Black Stone of the Kaaba – about the ancient artifact of the Islamic world
What do you know about the main symbol of the Muslim faith? It is the famous Kaaba, located in Mecca. According to tradition, the Kaaba was built by Adam, who was expelled from paradise.
Researchers believe that throughout the existence of this ancient artifact, the Kaaba has been rebuilt several times. At the moment, it is in marble, decorated with gold and silk.
Of greatest interest is the famous Black Stone of the Kaaba, a mineral attached to the Kaaba by silver nails. It is just over 1.5 meters high. It can be seen and touched. But scientists are not allowed near the stone as any research on the mineral is strictly forbidden. To get the latest stories, install our app here.
This is why there is so little scientific information about the Black Stone. But there is an assumption that the stone belongs to the agates. Some researchers believe it may even be a piece of ordinary basalt, which is abundant in the local rocks.
If the legends are believed, in the distant past, the stone emanated a white glow, after which it turned black, absorbing all the sins of man. But another version has it that the stone was poured over with oil many times during anointing rituals.
Perhaps the blackness of the Kaaba stone is the blackness of carbon. One interesting theory about the stone was put forward at the end of the last century by the Copenhagen researcher Elisabeth Thompson.
If this story is to be believed, this stone was sent to mankind by Heaven itself – so it cannot drown in water. Thompson thought that the nature of the stone might be meteoric. And, most likely, it has a porous structure – how else can you explain its unsinkability?
According to Thompson’s assumption, the Black Rock may have been formed from a mixture of terrestrial rocks and meteoritic material. They got mixed together when the meteorite hit our planet. To get the latest stories, install our app here.
But where did the famous black rock come from? About 1,000 kilometers from Mecca is the impact Wabar crater. Thompson believed the stone came from there. But when did the meteorite collide with our planet?
That’s a question researchers still can’t answer. According to one version, the meteorite may have collided with the Earth about 2-4 thousand years BC. But there are other versions, according to which the meteorite could fall on the planet much later – up to several centuries ago.
As for the information in the religious sources, the tradition of worship of the Black Stone began in pre-Islamic times. It is believed that for hundreds of years, the stone may have belonged to the Qurayshite tribe.
And during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, there was a fierce struggle against all idolatry. But why this stone was not destroyed (it was, in fact, an idol) is a mystery.
And Islam itself completely excludes any spiritualization of the Black Stone. The stone is of great value for this religion only because the Prophet Muhammad himself touched it. The stone is also a symbol of paradise, which the exiled Adam kept for himself.
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