THE DAY OF PEACE

When the prophet was thirty-five years old the prophet of Mecca wanted to rebuild Ka’bah because it had been damaged by the flood which covered the valley of Mecca at that time. The tribes of Mecca cooperated with each other to rebuild the Ka’bah, because it was the honour for them and all the Arab tribes. All the Arab tribes respected those of Mecca and regarded them as people who looked after the house of God.

When they started building they came to the place where they had to replace AL-Hajar al Aswad, the black stone. From this moment the argument started. Who this honour. They started arguing and this almost led to a fight. Some of them called for a fight and a blood bath threatened Mecca.

One wise leader suggested that they should accept the judgment of the first man to enter the place. The suggestion was readily accepted, because nobody wanted this threat of fight to continue. They all stood with their eyes facing towards the way which led to the Ka’bah. Then they saw the Prophet Muhammad coming towards them. At the time Muhammad had not claimed to be a prophet but he was the most highly respected man in Mecca and renowned for his honesty and trustworthiness. For this reason they used to call him”A-shiddiq Al Amin”, the trustworthy, the trythful, and when they saw him coming all of them cried with appreciation. They all felt happy and at peace in their minds and they felt sure no harm would now befall any of them, and whatever Muhammad’s decision, it would be accepted by all.

When they explained the problem he requested them to bring a piece of cloth and he chose four man, one from each tribe. He than placed the stone on cloth and asked each of the four man to take the corner. The four man then shared the carrying of the stone until they came near the wall, and the prophet then took the stone in his hands and put it in its place the wall. By making this decision he was able to prevent the blood bath and peace prevailed Mecca. This was the first day that people realized the outstanding wisdom of Muhammad and he came to be regarded as the most revered person in Mecca. This day was called “the day of peace”.