[ With Audio in Arabic Only ]

QUESTION

What is the ruling on not paying attention to the black line (on the floor) that marks the beginning and ending of tawaaf (circling) around the honored Ka'bah?

ANSWER by Shaykh Muhammad 'Umar Baazmool, professor of higher studies at Umm Al-Quraa University in Makkah [ audio in Arabic only ]

This line that has been placed there was not present in the time of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), nor in the time of the Companions (may Allaah be pleased with them), nor did the imams of Islam use it (may Allaah's Mercy be upon them).

This is because it is not possible to define the beginning point of tawaaf or the ending as being the exact point that this line indicates, since the Ka'bah is square, and each time you get away from one of the corners, there is more room, and each time you draw near to them, it becomes congested.

A square shaped building is such that every time you get away from one of the corners, there is more room, and the more you get closer to them, there is congestion. So this line defines the corner as being only one place at one exact point. So, based on this, to adhere to it is a kind of departure from the way things were done in the time of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) and the Companions (may Allaah be pleased with them).

Furthermore, in it (adhering to the black line) is a restriction of something that the Islamic Legislation has left to be open, since the absence of the line gives the people leeway and ease. Whenever a person reaches the (start of the) corner, then he has completed a circuit and begun another. But with the presence of this line, it makes people understand that they have not reached the corner until they have reached this specific point. So it is something that does not take into consideration the reality of the shape of a square building, and that whenever you get further from a corner there is more room and whenever you get closer there is congestion.

It is also one of the reasons for the hardships and fatigue that the people face when making tawaaf, since it can be noticed that the people are diligent in stopping upon the line at the beginning of tawaaf, or at the beginning and end of each circuit, which leads to the lack of a steady, streamlined movement within the tawaaf. It also leads to people hitting into each other and being pushed up against each other near this point (the black line).

Due to this, some of the people of knowledge have written about this. Shaykh Bakr ibn 'Abdillaah Aboo Zayd, may Allaah preserve him, has a small treatise clarifying the innovative nature of the placement of this line, that it is not upon the people to adhere to it, and that it is sufficient that they pass by it in general without takalluf (overburdening oneself with unnecessary regulations) or excessiveness, and Allaah knows best.

SOURCE

This was translated exclusively for www.bakkah.net from a cassette recording with the knowledge and permission of the shaykh, file no. AAMB046, dated 1423/12/4. [ Click here for audio ]

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