Rather, Ibn al-Zubayr had rebuilt the Kaʿba upon the very foundations laid by Abraham, lowered it to ground level, and furnished it with two doors, in keeping with what ʿĀʾisha had reported to him from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said:

“Had your people not only recently emerged from the Age of Ignorance, I would have demolished the Kaʿba, set it flush with the ground, and given it two doors—one for people to enter and another for them to exit.”

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had also pointed out to ʿĀʾisha that a portion of the Hijr—about seven cubits at the point where the wall curves—is actually part of the House. When Quraysh rebuilt the Kaʿba, their funds proved insufficient, so they left that section outside and raised the walls higher.

When Ibn al-Zubayr came to power, he consulted the people about his intended reconstruction. Some deemed it beneficial, while others advised him against it, saying,

“This is the very Kaʿba that stood in the lifetime of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and it is upon seeing it in this form that the people embraced Islam.”

That was the opinion of Ibn ʿAbbās and a group of scholars.

The jurists have since differed on the matter. Some, following Ibn ʿAbbās, hold that the Kaʿba should remain as it is; this is also the view of Mālik and others. It is said that the caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd consulted Mālik about rebuilding it as Ibn al-Zubayr had, but Mālik advised him not to, reasoning that such changes would open the door to the sanctity of the Kaʿba being undermined by the divergent wishes of successive rulers—one wishing to tear it down to rebuild it as Ibn al-Zubayr did, another determined to return it to its former state.