Hadith 5

‘Abd Allah ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “I never saw the Prophet ﷺ touch any part of the House except the two Yemeni corners.”

Lexical Note
“al-Yamaniyyayn” (the two Yemeni corners) is a dual form derived from “Yemen” by predominance, just as “al-Qamaran” is used for the sun and the moon, “al-ʿUmaran” for Abu Bakr and ʿUmar, and “al-Abawān” for father and mother. The two corners meant are: 1) the Yemeni Corner, and 2) the Eastern Corner that contains the Black Stone.

Overall Meaning
The Kaʿbah has four corners. The Eastern Corner enjoys two virtues:

1. It still rests upon the foundations laid by Abraham (peace be upon him);
2. The Black Stone is set in it.

The Yemeni Corner possesses one virtue: it, too, stands on Abraham’s foundations.

The Levantine and Iraqi corners share neither merit, because the hijr (the semi-circular enclosure) was excluded from the Kaʿbah on their side, so their construction lies inside the original footprint of Abraham’s building.

For that reason, the law prescribes touching and kissing the Black Stone, and touching—without kissing—the Yemeni Corner. Concerning the remaining two corners, neither touching nor kissing is legislated. The Sharia is founded on following, not on inventing; Allah has placed wisdom and secrets in every ruling He decrees.

Points Derived from the Hadith

1. It is recommended to touch the two Yemeni corners.
   • For one performing tawaf, the preferred practice is to touch and kiss the Black Stone if this can be done without undue hardship. If that is not possible, he should touch it with his hand and then kiss his hand; if even that is impossible, he may touch it with a stick or similar object and kiss the object.
   • If touching it would harm him or others, he merely points toward it and does not kiss his hand.
   • As for the Yemeni Corner, he touches it if able; if unable, he does not point to it, for such a gesture is not established. Acts of worship rest on transmitted evidence.

Shaykh al-Islam said: The Yemeni Corner is not to be kissed according to the sound view. Nor is any other side of the House, the two northern corners, or the Station of Abraham to be kissed or rubbed.