‘Uthmān, who said: “I saw Muhammad ibn ‘Abbād ibn Ja‘far kiss the Stone and prostrate upon it. He then said, ‘I saw Ibn ‘Abbās kiss it and prostrate upon it.’ Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘I saw ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb kiss it and prostrate upon it. He then said, “I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, do this, so I did likewise.”’”
Al-Bayhaqī (1) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that he kissed the Corner and then prostrated upon it, then kissed it and prostrated upon it, repeating this three times.
He also related (2) from him: “I saw the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prostrate upon the Stone.”
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, touched none of the corners except the two Yemeni Corners. Al-Shāfi‘ī (3) said: “No one refrains from touching the two corners out of aversion to the House of Allah. Rather, he touches what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, touched, and refrains from what he refrained from.”
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When he finished his circumambulation, he went behind the Station of Abraham and recited:
“And a place of safety. And take the Station of Abraham as a place of prayer.” [al-Baqarah: 125]
He then prayed two units of prayer, with the Station between him and the House, reciting after al-Fātihah the two surahs of sincerity, al-Kāfirūn and al-Ikhlās. By reciting this verse, he explained through his actions—peace and blessings be upon him—the meaning of the Quran and what Allah intended by it. When he finished his prayer, he went to the Black Stone and touched it. He then went out to al-Safā through the door facing it. As he drew near (4) to it, he recited: