Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 208
208 of the time it is covered with a mantle of heavy black silk, which is renewed each year. From whichever direction the pilgrim enters the enclosure and approaches the Ka’aba, he begins his circuit from the south-eastern corner, in which the Black Stone is placed. A circuit of the Ka’aba involves going around it seven times. Each round begins and ends opposite the Black Stone. At the end of each round, the pilgrim, if he can approach near enough and if he so wishes, may kiss the Black Stone, which again is an emotional expression calling to mind that the Prophet kissed it when he performed the circuit. The Prophet kissed it, not because any particular sanctity attaches to the stone, but as an expression of his emotion that the Ka’aba, originally constructed by Abraham and Ishmael, had been finally restored to the worship of the One True God, and would henceforth remain dedicated to that worship. Fearing that the Prophet’s kissing the Black Stone might be interpreted as ascribing some special virtue to the stone, Umar, the second Khalifa, when performing the circuit, observed: “I know that this is only a piece of stone no different from other similar stones, and were it not for the memory that the Prophet expressed his gratitude to God for His favours and bounties by kissing it, I would pay no attention to it. ”