba in 781 AH/1379-80, said to be made of wood and decorated with silver.
- In 959 AH/1552, Sultan Sulaiman Qanooni installed a silver gutter on the Ka'ba.
- In 962 AH/1554-5, it was replaced with a gold gutter.
- In 1021 AH/1612-3, Sultan Ahmed decorated it with gold and turquoise.
- In 1273 AH/1856-7, Sultan Abdul Majid constructed a gutter made of pure gold. This gutter, which used approximately 50 pounds of gold, remained on the Ka'ba until the time of Mohammad Taher Kordi's lifetime.[8]
In narrations
In the narrations, under the Gutter of the Ka'ba is described as the place where Gabriel stood to deliver messages to the Prophet and also as a place of worship for the Ahl al-Bayt.[9] It has been mentioned in the narrations.[10] Also, there are mentions in narrations about reciting supplications and prayers under the Gutter of the Ka'ba.[11]
The cause of healing for the sick
"In some narrations, the water that flows from the Gutter is described as having healing properties.[12]
In Persian literature
the Gutter of the Ka'ba is among the concepts that poets have composed poems about, such as Mahi Lari[13] and Khaqani, like:
"O you thirsty for the clouds of your mercy, like me at the lip of the Gutter of the Ka'ba... He seeks, blessed by the water of your hand, like a pilgrim from the Gutter of the Ka'ba."[14]
Notes
- ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka wa mā jāʾa fīhā min al-āthār, vol. 1, p. 291.
- ↑ Zubaydī, "Tāj al-ʿurūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs", vol. 1, p. 302.
- ↑ Ghaffārī, "Rāhnemā-ye Haramayn Sharīfayn", vol. 1, p. 178.
- ↑ Batnūnī, "Al-Riḥlah al-Ḥijāziyyah", p. 105. , Khalīlī, "Mawsūʿat al-ʿAtābāt al-Muqaddasah", vol. 2, p. 236.
- ↑ ʿĀmilī, " Wasāʾil al-Shīʿah", vol. 13, p. 211-214.
- ↑ Azraqī, Akhbār Makka wa mā jāʾa fīhā min al-āthār, vol. 1, p. 164.
- ↑ Kurdī, Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 4, p. 167- 169.
- ↑ Kurdī, Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm, vol. 4, p. 171.
- ↑ Nūrī, " Mustadrak al-wasāʾil", vol. 9, p. 427.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 557.
- ↑ Nūrī, " Mustadrak al-wasāʾil", vol. 3, p. 422. , Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 99, p. 230.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 6, p. 387. , Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 47, p. 122.
- ↑ Lārī, Fatūḥ al-Ḥaramayn, p. 45-46.
- ↑ Khāqānī, Dīvān Khāqānī, vol. 1, p. 516.
References
- ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Ḥurr. Wasāʾil al-Shīʿah. Qom: Muʾassasah Āl al-Bayt (ʿA) li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1416 AH.
- Azraqī, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Akhbār Makka wa mā jāʾa fīhā min al-āthār. Edited by Rushdī Ṣāliḥ Mulḥis. Beirut: 1403 AH.
- Batnūnī, Muḥammad Labīb. Al-Riḥlah al-Ḥijāziyyah. Cairo: Maṭbaʿat al-Jamālīyah, 1329 AH.
- Ghaffārī, Ibrāhīm. Rāhnemā-ye Haramayn Sharīfayn. Bījā, Usvah, 1370 SH.
- Khāqānī, Badīl ibn ʿAlī. Dīvān Khāqānī (Volume 1): Chāmahāhā va Tarkīb-bandhā. Edited by Mīr Jalāl al-Dīn Kuzāzī. Tehran: Nashr-e Markaz, 1375 SH.
- Khalīlī, Jaʿfar. Mawsūʿat al-ʿAtābāt al-Muqaddasah. Beirut: Muʾassasah al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1407 AH / 1987 CE.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1375 Sh.
- Kurdī, Muḥammad Ṭāhir. Al-Tārīkh al-qawīm li Makka wa bayt Allāh al-karīm. Beirut: : Dār al- Khiḍr, 1420 AH.
- Lārī, Muḥyi al-Dīn. Futūḥ al-Ḥaramayn. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥaddith. Tehran: Intishārāt-e Eṭlāʿāt, 1366 SH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Second edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Nūrī. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil. Beirut: Āl al-Bayt, 1408 AH.
- Shojāʿī, Muḥammad. Ḥajj dar āʾīneh-ye shāʿr-i Fārsī. 2nd edition. Tehran: Mašʿar, 1388 SH.
- Zubaydī, Sayyid Muḥammad Muṛtaḍā. Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs.Edited by ʿAlī Shīrī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr lil-Ṭibāʿah wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzīʿ, 1st edition, 1414 AH.