The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 104
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 104 spring had vanished and it remained sealed for hundreds of years until finally, Ḥaḍrat ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib, the paternal grandfather of the Holy Prophet sa , located it and once again caused it to gush forth of water. In any case, after the Jurhum, the Khuzā‘ah became the rulers of Makkah and the custodians of the Ka‘bah. 1 The dawn of idolatry in the Ka‘bah is attributed to ‘ Amr bin Luḥaiyy, a chieftain of the Khuzā‘ah. 2 Upon his observance of idol worship in Syria, his desire was that idols should be placed in the Ka‘bah as well and that people should worship them. Therefore, he brought some idols from Syria and placed them in the close proximity of the Ka‘bah. 3 Since the Ka‘bah had become the religious centre of Arabia by that time and every year people would gather there for Ḥajj , idolatry rampantly spread throughout the country. This is not to imply that idolatry was not at all practiced in Arabia prior to this, rather, the purpose is to merely establish the fact that the arrival of idols in the Ka‘bah was a major cause in the spread and establishment of idolatry throughout Arabia. Therefore, gradually the idols in the Ka‘bah alone reached a total of 360. After a prolonged period in time the custodianship of the Ka‘bah escaped the hands of the Khuzā‘ah as well. In elaboration of the cause of this occurrence, historians have narrated a strange tale, the mention of which shall prove interesting here. In the middle of the 5 th century A. D. there was a man named Qusaiyy bin Kilāb who was among the descendants of Fihr bin Mālik, or in other words, the Quraish. He was a very wise and intelligent individual. During the days of his youth, it was his heartfelt desire that the rule of Makkah and custodianship of the Ka‘bah is the inheritance of the children of Ishmael as and it should not remain in the hands of any other nation. Hence, he came to Makkah and gradually began to develop friendships, after which he married Ḥubbā, the daughter of Ḥalīl bin Ḥabashiyyah Khuzā‘ī, who was the chieftain of the Khuzā‘ah. At that time, it was he who possessed the custodianship of the Ka‘bah. At his deathbed, Ḥalīl bequeathed the custodianship of the Ka‘bah to his daughter Ḥubbā, the wife of Qusaiyy. In this manner, the custodianship of the Ka‘bah practically came into the hands of Qusaiyy, but his heart was not content as a mere authority. Rather, he wished to become the rightful ruler of Makkah and the custodian of the Ka‘bah. Therefore, gradually, he began to 1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 96, Amru Jurhum wa Dafnu Zamzam, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābul-Manāqib, Bābu Qiṣṣati Khuzā‘ah, Ḥadīth No. 3523 3 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 73, Qissatu ‘Amr bin Luḥaiyy wa Dhikru Aṣnāmil-‘Arab, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)