Surah Al-Baqarah 2:125

The Virtue of Allah's House

Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ

(And (remember) when We made the House (the Ka`bah at Makkah) a place of resort for mankind) "They do not remain in the House, they only visit it and return to their homes, and then visit it again." Also, Abu Ja`far Ar-Razi narrated from Ar-Rabi` bin Anas from Abu Al-`Aliyah who said that,

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمْناً

(And (remember) when We made the House (the Ka`bah at Makkah) a place of resort for mankind and a place of safety) means, "Safe from enemies and armed conflict. During the time of Jahiliyyah, the people were often victims of raids and kidnapping, while the people in the area surrounding it (Al-Masjid Al-Haram) were safe and not subject to kidnapping." Also, Mujahid, `Ata', As-Suddi, Qatadah and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas were reported to have said that the Ayah (2:125) means, "Whoever enters it shall be safe."

This Ayah indicates that Allah honored the Sacred House, which Allah made as a safe refuge and safe haven. Therefore, the souls are eager, but never bored, to conduct short visits to the House, even every year. This is because Allah accepted the supplication of His Khalil, Ibrahim, when he asked Allah to make the hearts of people eager to visit the House. Ibrahim said (14:40),

رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ

(Our Lord! And accept my invocation).

Allah described the House as a safe resort and refuge, for thosewho visit it are safe, even if they had committed acts of evil. Thishonor comes from the honor of the person who built it first, KhalilAr-Rahman, just as Allah said,

وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لإِبْرَهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لاَّ تُشْرِكْ بِى شَيْئاً

(And (remember) when We showed Ibrahim the site of the (Sacred) House (the Ka`bah at Makkah) (saying): "Associate not anything (in worship) with Me...") (22:26) and,

إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِى بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكاً وَهُدًى لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ فِيهِ ءَايَـتٌ بَيِّـنَـتٌ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَهِيمَ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ ءَامِناً

(Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-`Alamin (mankind and Jinn). In it are manifest signs (for example), the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim; whosoever enters it, he attains security) (3:96-97).

The last honorable Ayah emphasized the honor of Ibrahim's Maqam, and the instruction to pray next to it,

وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

(And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim as a place of prayer). The Maqam of Ibrahim

Sufyan Ath-Thawri reported that Sa`id bin Jubayr commented on the Ayah,

وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

(And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim as a place of prayer) "The stone (Maqam) is the standing place of Ibrahim, Allah's Prophet, and a mercy from Allah. Ibrahim stood on the stone, while Isma`il was handing him the stones (constructing the Ka`bah)."As-Suddi said, "The Maqam of Ibrahim is a stone which Isma`il's wife put under Ibrahim's feet when washing his head." Al-Qurtubi mentioned this, but he considered it unauthentic, although others gave it prefrence, Ar-Razi reported it in his Tafsir from Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas.

Ibn Abi Hatim reported that Jabir, describing the Hajj (pilgrimage) of the Prophet said, "When the Prophet performed Tawaf, `Umar asked him, `Is this the Maqam of our father' He said, `Yes.' `Umar said, `Should we take it a place of prayer' So Allah revealed,

وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

(And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim (Abraham) as a place of prayer.")

Al-Bukhari said, "Chapter: Allah's statement,

وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

(And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim (Abraham) as a place of prayer) meaning, they return to it repeatedly." He then narrated that Anas bin Malik said that `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "I agreed with my Lord, or my Lord agreed with me, regarding three matters. I said, `O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! I wish you take the Maqam of Ibrahim a place for prayer.' The Ayah,

وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

(And take you (people) the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim (Abraham)) was revealed. I also said, `O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! The righteous and the wicked enter your house. I wish you would command the Mothers of the believers (the Prophet's wives) to wear Hijab. Allah sent down the Ayah that required the Hijab. And when I knew that the Prophet was angry with some of his wives, I came to them and said, `Either you stop what you are doing, or Allah will endow His Messenger with better women than you are.' I advised one of his wives and she said to me, `O `Umar! Does the Messenger of Allah ﷺ not know how to advise his wives, so that you have to do the job instead of him' Allah then revealed,

عَسَى رَبُّهُ إِن طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَن يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَجاً خَيْراً مِّنكُنَّ مُسْلِمَـتٍ

(It may be if he divorced you (all) that his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you, ـ Muslims (who submit to Allah))." (66:5)

Also, Ibn Jarir narrated that Jabir said, "After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kissed the Black Stone, he went around the house three times in a fast pace and four times in a slow pace. He then went to Maqam of Ibrahim, with it between him and the House, and prayed two Rak`ahs." This is part of the long Hadith that Muslim recorded in Sahih. Al-Bukhari recorded that `Amr bin Dinar said that he heard Ibn `Umar say, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed Tawaf around the House seven times and then prayed two Rak`ahs behind the Maqam."

All these texts indicate that the Maqam is the stone that Ibrahim was standing on while building the House. As the House's walls became higher, Isma`il brought his father a stone, so that he could stand on it, while Isma`il handed him the stones. Ibrahim would place the stones on the wall, and whenever he finished one side, he would move to the next side, to complete the building all around. Ibrahim kept repeating this until he finished building the House, as we will describe when we explain the story of Ibrahim and Isma`il and how they built the House, as narrated from Ibn `Abbas and collected by Al-Bukhari. Ibrahim's footprints were still visible in the stone, and the Arabs knew this fact during the time of Jahiliyyah. This is why Abu Talib said in his poem known as `Al-Lamiyyah', "And Ibrahim's footprint with his bare feet on the stone is still visible."

The Muslims also saw Ibrahim's footprints on the stone, as Anas bin Malik said, "I saw the Maqam with the print of Ibrahim's toes and feet still visible in it, but the footprints dissipated because of the people rubbing the stone with their hands."

Earlier, the Maqam was placed close to the Ka`bah's wall. In the present time, the Maqam is placed next to Al-Hijr on the right side of those entering through the door.

When Ibrahim finished building the House, he placed the stone next to the wall of Al-Ka`bah. Or, when the House was finished being built, Ibrahim just left the stone where it was last standing, and he was commanded to pray next to the stone when he finished the Tawaf (circumambulating). It is understandable that the Maqam of Ibrahim would stand where the building of the House ended. The Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, one of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs whom we were commanded to emulate, moved the stone away from the Ka`bah's wall during his reign. `Umar is one of the two men, whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ described when he said,

«اقْتَدُوا بِاللَّذَيْنِ مِنْ بَعْدِي أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَر»

(Imitate the two men who will come after me: Abu Bakr and `Umar.)

`Umar was also the person whom the Qur'an agreed with regarding praying next to Maqam of Ibrahim. This is why none among the Companions rejected it when he moved it.

`Abdur-Razzaq reported from Ibn Jurayj from `Ata', "`Umar bin Al-Khattab moved the Maqam back." Also, `Abdur-Razzaq narrated that Mujahid said that `Umar was the first person who moved the Maqam back to where it is now standing." Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr, Ahmad bin `Ali bin Al-Husayn Al-Bayhaqi recorded `A'ishah saying, "During the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr, the Maqam was right next to the House. `Umar moved the Maqam during his reign." This Hadith has an authentic chain of narration. i

Diperintahkan kepada Nabi Muhammad saw, dan kaum Muslimin agar mengingat ketika Allah menjadikan Ka'bah sebagai tempat berkumpul manusia, tempat yang aman, dan menjadikan Maqam Ibrahim sebagai tempat salat. Maqam Ibrahim ialah tempat berpijak bagi Ibrahim ketika membangun Ka'bah. Perintah Allah kepada Ibrahim dan Ismail itu untuk menenteramkan hati Nabi Muhammad saw dan kaum Muslimin dalam menghadapi keingkaran orang kafir dan untuk menerangkan kepada orang musyrik, Yahudi dan Nasrani bahwa agama yang dibawa Nabi Muhammad itu seasas dengan agama yang dibawa Nabi Ibrahim, agama nenek moyang mereka.

Ada dua faedah yang dapat diambil dari ayat di atas sehubungan dengan didirikannya Ka'bah: Pertama, tempat berkumpul bagi manusia untuk ibadah. Sejak zaman dahulu sebelum Nabi Muhammad saw diutus sampai saat ini Ka'bah atau Mekah telah menjadi tempat berkumpul manusia dari segala penjuru, dari segala macam bangsa dalam rangka menghormati dan melaksanakan ibadah haji. Hati mereka merasa tenteram tinggal di sekitar Ka'bah. Setelah mereka kembali ke tanah air, hati dan jiwa mereka senantiasa tertarik kepadanya dan selalu bercita-cita ingin kembali lagi bila ada kesempatan.

Kedua, Allah swt menjadikannya sebagai tempat yang aman. Maksudnya, Allah menjadikan tanah yang berada di sekitar Masjidilharam sebagai tanah dan tempat yang aman bagi orang-orang yang berada di sana. Sejak dahulu sampai saat ini orang-orang Arab mengagungkan dan menyucikannya.

Orang-orang Arab terkenal dengan sifat suka menuntut bela atas orang atau kabilah yang membunuh atau menyakiti atau menghina keluarganya. Di mana saja mereka temui orang atau kabilah itu, penuntutan balas akan mereka laksanakan. Kecuali bila mereka menemuinya di Tanah Haram, mereka tidak mengganggu sedikit pun. Dalam pada itu sejak zaman dahulu banyak usaha dari orang-orang Arab sendiri atau dari bangsa-bangsa yang lain untuk menguasai Tanah Haram atau untuk merusak Ka'bah, tetapi selalu digagalkan Allah, seperti usaha Abrahah Raja Najasyi dengan tentaranya untuk menguasai Tanah Haram dan Ka'bah. Mereka dihancurkan.

Allah berfirman:

Tidakkah engkau (Muhammad) perhatikan bagaimana Tuhanmu telah bertindak terhadap pasukan bergajah? Bukankah Dia telah menjadikan tipu daya mereka itu sia-sia? Dan Dia mengirimkan kepada mereka burung yang berbondong-bondong, yang melempari mereka dengan batu dari tanah liat yang dibakar, sehingga mereka dijadikan-Nya seperti daun-daun yang dimakan (ulat). (al-Fil/105:1-5)

Tidakkah mereka memperhatikan, bahwa Kami telah menjadikan (negeri mereka) tanah suci yang aman, padahal manusia di sekitarnya saling merampok. Mengapa (setelah nyata kebenaran) mereka masih percaya kepada yang batil dan ingkar kepada nikmat Allah? (al-'Ankabut/29:67)

Allah memerintahkan agar Maqam Ibrahim dijadikan sebagai tempat salat. Faedah perintah itu ialah untuk menghadirkan perintah itu di dalam pikiran atau agar manusia mengikuti apa yang diperintahkan itu, seolah-olah perintah itu dihadapkan kepada mereka sehingga perintah itu tertanam di dalam hati mereka dan mereka merasa bahwa diri mereka termasuk orang yang diperintah.

Dengan demikian, maksud ayat ialah: Orang-orang dahulu yang beriman kepada Ibrahim a.s. diperintahkan agar menjadikan sebagian Maqam Ibrahim sebagai tempat salat. Perintah itu ditujukan pula kepada orang-orang yang datang kemudian, yang mengakui Ibrahim a.s., sebagai nabi dan rasul Allah dan mengakui Nabi Muhammad saw, salah seorang dari anak cucu Ibrahim a.s. sebagai nabi yang terakhir.

Allah memerintahkan Nabi Ibrahim untuk membersihkannya dalam arti yang sebenarnya dan dalam arti kiasan. Membersihkan dalam arti yang sebenarnya ialah membersihkan dari segala macam benda yang dihukumkan najis, seperti segala macam kotoran dan sebagainya. Membersihkan dalam arti kiasan ialah membersihkannya dari segala macam perbuatan yang mengandung unsur-unsur syirik, perbuatan menyembah berhala, perbuatan-perbuatan yang terlarang, bertengkar dan sebagainya.

Perintah membersihkan Ka'bah ini sekalipun ditujukan kepada Nabi Ibrahim dan Ismail, tetapi termasuk juga orang-orang yang datang sesudahnya. Allah menamakan Ka'bah yang didirikan itu dengan "Rumah Allah" (Baitullah). Penamaan itu bukan berarti Allah tinggal di dalam atau di sekitar Ka'bah. Tetapi maksudnya ialah bahwa Allah menjadikan rumah itu tempat beribadah kepada-Nya dan dalam beribadah menghadap ke arah Ka'bah.

Hikmah menjadikan Ka'bah sebagai "rumah Allah" dan menjadikan sebagai arah menghadap di dalam beribadah kepada Allah Pencipta dan Penguasa seluruh makhluk agar manusia merasa dirinya dapat langsung menyampaikan pujian, pernyataan syukur, permohonan pertolongan dan permohonan doa kepada Allah.

Manusia kurang dapat menyatakan pikirannya dalam beribadah kepada Allah bila tidak dilakukan di tempat tertentu dan menghadap ke arah tertentu. Dengan adanya tempat tertentu dan arah tertentu, manusia dapat menambah imannya setiap saat, memperdalam pengetahuannya, dan mempertinggi nilai-nilai rohani dalam dirinya. Karena dengan demikian dia merasakan seolah-olah Allah ada di hadapannya demikian dekat, sehingga tidak ada yang membatasi antaranya dengan Allah.

Pada ayat yang lain ditegaskan bahwa ke mana saja manusia menghadap dalam beribadah, berdoa akan menemui wajah Allah, dan sampai kepada-Nya, karena Allah Mahaluas lagi Maha Mengetahui. ) Dari ayat di atas dapat dipahami bahwa penamaan Ka'bah sebagai rumah Allah hanyalah untuk mempermudah manusia dalam membulatkan pikirannya dalam beribadah. Pada asasnya Allah Mahabesar, Maha Mengetahui lagi Mahaluas.