The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 1 of 4

200 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Ibn Ishaq said, "In Mecca there was a Copt who was a carpenter and so they
had available to them some of what was needed to repair it.
"There was a serpent that would emerge from the ka'ba's well into which they
would drop every day the sacrificial offerings. It would emerge and sun itself on
the ka'ba's wall. They were all afraid of it, because whenever anyone approached
it, it would raise its head, move its coils audibly and open its mouth. One day as
it lay on the ka'ba's wall as was its habit, God sent down a bird which snatched it
up and flew away with it.
"At this Quraysh said, 'Now we can hope that God is pleased at our
plan. We have a local carpenter, and wood, and God has taken care of the
serpent."'
Al-Suhayli recounted, on the authority of Razin, that a thief had entered the
ka'ba during the Jurhum era to steal its treasure but that the well had caved in
on him. Some men had come and lifted him out and retrieved what he had
taken. After that, a serpent resided in the well, its head as big as that of a young
goat, its belly white and its back black. It had lived there for 500 years. This was
the serpent mentioned by Muhammad b. Ishaq.
Muhammad b. Ishaq stated, "When they had agreed on demolishing and
rebuilding it, Aba Wahb b. CAmr b. 'A'idh b. 'Abd b. 'Imm b. Makhzm
(whose name according to Ibn Hisha was 'A'idh b. 'Imran b. Makhziim) went
and removed a stone from the ka'ba but it flew straight out of his band back to
its position. So he said, '0 Quraysh, in rebuilding it, use only money that you
have fairly earned. Nothing gained from prostitution, usury, or injustice against
any person must enter it."'
(Some) people attribute this statement to al-Walid b. al-Mughira b. 'Abd
All& b. Wmar b. Makhziim. Ibn Ishsq, moreover, was inclined to believe that
the man who said this was Aha Wahb b. 'Amr. He said that he was the maternal
uncle of the father of the Prophet (SAAS), and a very highly regarded and
honourable man.
Ibn Ishaq said, "Then Quraysh divided up the ka'ba. The side with the door was
entrusted to the tribes of 'Abd Manaf and Zuhra, that between the 'black stone'
comer and the Yemeni corner went to the Bana Makhziim, along with various
other Quraysh tribes. The back of the kacba went to the tribes of Jum& and
Sahm; the hijr (shrine) side was entrusted to the tribes of 'Abd al-DW b. Qusayy
and Asad h. 'Abd al-Wzza, while the CAdi b. Ka'b were assigned the rahw
al-ha$@ the enclosed slope around the walls.
"But the people were apprehensive about demolishing it and were very scared
of it. So al-Walid b. al-Mughira said, 'I shall begin demolishing it.' And he took
up a pick-axe and set about it, saying, '0 God, it is not to be feared. O God,
good is all we want.'