The pillars of the Ka'ba: Difference between revisions

'''The pillars of the Kaaba''' are the four corners of this structure, each of which is positioned towards one of the four directions, namely east, west, north, and south. These corners are referred to as "Rukn" (plural: Arkan). Specifically, these corners are named as follows: Rukn al-Hajar al-Aswad (Eastern Corner), Rukn al-Shami (Western Corner), Rukn al-Iraqi (Northern Corner), and Rukn al-Yamani (Southern Corner).

==View==

The overall view of the Kaaba reveals a four-sided structure with four corners (square), each of which is called a pillar, and collectively they are known as the pillars of the Kaaba. Each of these pillars also has alternative names. For instance, each pillar is referred to by the name of a specific region towards which it faces: the Iraqi pillar, the Shami pillar, and the Yemeni pillar.

<ref>Ṣabrī Pāshā, Ayyūb. ''Mawsūʿa mirʾāt al-ḥaramayn'', vol. 2, p. 264.</ref>

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]].

==Iraqi Pillar==

{{Main Article: Rukn al-Iraqi}}

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>

==Shami Pillar==

{{Main Article: Rukn al-Shami}}

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>

==Yamani Pillar==

{{Main Article: Rukn al-Yamani}}

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>  

According to narrations, an angel is present at Rukn al-Yamani who says "Amen" to the prayers of the believers. Additionally, this angel conveys the believers' blessings upon the Prophet to him.<ref>Kulaynī, ''Al-Kāfī'', vol. 4, p. 408.</ref>

The section of the Kaaba's wall near this corner is known as Al-[[Mustajar]].