Wahhabis have launched another braindead, self-defeating media campaign against me simply for calling for a practice championed by the Salaf.

Context is here. Basically I called for the DEMOLITION of the Clock Tower McHotel looming over the Sacred Haram.

Predictably, the dishonest Wahhabis say this means I am calling for the “bombing of Mecca” lol

In any case, demolishing tall buildings around the Ka’ba is the practice of the Salaf.

Background

Dating back to the era of the Salaf, Muslims held that no one should construct buildings near the Ka’ba that were taller than the Ka’ba.

This reflected respect for the special sanctity of the Ka’ba.

In fact, out of respect, even the pre-Islamic Quraysh refrained from constructing buildings taller than the Ka’ba.

Beginning with Caliph ‘Uthman, buildings taller than the Ka’ba were demolished.

Moreover, the construction of tall buildings near the Ka’ba was seen as a sign of the evil End Times.

This is why throughout premodern history all drawings of the Ka’ba depict it as the highest and most prominent building (examples below).

Al-Fākihī’s Akhbār Makka

The work Akhbār Makka (Reports on Makka) was composed by the eminent early hadith scholar and historian Al-Fākihī (d. ca. 272/885).

In one section of Akhbar Makka, Al-Fākihī transmits a collection of relevant reports:

Al-Ḥasan b. ʿUthmān related to me, from al-Wāqidī, who said: Khālid b. Ilyās related to me, from Yaḥyā b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥāṭib, who said:

“I saw that ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān, may God be pleased with him, wrote to his governor in Mecca instructing him not to allow anyone to build a house for himself that overlooked the Kaʿba.”

Al-Wāqidī said: Khālid related to us, from ʿAbd al-Malik b. ʿUbayd, from Qays, the client (mawlā) of Ṣafwān b. Umayya, who said:

“I saw Shayba b. ʿUthmān [a companion and a custodian of the haram], whenever he saw a building overlooking the Kaʿba, demolish it.”

٦٩٧ – حَدَّثَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عُثْمَانَ، عَنِ الْوَاقِدِيِّ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي خَالِدُ بْنُ إِلْيَاسَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ حَاطِبٍ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ كَتَبَ إِلَى عَامِلِهِ بِمَكَّةَ أَنْ ” لَا يَدَعَ أَحَدًا يَبْنِي بَيْتًا لَهُ مُشْرِفًا عَلَى الْكَعْبَةِ “

قَالَ الْوَاقِدِيُّ: وَحَدَّثَنَا خَالِدٌ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ عُبَيْدٍ عَنْ قَيْسٍ مَوْلَى صَفْوَانَ بْنِ أُمَيَّةَ قَالَ: ” رَأَيْتُ شَيْبَةَ بْنَ عُثْمَانَ إِذَا رَأَى بِنَاءً مُشْرِفًا عَلَى الْكَعْبَةِ هَدَمَهُ “

Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad b. Muḥammad related to us. He said: Abū Bakr related to us. He said: Sallām b. Sulaym related to us, from Mughīra, from Ibrāhīm [al-Nakhaʿī] [a major jurist from among the Tabi’in], who said:

“They used to dislike constructing around the Kaʿba a building that overlooked it.”

٦٩٨ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ: ثنا أَبُو بَكْرٍ قَالَ: ثنا سَلَّامُ بْنُ سُلَيْمٍ، عَنْ مُغِيرَةَ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ قَالَ: ” كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ أَنْ يَبْنُوا حَوْلَ الْكَعْبَةِ بِنَاءً يُشْرِفُ عَلَيْهَا “

Salama b. Shabīb related to us. He said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us. He said: Maʿmar informed us, from Yazīd b. Abī Ziyād, from Mujāhid, from ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr, who said:

“When you see buildings having risen above the mountains of Mecca and water flowing, then be on your guard.”

٦٩٩ – حَدَّثَنَا سَلَمَةُ بْنُ شَبِيبٍ قَالَ: ثنا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ قَالَ: أنا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي زِيَادٍ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: ” إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْبِنَاءَ قَدِ ارْتَفَعَ عَلَى جِبَالِ مَكَّةَ وَسَالَ الْمَاءُ فَخُذْ حِذْرَكَ “

Aḥmad b. Muḥammad Abū al-ʿAbbās related to us. He said: Abū Bakr related to us. He said: Sulaymān b. Ḥayyān related to us, from Hishām b. ʿUrwa, from his father [ʿUrwa b. al-Zubayr], who said:

“They used to dislike constructing a building by al-Ṣafā and al-Marwa and making it tall, so that the House [the Kaʿba] would remain visible to them.”

٧٠٠ – حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ قَالَ: ثنا أَبُو بَكْرٍ قَالَ: ثنا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَيَّانَ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: ” كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ أَنْ يَبْنُوا بِنَاءً عِنْدَ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةِ وَيُطِيلُونَهُ، لِكَيْ يَبْدُوَ لَهُمُ الْبَيْتُ

Al-Ḥasan b. ʿUthmān related to me, from al-Wāqidī, who said: Mūsā b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Taymī related to me, from Abū Bakr b. Abī Jahm, from Abū Bakr b. Sulaymān b. Abī Ḥathma, from Abū Jahm b. Ḥudhayfa, who said:

“Quraysh used not to construct a house that overlooked the Kaʿba.”

٧٠١ – حَدَّثَنِي الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عُثْمَانَ، عَنِ الْوَاقِدِيِّ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ أَبِي جَهْمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ أَبِي حَثْمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي جَهْمِ بْنِ حُذَيْفَةَ قَالَ: ” كَانَتْ قُرَيْشٌ لَا يَبْنُونُ بَيْتًا مُشْرِفًا عَلَى الْكَعْبَةِ “

Al-Azraqī’s Akhbār Makka

The early scholar al-Azraqī’s (d. 250/864) also has a work titled Akhbār Makka. The work contains the following passage:

My grandfather related to me, from Muslim b. Khālid, from Ibn Khaytham, from Yūsuf b. Māhak, who said:

I was sitting with ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ in one part of the Sacred Mosque when he looked at a house overlooking Abū Qubays and said, “Is that a house?” I replied, “Yes.”

He then said: “When you see its houses, meaning Mecca, having risen above its two mountains (al-Akhshabayn), and its interior opened up with rivers, then the Matter has drawn near.”

Abū al-Walīd said: My grandfather said:

When al-ʿAbbās b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbbās [a prominent Abbasid prince] built his residence in Mecca, at the money-changers’ quarter opposite the Sacred Mosque, he ordered those responsible for its construction not to raise it so high that it would overlook the Kaʿba. He instructed them to make its highest part lower than the Kaʿba, so that it would remain below it, out of reverence for the Kaʿba and so that the building would not overlook it.

My grandfather said: “There remained in Mecca no residence belonging to a ruler or anyone else around the Sacred Mosque that overlooked the Kaʿba except that it had been demolished or had fallen into ruin, with the exception of this residence, which has remained in its original condition down to the present day.”

• وحَدَّثَنِي جَدِّي عَنْ مُسْلِمِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ عَنِ ابْنِ خَيْثَمٍ عَنْ يُوسُفَ بْنِ مَاهَكٍ قَالَ: كُنْتُ جَالِسًا مَعَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِذْ نَظَرَ إِلَى بَيْتٍ مُشْرِفٍ عَلَى أَبِي قُبَيْسٍ فَقَالَ: أَبَيْتٌ ذَلِكَ ؟ فَقُلْتُ:

نَعَمْ فَقَالَ: إِذًا رَأَيْتُ بُيَوتَهَا – يَعْنِي بِذَلِكَ مَكَّةَ – قَدْ عَلَتْ أَخْشَبَيْهَا وَفُجِّرَتْ بُطُونُهَا أَنَّهَارًا، فَقَدْ أَزِفَ الْأَمْرُ، قَالَ أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ: قَالَ جَدِّي: لَمَّا بَنَى (٥) الْعَبَّاسُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ دَارَهُ الَّتِي بِمَكَّةَ عَلَى الصَّيَارِفَةِ حِيَالَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ أَمَرَ قُوَّامَهُ أَنْ لَا يَرْفَعُوهَا فَيُشْرِفُوا بِهَا عَلَى الْكَعْبَةِ، وأَنْ يَجْعَلُوا أَعْلَاهَا دُونَ الْكَعْبَةِ فَتَكُونَ دُونَهَا إِعْظَامًا لِلْكَعْبَةِ أَنْ تُشْرِفَ عَلَيْهَا، قَالَ جَدِّي: فَلَمْ تَبْقَ بِمَكَّةَ دَارٌ لِسُلْطَانٍ ولَا غَيْرِهِ حَوْلَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ تُشْرِفُ عَلَى الْكَعْبَةِ إِلَّا هُدِمَتْ أَوْ خُرِّبَتْ إِلَّا هَذِهِ الدَّارَ فَإِنَّهَا عَلَى حَالِهَا الى اليوم

Musannaf of Ibn Abī Shayba

In his Musannaf, Ibn Abī Shayba transmits the following statement from the companion ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ :

When you see Mecca pierced through with underground channels, and you see buildings rising above the tops of the mountains, know that the Matter [i.e., the end of time] has drawn near to you.”

( 124 ) حدثنا غندر عن شعبة عن يعلى بن عطاء عن أبيه قال : كنت آخذا بلجام دابة عبد الله بن عمرو فقال : كيف أنتم إذا هدمتم البيت ، فلم تدعوا حجرا على حجر ، قالوا : ونحن على الإسلام ؟ قال : وأنتم على الإسلام ، قال : ثم ماذا ؟ قال : ثم يبنى أحسن ما كان ، فإذا رأيت مكة قد بعجت كظائم ورأيت البناء يعلو رءوس الجبال فاعلم أن الأمر قد أظلك .

Sahih Muslim

In his Sahih, Muslim records the following related hadith from the Prophet (saw)

He [Jibril] enquired: “Inform me about the Hour (i.e., the Day of Resurrection).” He [the Prophet] (ﷺ) replied, “I have no more knowledge thereof than you”. He said, “Inform me about some of its signs.” He (ﷺ) said, “They are – that a bondswoman gives birth to her own master, and that you will find the barefooted, naked, poor shepherds competing one another in the construction of higher buildings.“

وأما الأحاديث ؛ فالأول‏:‏ عن عمر بن الخطاب، رضي الله عنه ، قال ‏ “‏ بينما نحن جلوس عند رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم إذ طلع عينا رجل شديد بياض الثياب ، شديد سواد الشعر، لا يرى عليه أثر السفر، ولا يعرفه منا أحد، حتى جلس إلى النبي ،صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فأسند ركبتيه إلى ركبتيه، ووضع كفيه على فخذيه وقال‏:‏ يا محمد أخبرني عن الإسلام، فقال‏:‏ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم‏:‏ الإسلام أن تشهد أن لا إله إلا الله ، وأن محمداً رسول الله وتقيم الصلاة، وتؤتي الزكاة ، وتصوم رمضان ، وتحج البيت إن استطعت إليه سبيلاً‏.‏ قال صدقت‏.‏ فعجبنا له يسأله ويصدقه‏!‏ قال ‏:‏ فأخبرني عن الإيمان‏.‏ قال أن تؤمن بالله، وملائكته، وكتبه ورسله، واليوم الآخر، وتؤمن بالقدر خيره وشره‏.‏ قال صدقت‏.‏ قال فأخبرني عن الإحسان ‏.‏ قال أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه؛ فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك‏.‏ قال‏:‏ فأخبرني عن الساعة‏.‏ قال‏:‏ ما المسؤول عنها بأعلم من السائل‏.‏ قال ‏:‏ فأخبرني عن أماراتها قال‏:‏ أن تلد الأمة ربتها، وأن ترى الحفاة العراة العالة رعاء الشاء يتطالون في البنيان‏.‏ ثم انطلق، فلبثت ملياً، ثم قال‏:‏ يا عمر أتدري من السائل‏؟‏ قلت‏:‏ الله ورسوله أعلم‏.‏ قال‏:‏ فإنه جبريل أتاكم يعلمكم أمر دينكم‏”‏ ‏(‏‏(‏رواه مسلم‏)‏‏)‏ ‏.‏

A Drawing of Makka from 1710

A Drawing of Makka from 1787

Current Day Makka

Makka is dominated by the Clock Towers Building: A complex of luxury hotels and shopping malls with Starbucks, McDonald’s, etc.

For some reason, when it comes to the actions of the Saudi Najdi regime, the so-called “Salafis” do not care for the widely transmitted position of the Salaf.

Even the jahil Quraysh prior to Islam understood what these Wahhabis do not.

One day, a just ruler will be new Custodian of the Haram and return to the practice of the Salaf by DEMOLISHING the Clock Tower and all other such obscenities that the Najdi occupation has imposed. This is our sincere dua. Wahhabis can cry more.