They went on arguing, forging alliances, and even preparing for battle. The Banū ʿAbd al-Dār produced a large bowl filled with blood; they and the Banū ʿAdiyy ibn Kaʿb ibn Luʾayy then pledged themselves to fight to the death, dipping their hands into the blood. Because of this they were called “the Blood-Lickers.” Quraysh remained in this impasse for four or five nights, after which they gathered in the Mosque, consulted together, and reached a compromise.

Some transmitters relate that Abū Umayyah ibn al-Mughīrah ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar ibn Makhzūm—who at that time was the oldest man among Quraysh—said, “People of Quraysh, let the first person to enter through the gate of this Mosque arbitrate in the matter over which you disagree.” They agreed, and the first to enter was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When they saw him they exclaimed, “This is the Trustworthy One! We accept his judgment—this is Muhammad!”

When he approached and they told him what had happened, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Bring me a cloak.” It was brought, and he placed the Stone in the cloak with his own hand. He then said, “Let every clan take hold of one edge of the cloak and lift it together.” They did so, and when they had raised it to its place he ﷺ set it in position with his own hand. The building was then completed. Quraysh used to call the Messenger of Allah ﷺ “al-Amīn—the Trustworthy.”

Imām Aḥmad relates: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad narrated to us; Thābit—meaning Abū Zayd—narrated to us; Hilāl—meaning Ibn Khabbāb—narrated to us; from Mujāhid, from his freedman al-Sāʾib ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said that he was among those who rebuilt the Kaʿbah in the pre-Islamic period. He said: “I had a stone that I had carved and used to worship instead of Allah. I would bring thick, sour milk—something I valued highly—and pour it over the stone. A dog would come, lick it up, then lift its leg and urinate. We continued building until we reached the spot where the Stone should be, and no one could see it. Suddenly it appeared among our stones, about the size of a man’s head, so clear that one could almost discern a human face on it. One clan of Quraysh said, ‘We will place it.’ Others said, ‘No, we will place it.’ They agreed, ‘Let the first man to appear from the mountain pass decide.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived and they said, ‘The Trustworthy One has come to you.’ They told him the matter, so he placed the Stone in a cloth, summoned the clans, they lifted its edges, and he ﷺ set it in place.”