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

IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA~L IBN KATHiR 201
"He then demolished some of the side where two rukn, the sacred corners,
are. That night everyone expected something bad would happen and said, 'Let's
keep watch on him and if he comes to harm we'll not demolish any more of it
and we'll repair it just as it was. But if nothing happens to him, then God will
have been pleased by our action in destroying it.'
"Early next morning al-Walid recommenced his work of demolition, and the
others joined in with him. Eventually they had demolished it down to the
foundations established by Abraham, peace be upon him. They uncovered some
green rocks interlocking together like teeth."
In the sahib of al-Bukhari an account from Yazid b. Rnm& gives the phrase
"interlocking together like camels' humps". And al-Suhayli said, "I consider the
wording in the biography 'like teeth' to be imaginary." But God knows best.
Ibn Ishaq stated, "A certain reciter of traditions related to me as follows, 'A
man of Quraysh, who were demolishing the kacba, put his crowbar between two
stones to remove one of them and when the stone moved all Mecca shook, so
they stopped working on that foundation."'
Mnsa b. Wqba stated, "'Ahd Allah h. 'Ahbas claimed that leaders of Quraysh
related that when they had assembled to extract stones to set up the (stations of)
Abraham and Ishmael, upon both of whom he peace, one of their tribesmen
began removing one of the stones from the original foundation. When he lifted it
up, not knowing that it was from the original foundation, the onlookers saw a
light emitting from beneath it that almost dazzled the man's sight. Then the
stone jumped out of his hand and dropped hack into its place. The man and the
other builders were terrified. But when the stone again hid from them what was
beneath it they went back to their building, saying, 'Don't move that stone, or
any of those next to it."'
Ihn Ishaq stated, "It was related to me that Quraysh found in the corner a
document with Syriac writing on it and they did not know what it was until a
Jew read it to them. It said, 'I am God, Lord of Bakka (Mecca). I created it the
day I created the heavens and the earth and formed the sun and the moon. I have
set seven trusty angels around it. It will not cease to exist until its akhshabaha
(a word Ibn Hishzm interpreted to mean "its two mountains") disapppear, a
blessing to its people in their water and their milk."'
Ibn Ishaq stated, "It was related to me that they found in the shrine a document
stating, 'Mecca is God's holy House. Its sustenance shall come from three paths;
let it not be first desecrated by its own people."'
He also stated that Layth b. Aha Sulaym claimed that they had found a stone
in the ka'ba 40 years before the coming of the mission of the Prophet (SAAS) -
if what they said is true - on which was written, "He who plants good shall
harvest joy; he who plants evil shall harvest regret. If you do evil things, shall