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Black StoneThe Black Stone (called Al-Hajarul Aswad in Arabic) is one of the most sacred holy relics in Islam. It is roughly 50 cm in diameter. It is found in the Kaaba, a sacred site in Islam. It is the cornerstone of one of the four corners of the religious construction, though it can be recognized instantly because it is surrounded by a silver band. The Stone is actually broken into several pieces, damage which occured when the Muslims desecrated the Kaaba, along with the 360 other pagan shrines and idols. A silver band is fastened by silver nails to the Stone. The Stone is covered by the Black Cloth, or Kiswa. Although the stone is reverently kissed and caressed, the stone is considered a mere stone. When Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph, came to kiss the stone, he said to have said publically: "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither harm anyone nor benefit anyone. Had I not seen Allah’s Messenger kissing you, I would not have kissed you." The damage to the stone is said to have occurred during the destruction of the Idols at the Kaaba by Muhammad and his followers (628 CE), when they destroyed 360 idols of the pagan pantheon and calendar system that was worshipped there. Since the Stone was originally installed by Muhammad, and this act led to his title 'The Wise', it was repaired and put in place as a reminder of Allah's vastness and mankind's smallness, as explained in the Hadith of Muslim. Some Muslims believe that this stone fell from the sky during the time of Adam, and that it has the power to cleanse worshippers of their sins by absorbing them into itself. For these, the Black Stone is believed to have originally been colored white, but it turned black because of the sins it has absorbed over the years. As part of the Kaaba, the Black Stone resides in the city of Mecca. Some Muslims who have come to Mecca for the hajj try to kiss or caress the stone and Kaaba, or at least point to it, when they arrive during the pilgrimage. During the hajj pilgrims circle the Kaaba seven times in a counter-clockwise direction. See also External links
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