He then climbed up and proclaimed,
“O Allah, be not alarmed;¹ O Allah, our only aim is good.”
Next he began to dismantle the side between the two corners, while the people waited through the night, saying, “We shall see: if he is struck by any harm, we will not remove another stone but will restore the structure as it was; if nothing happens to him, then Allah has approved our demolition.”
At daybreak al-Walīd returned to his task, tore more down, and the people worked with him until the demolition reached the foundation—the very foundation laid by Abraham, peace be upon him. They uncovered green stones, interlocked like spearheads; in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, however, Yazīd ibn Rumān describes them as “like the humps of camels.”²
Al-Suhaylī comments: “I believe the Sīrah’s reading—‘like spearheads’³—is a mistake; Allah knows best.”
Ibn Isḥāq⁴ relates that one of the Quraysh who was taking the structure apart inserted a crowbar⁵ between two of its stones to pry one loose. When the stone moved, the whole of Mecca trembled, so they left that foundation untouched.
Mūsā ibn ʿUqba reports that ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās said the early generations of Quraysh used to recount how, when they gathered to remove the stones and reached the foundation of Abraham and Ishmael, peace be upon them, one of the men lifted a stone from the original foundation without realizing what it was. The people then saw a flash of light beneath the stone that almost blinded the man; the stone sprang from his hand, fell back into place, and both he and the builders were seized with fear.
Once the stone had covered what lay beneath it by settling back into position, they resumed their building, saying, “Do not disturb this stone, nor anything beside it.”
(1) In al-Suhaylī’s al-Rawd (vol. 1, p. 225): “Allahumma lam tur’a” is a formula uttered to calm fear and to convey gentleness and kindness in speech. There is no actual fear to deny in this context, but the expression signals the intent to show kindness, hence its use. Accordingly, it is permissible in Islam, even though it mentions “fear,” which cannot apply to the Divine; since the intended meaning is as stated, its utterance is allowed. It is also reported as “Allahumma lam nazigh,” which is clear and unproblematic, meaning “O Allah, we have not turned aside from Your religion.” This variant is transmitted by Ibn Hishām.
(2) Ibn Hajar al-Asqalānī, Fath al-Bārī, hadith no. 1586, chapter “The Virtue of Mecca and Its Construction” (Book of Hajj).
(3) In the Cairo and Ṭ editions it reads “ka-al-ilsina” (“like tongues”), a scribal error. The correct reading in al-Rawd (vol. 1, p. 228) is “kal-asina,” and this does not belong to the Sīrah but reflects a misunderstanding by some transmitters from Ibn Isḥāq. Allah knows best.
(4) Ibn Isḥāq, Sīrah, p. 85; Ibn Hishām, Sīrah, vol. 1, p. 195 (same wording).
(5) atila (“the massive iron staff”): a large iron rod with a flattened head resembling a sword’s quba (pommel), used by builders to demolish walls. The quba is the metal fitting—silver or iron—at the tip of the sword’s handle into which the blade’s tang is inserted. (Roots: atil, quba.)
(6) The Cairo and Ṭ editions and the Sirahs of Ibn Isḥāq and Ibn Hishām read tanqadat (“it was displaced”); the Ḥalabī Sīrah (vol. 1, p. 142) has tanfadat (“it moved”); Sharḥ al-Mawāhib (vol. 1, p. 246) reads tanaghisat. The preferred reading is tanaghadda—using gh and d—meaning “it trembled.” This is supported by al-Nihāyah (vol. 5, p. 87) under “naghd” and by the hadith of Ibn al-Zubayr: when the Kaʿbah burned, it “naghdat” (trembled and sagged).
(7) The phrase is omitted in the Ṭ edition, although present in the h edition.