625 – From Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both): “He used to kiss the Black Stone and prostrate upon it.” Al-Ḥākim transmitted it with a chain traced back to the Prophet, whereas al-Bayhaqī recorded it as a Companion report (1).

Hadith grading: The report is weak.

Kissing the Black Stone is authentically established in the Two Ṣaḥīḥs through the narration of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, traced back to the Prophet ﷺ. As for prostration upon it, al-Ḥākim and al-Bayhaqī related it with a connected chain from Ibn ʿAbbās as a marfūʿ report, and they also narrated it from him mawqūf. Al-Dhahabī preferred the mawqūf judgment in al-Mīzān. The report was likewise transmitted by al-Ṭayālisī, al-Dārimī, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn al-Sakan, and al-Bazzār through the route of Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd Allāh — from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād ibn Jaʿfar — from Ibn ʿAbbās, as a marfūʿ narration.

Al-ʿUqaylī remarked that the report of Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd Allāh contains mistakes and inconsistencies.

Points derived from the report

1. It is recommended to kiss the Black Stone at the beginning of tawaf (circumambulation) and each time one comes in line with it during tawaf. This practice is firmly established by sound hadiths, among them the narration of ʿUmar found in the Two Ṣaḥīḥs.
2. The present athar (Companion report) appears to endorse prostration on the Black Stone; however, its attribution to the Prophet is not sound, and it is therefore insufficient to prescribe such an act. Acts of worship are dependent upon explicit textual proof, and the default regarding them is prohibition unless their legitimacy is established by Allah or His Messenger ﷺ. For this reason Imām Mālik is reported to have said that prostrating on the Black Stone is an innovation.