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 ==Background==
-Five times a day Muslims prostrate towards the Ka'aba which houses the famous black stone (Ruknu l-Aswad).  The black stone is a [[w:Baetylus|baetyl]] originating from pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism.  It is an important part of the [[hajj]] which all Muslims must participate in at least once in their lifetime.
+Five times a day Muslims prostrate towards the Ka'aba which houses the famous black stone (Ruknu l-Aswad).  The black stone is a baetyl originating from pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism.  It is an important part of the [[hajj]] which all Muslims must participate in at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is performed primarily because it is mandatory and because Muslims believe their sins will be forgiven.<ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Whoever performs Hajj for Allah's pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew."''" - {{Bukhari|2|26|596}}</ref>
-The pilgrimage is performed primarily because it is mandatory and because Muslims believe their sins will be forgiven.<ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, "Whoever performs Hajj for Allah's pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew."''" - {{Bukhari|2|26|596}}</ref> Circumambulation around the Ka'aba was originally a [[Paganism|pagan]] ritual (albeit they did it naked), as was the running through the valley between Safa and Marwa.<ref>"''Narrated 'Asim bin Sulaiman: I asked Anas bin Malik about Safa and Marwa. Anas replied, "We used to consider (i.e. going around) them a custom of the Pre-islamic period of Ignorance, so when Islam came, we gave up going around them. Then Allah revealed" "Verily, Safa and Marwa (i.e. two mountains at Mecca) are among the Symbols of Allah. So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj of the House (of Allah) or perform the Umra to ambulate (Tawaf) between them." (2.158)''" - {{Bukhari|6|60|23}}</ref> The Ka'aba was originally a pagan shrine, housing 360 stones and statues. And pagans performed a hajj before [[Islam]] was even concocted.<ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira: In the year prior to the last Hajj of the Prophet when Allahs Apostle made Abu Bakr the leader of the pilgrims, the latter (Abu Bakr) sent me in the company of a group of people to make a public announcement: 'No pagan is allowed to perform Hajj after this year, and no naked person is allowed to perform Tawaf of the Kaba.' (See Hadith No. 365 Vol. 1)''" - {{Bukhari|2|26|689}}</ref>
+Muslims believe that the stone was "put there by Prophet Ibrahim and Isma’eel (peace be upon them both) by the order of Almighty Allah, and the purpose of it was to indicate the beginning of tawaf (circumabulation of the Ka`bah)."<ref>Sheikh Ahmad Kutty - [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543250 The Black Stone: History & Significance] - Islam Online, January 8, 2003</ref> However, there is no scientific, historical, or archaeological evidence that places Abraham and Ishmael at the Ka'aba. And there is no evidence that circumambulation of any building or stone was initiated by Abraham and Ishmael.
 During its history, the black stone has been struck and smashed by a stone fired from a catapult,<ref>Hırka-i Saadet Dairesi; Hilmi Aydın(2004) - [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?isbn=9781932099720 The sacred trusts: Pavilion of the Sacred Relics, Topkapı Palace Museum, Istanbul] - Tughra Books, ISBN 9781932099720</ref> it has been smeared with excrement,<ref>Burton, Richard Francis (1856) - [http://www.archive.org/details/personalnarrati03burtgoog Personal narrative of a pilgrimage to El-Madinah and Meccah] - G. P. Putnam & Co., p. 394</ref> stolen and ransomed by the Qarmatians,<ref>Francis E. Peters (1994) - [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?isbn=9780691032672 Mecca: a literary history of the Muslim Holy Land] - Princeton University Press, pp. 125–126, ISBN 9780691032672</ref> and smashed into several fragments.<ref> Cyril Glasse - [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?isbn=0759101906 New Encyclopedia of Islam: A Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (p. 245)] - Rowman Altamira, 2001, ISBN 0759101906</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/68328/Black-Stone-of-Mecca Black Stone of Mecca] - Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007</ref>
-==Do Muslims worship the black stone?==
+Muslims from all around the world spend a considerable amount of money and risk a crushing mob<ref> Tony Karon - [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,101585,00.html "Hajj Tragedies Are Part of the Cost of Islam's Pilgrimage"] - TIME, March 06, 2001</ref> to visit the Ka'aba and kiss its eastern cornerstone--the black rock reputed to be a meteorite. If they cannot kiss it, then they point to it as they circumambulate the Ka'aba. Circumambulation around the Ka'aba was originally a [[Paganism|pagan]] ritual (albeit they did it naked), as was the running through the valley between Safa and Marwa.<ref>"''Narrated 'Asim bin Sulaiman: I asked Anas bin Malik about Safa and Marwa. Anas replied, "We used to consider (i.e. going around) them a custom of the Pre-islamic period of Ignorance, so when Islam came, we gave up going around them. Then Allah revealed" "Verily, Safa and Marwa (i.e. two mountains at Mecca) are among the Symbols of Allah. So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj of the House (of Allah) or perform the Umra to ambulate (Tawaf) between them." (2.158)''" - {{Bukhari|6|60|23}}</ref> The Ka'aba was originally a pagan shrine, housing 360 stones and statues. And pagans performed a hajj even before the advent of Islam.<ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira: In the year prior to the last Hajj of the Prophet when Allahs Apostle made Abu Bakr the leader of the pilgrims, the latter (Abu Bakr) sent me in the company of a group of people to make a public announcement: 'No pagan is allowed to perform Hajj after this year, and no naked person is allowed to perform Tawaf of the Kaba.' (See Hadith No. 365 Vol. 1)''" - {{Bukhari|2|26|689}}</ref>
-Every Muslim's answer to this question will be an emphatic "No!"
+==Baetyl==
-{{Quote|1=[http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543250 The Black Stone: History & Significance]<BR>Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, Islam Online, January 8, 2003|2=There are various reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the origin or the Black Stone, but most of them are of doubtful origins. In Islam, we should not base our belief on sources which we cannot verify one hundred percent. The only fact that we can certainly establish is that it was put there by Prophet Ibrahim and Isma’eel (peace be upon them both) by the order of Almighty Allah, and the purpose of it was to indicate the beginning of tawaf (circumabulation of the Ka`bah).
-Thus we as Muslims do not attach divine power to the stone. As `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said: “You’re just a stone that does not benefit or harm anyone, and if I hadn’t seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kissing you, I would have not done so.}}
-However, if we look at the facts, perhaps the answer is not so certain.
-There is ''no'' scientific, historical, or archaeological evidence that places Abraham and Ishmael at the Ka'aba.  There is no evidence that circumambulation of any building or stone was initiated by Abraham and Ishmael.
-Muslims from all around the world spend a considerable amount of money and risk a crushing mob<ref> Tony Karon - [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,101585,00.html "Hajj Tragedies Are Part of the Cost of Islam's Pilgrimage"] - TIME, March 06, 2001</ref> to visit the Ka'aba in Saudi Arabia and kiss its eastern cornerstone--the black rock reputed to be a meteorite. If they cannot kiss it, then they point to it as they circumambulate the Ka'aba.
-==What is a baetyl?==
 {{Quote|1=[http://www.allwords.com/word-baetyl.html Definitions - baetyl]<BR>AllWords English Dictionary, |2='''baetyl'''<BR><small>''noun''</small><BR>
@@ Line 31: / Line 19: @@
 {{Quote|1=[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/48659/baetylus Baetylus]<BR>Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009|2=In Greek religion, a sacred stone or pillar. The word baetylus is of Semitic origin (-bethel). Numerous holy, or fetish, stones existed in antiquity, generally attached to the cult of some particular god and looked upon as his abiding place or symbol.}}
-===In pre-Islamic Arabia...===
+===Pre-Islamic Arabia===
 {{Quote|1=[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31651/Arabian-religion/68311/Sanctuaries-cultic-objects-and-religious-practices-and-institutions Sanctuaries, cultic objects, and religious practices and institutions]<BR>Arabian religion, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009|2=The sanctuaries, sometimes carved in the rock on high places, consisted of a ḥaram, a sacred open-air enclosure, accessible only to unarmed and ritually clean people in ritual clothes. There the baetyl, '''a “raised stone,”''' or a statue of the god, was worshiped. The Nabataeans originally represented their gods as baetyls on a podium, but later they gave them a human appearance.}}
@@ Line 65: / Line 53: @@
 </gallery>
-==What does the Hadith say about the black stone?==
+==Hadith==
 {{Quote|1=[http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543250 The Black Stone: History & Significance]<BR>Islam Online, Fatwa Bank, January 8, 2003|2=1. Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: '''“The Black Stone came down from Jannah (Paradise).”''' (At-Tirmidhi, Sunan, hadith no. 877, and classified as authentic hadith by Sheikh Al-Albaani in his book Sahih At-Tirmidthi, hadith no. 695 )
@@ Line 82: / Line 70: @@
 {{Quote|1={{Muslim|7|2916}}|2=Suwaid b. Ghafala reported: I saw Umar (Allah be pleased with him) kissing the Stone and clinging to it and saying: I saw Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) having great love for you. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Sufyin with the same chain of transmitters (and the words are):" That he ('Umar) said: But I saw Abu'l-Qasim (way peace be upon him) having great love for you." And he did not mention about clinging to it.}}
-==Definition of worship==
-{{Quote|1=[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/worship Definition - Worship]<BR>TheFreeDictionary by Farlex|2='''wor·ship'''<BR>''n.''
-#'''a.''' The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object
-::'''b.''' The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.}}
-==Conclusion==
-Please feel free to draw your own conclusions.
 ==See also==