Ibn Jarīr (1) said: “In that same year al-Ḥajjāj dismantled the portion of the Kaʿbah that Ibn al-Zubayr had rebuilt and returned it to its original form.”

I say: al-Ḥajjāj did not tear down the whole structure of the Kaʿbah. He merely demolished the northern (Shāmī) wall so as to push the Ḥijr outside the House, then sealed the opening and placed the surplus stones inside the Kaʿbah. The other three walls remained as they were, and for that reason the two doors (2)—east and west—were left level with the ground, as can be seen to this very day. He did, however, completely block the western door and filled in the lower part of the eastern door so that it stood raised, just as it had been in the Age of Ignorance.

Neither al-Ḥajjāj nor ʿAbd al-Malik possessed the prophetic knowledge that had reached Ibn al-Zubayr from his aunt ʿĀʾishah about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said:

“Were it not that your people have only recently left unbelief—in another wording: the Age of Ignorance—I would demolish the Kaʿbah, incorporate the Ḥijr within it, give it an eastern door and a western door, and set both doors at ground level. Your people ran short of funds, so they did not include the Ḥijr, nor did they build it on the foundations of Abraham, and they raised its door so they might admit whom they pleased and bar whom they pleased.” (3)

When Ibn al-Zubayr gained control he rebuilt it in exactly that manner. Later, when this report reached ʿAbd al-Malik, he said, “We wish we had left it as Ibn al-Zubayr fashioned it.”

In that same year al-Muhallab ibn Abī Ṣufrah was placed in command of the war against the Azāriqah. ʿAbd al-Malik had written to his brother Bishr ibn Marwān, ordering him to dispatch al-Muhallab against the Khārijites with forces drawn from Basra and Kūfa. Bishr, who harbored resentment toward al-Muhallab because the caliph had singled him out in his letter, could do nothing but obey and invest him with overall command for this campaign, though he himself retained no authority. Privately, however, he instructed the Kufan commander, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (4) ibn Mukhnif, to assume full control instead of al-Muhallab and to disregard his counsel and opinions.

Al-Muhallab set out with the people of Basra, the commanders of the four divisions marching in their positions, until they encamped at Rāmhormoz. They had stayed there only ten days (5) when news arrived of Bishr ibn Marwān’s death in Basra and that he had appointed Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allah as his successor. A portion of the army then broke away and returned to Basra. Messengers were sent after them to bring them back, and Khālid ibn ʿAbd Allah wrote to the deserters threatening them with the wrath of ʿAbd al-Malik if they did not return to their commander.

They therefore turned aside and sought permission from ʿAmr ibn Ḥurayth to proceed to Kūfa. He wrote back: “You have abandoned your commander and returned rebellious and disobedient; you have no permission, no imām, and no guarantee of safety.” When that reply reached them they went back to their baggage [mounted their animals and set off for another region] and remained concealed there until al-Ḥajjāj arrived [as governor] over Iraq in place of Bishr ibn Marwān, as will be detailed shortly.