What may lawfully be touched and what may not.

168 – It is soundly reported from the Prophet ﷺ, from his Companions, and from the Successors that they would touch only the two Yemeni corners. They did not wipe any of the other sides of the House, nor did they wipe the Station of Abraham that stands there; so how could it be permissible to wipe what is merely claimed to be the Station of Abraham in some distant spot, or the purported stations of other prophets and righteous people?

169 – Allah says: “They said, ‘Do not abandon your gods; do not abandon Wadd, nor Suwāʿ, nor Yaghūth, Yaʿūq and Nasr.’” (Nūḥ 23)

170 – Groups of Companions and Successors explained: “These were righteous men among the people of Noah. When they died, their people kept to their graves; after a long interval they fashioned their images, and that was the beginning of idol-worship.”¹

171 – For this reason the Prophet ﷺ said—as Mālik relates in the Muwaṭṭaʾ²—“O Allah, do not allow my grave to become an idol that is worshiped.”