Welcoming Hajj occasion
Indeed the honoured and sacred Ka^bah is the first house and mosque built on the face of this earth, and Prophet Adam peace be upon him was the first to build it. However, at the time of Prophet Nuh ^alayhis-salam, the Ka^bah collapsed during the great flood which had covered the entire earth.
The Ka^bah is in the middle of the earth’s surface and above it in the 7th sky and parallel to it, is a holy and sacred house called al-Bayt-ul-Ma^mur. To the inhabitants of the skies (the angels), al-Bayt-ul-Ma^mur is regarded as the Ka^bah is to the inhabitants of the earth. Every day, 70,000 angels enter it, pray in it then once they leave they never return to it.
Allah subhanahu wa-ta^ala ordered Prophet Ibrahim to rebuild the sacred house, the Holy Ka^bah, and guided him to the location of the original structure of the Ka^bah before the flood. Prophet Ibrahim ^alayhis-salam made his way to the Holy city of Makkah and met his son Isma^il behind ZamZam water. There he said to him: “O Isma^il, Allah ta^ala has ordered me to build a house”, to that Prophet Isma^il replied: “Then obey your Lord”. Then Prophet Ibrahim ^alayhis-salam said: “Allah ordered as well that you assist me in building it”. Isma^il responded: “Then I shall help you.”
Consequently, Prophet Ibrahim ^alayhis-salam started to build the Ka^bah laying its stones which were passed on to him by his son Isma^il until the building was completed. Upon the completion of laying an entire row of stones, the stone that Prophet Ibrahim used to stand on, known as Maqam Ibrahim, would rise a little by the Will of Allah making it easier for Prophet Ibrahim to build the next row until all was done.
Then Prophet Ibrahim said to his son Isma^il: “Bring me a nice stone to lay it on one of the corners of the Ka^bah to be used by the people as a guiding mark“. Instantly, Angel Jibril brought the Black Stone down from Paradise and Prophet Ibrahim positioned it in the current location.
The Black Stone and the Maqam are, amongst many others, two precious gems of Paradise that used to be luminous. Originally, their light was powerful enough to illuminate east and west. Sadly, due to the blasphemous acts performed by the pagans of Makkah after the death of Prophet Isma^il by a long time their light faded away. In regards to the Black stone it turned black due to the hands of the idol worshippers constantly touching it as part of their worship.
Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim to proclaim to people the obligation of Hajj. Ayah 27 of Surat-ul- Hajj means: And proclaim unto mankind the Hajj. They will come unto you on foot or riding camels from far and wide.
Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon him stood on the Maqam and said: What do I say? Angel Jibril’s response was: say:
لبيك اللهم لبيك، لبيك لا شريك لك لبيك
Which means: O Allah, I obey Your Order, I obey You time after time. You are the One without a partner, I shall obey You time after time. Upon hearing these words, Prophet Ibrahim started repeating them hence becoming the first man to say the Talbiyah.
It has been narrated that prophet Ibrahim called out in the open addressing mankind: Allah ordered you to perform Hajj and will reward you for it by admitting you into Paradise and saving you from Hellfire.
We ask Allah to bestow upon us the honour of performing Hajj and ^Umrah and visiting the grave of our Master Muhammad peace be upon him every year. Ameen