The Kaaba, according to Arab history was constructed by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail. One will find remnants from the time of Ibrahim, thus the 'black stone' fixed on one of the pillars/arkan of the edifice. It is one of the original stones Abraham used to build the Kaaba, as he built other altars and places of worship to God throughout his journeys Gen12:6-8,13:4,18. That Abrahamic practice we are told in the HB, was left to his posterity that similarly built places of worship symbolized by stones erected as pillars Gen28:10,18-22.
As to the talking black stone, they marvel, but we dont, and for good reasons.
A Day will come where none, whether in the heavens and earth and up to the highest ranked angels, will speak except by Allah's permission 11:105,78:37-8. This will be done to assert God's absolute dominion over all that exists. And to further stress that notion, unlike on the earth where a moment of silence can be broken anytime a person wishes to speak on his own, on that day it is God that will give the power of speech to even the most inert objects. This is the supreme Quran imagery at play. Several "witnesses" will be brought forth to the divine court, on the plain of resurrection, besides the messengers 39:69. Among them will be the earth itself which will be inspired by God to "speak" as regards the traces left behind by our deeds 99:4-5.
A more striking and shocking sight will be when we shall be asked as regards the manner in which we made use of God's innumerable bounties put at our disposal 16:78,17:36 and then the different body parts themselves will be made to testify
Whatever the origin of the Black Stone and whatever the origin of stone worship in Arabia, the pre-Islamic Arabs, neither of Mecca nor of the other places, are never found to have worshipped the Black Stone of the Kaaba. Neither was the Black Stone of the Kaaba symbolical of stone worship, nor were the Prophets Ibrahim or his righteous descendants that emulated his practice, stone worshippers on account of their having stone pillars at their altar.
This is highly significant given the importance of the Kaaba to the pre-islamic Arabs, and of the black stone itself. Stone worship was deeply imbedded in their religions
"We used to worship stones, and when we found a better stone than the first one, we would throw the first one and take the latter".
And yet despite the presence of this special stone at their most revered shrine, they are never found worshipping it, or attributing to it any type of intrinsic power. Umar, who was a Meccan pagan prior to Islam, found it strange to include it in the religious rites. His reaction would have been different had the black stone any type of divine connotation to the polytheists. This shows that its significance was other to the Arabs, that just as the Islamic history teaches, it is an Abrahamic remnant. The Ishmaelite descendants, more particularly the hanif among them, of whom the prophet was part of, those that had tried preserving the way of Ibrahim contrary to the pagans among them, were emotionally attached to it for that reason.
Kissing the stone is a ritual done by Muslims out of imitation of the prophet, it isnt an obligatory ritual, neither is it the same as the respect given to statues. The earliest Muslims, as already said, did not feel the need to kiss it as part of their rituals, showing that it wasnt a pre-islamic habit among pagans. As the Caliph Umar said
"I know you are but a stone that cannot hurt or help, and if i had not seen the messenger of God kiss you i would not kiss you".
The companions in fact refrained from forcing their way through so as to touch and kiss it during the tawaf/circlings, if the place was crowded (Sunan an-Nasa'i 2938).
Unlike the Catholics, who kiss statues with the intention of seeking nearness to those represented by those statues, hoping for a favor from them or nearness to God through them, or Hindus who kiss their idols hoping for the same, Muslims kiss the Black Stone without any personification, expectation or hope in it. Muslims do so on account of an emotional bond with it, and what it represents. Just as one would kiss a picture or random object, hand or individual out of pure emotional attachment. Being near or physically in contact with the black stone is for a Muslim an intense experience due to its ancestral importance, the remnant of the foundational stones of the edifice, as Abraham was erecting it. The remembrance it creates inevitably leads to spiritual uplifting. For comparison among the monotheistic faiths, one could parallel the experience with the Jews weeping during prayer while in contact with the remaining wall of their destroyed temple.
Similarly, later companions of the prophet had never prayed to Allah while in physical connection with parts of the Kaaba, neither were they aware of the prophet doing so
"O Abu abdur-Rahman, why do I only see you touching these two corners?" He said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'Touching them erases sins".
As in the example of the black stone, Had it been common in the pre-Islamic belief to worship the Kaaba itself then it wouldnt have been surprising for that companion to see another touching it during worship. When the prophet did so, he did not merely touch it but addressed prayers of forgiveness to Allah
"He walked forward until, when he was between the two columns that are on the either side of the door of the Kabah, he sat down, praised Allah, asked of him, and prayed for forgiveness. Then he got up, and went to the back wall of the Kabah, placed his face and cheek against it and praised Allah, asked of Him, and prayed for forgiveness. Then he went to each corner of the Kabah and faced it, reciting the Takbir, the Tahlil and Tasbih, praising Allah, asking of Him and praying for forgiveness. Then he came out and prayed two Rakahs facing the front of the Kabah, then he moved away and said: “This is the Qiblah, this is the Qiblah".
The Quran further stresses that the Kaaba itself is of no intrinsic spiritual value beyond what God has commanded in regards to it. Without God's commission, no place has spiritual excellence or preference in its own essence. The direction in itself is therefore not something to be disputed and argued about. If one wishes to remain in a specific direction as if the place is intrinsically sacred then he may do so. He would have however disobeyed a divine injunction, prioritizing his personal desires and preferences
2:143,148,177"and We did not make that which you would have to be the qiblah but that We might distinguish him who follows the Messenger from him who turns back upon his heels, and this was surely hard except for those whom Allah has guided aright...And every one has a direction to which he should turn, therefore hasten to (do) good works; wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together...It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate; and the performers of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in time of conflicts-- these are they who are true (to themselves) and these are they who guard (against evil)".
This is the general principle behind every ritual, to do as one is told, as evidence of submission to the way of God.
There are thus no prayers to the kaaba or the stone. Rather prayers are offered to Allah while touching various parts of it. Not a single pre-islamic practice, as reflected by the companions' attitude to the kaaba, indicate kaaba worship. And the kaaba is only part of the hajj rituals. Just like Muslims pray to Allah while in the presence of that monument, they pray and ask Allah's forgiveness in many other situations, locations and touching other things, including slaughtering animals. All of which have their symbolic meaning similar to the ones described as regards the kaaba.
A Day will come where none, whether in the heavens and earth and up to the highest ranked angels, will speak except by Allah's permission 11:105,78:37-8. This will be done to assert God's absolute dominion over all that exists. And to further stress that notion, unlike on the earth where a moment of silence can be broken anytime a person wishes to speak on his own, on that day it is God that will give the power of speech to even the most inert objects. This is the supreme Quran imagery at play. Several "witnesses" will be brought forth to the divine court, on the plain of resurrection, besides the messengers 39:69. Among them will be the earth itself which will be inspired by God to "speak" as regards the traces left behind by our deeds 99:4-5.
A more striking and shocking sight will be when we shall be asked as regards the manner in which we made use of God's innumerable bounties put at our disposal 16:78,17:36 and then the different body parts themselves will be made to testify
24:24,36:65,41:20-21"their ears and their eyes and their skins shall bear witness against them as to what they did. And they shall say to their skins: Why have you borne witness against us? They shall say: Allah Who makes everything speak has made us speak, and He created you at first, and to Him you shall be brought back".When one is alone committing a crime, the last thing on the mind is that a day will come where one's own organs will testify
41:22-23"And you did not veil yourselves lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should bear witness against you, but you thought that Allah did not know most of what you did. And that was your (evil) thought which you entertained about your Lord that has tumbled you down into perdition, so are you become of the lost ones".The ability to articulate thoughts, emotions or any other internal mental condition is only possible with God's power, as stated in both the Quran 55:4 and the HB Prov16:1 so just as God has given that ability to humans, He may as well impart it to any other creation of His. An explicit example is that of a donkey as per the Bible in Numb22:21-30 or the "talking serpent" that was able to outsmart the first humans. We find many other references in the traditions to such phenomenon of inanimate things made to speak and testify, such as the black stone of the Kaaba or even the Quran itself.
The description of the Quran as an animate entity on the day of Judgement, testifying for its recital by the believer, or with some of its suras shading the believer, is understood as referring to the reward of recitation, not to the Quran itself. It is to be noted that the word "Quran" means recitation. The hadith describing the Quran coming as an interceding pale man is deemed inauthentic by some while others clarify that its contents can be authenticated by cross references with similar ahadith. Although, as stated earlier several reports describe the intercession of the Quran/recitation, none speak of it personified as a man. That is why the "pale man" portion is controversial. The notion of abstract deeds like the recital of the Quran interceding on the day of judgement is seen in many other cases
"Fasting and the Quran will intercede for the servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: O Lord, I prevented him from food and drink during the day, so let me intercede for him. The Quran will say: O Lord, I prevented him from sleeping during the night, so let me intercede for him. Thus, they will both intercede for him".
Common phrases in everyday Muslim speech such as "ma shaa'allah" or "la hawla wa la quwwata illa billa" are described by the prophet as "among the treasures of the garden".
It is a major Quranic theme that the worldly deeds will take on a material form in the hereafter, as one of the means by which a person will see evidences of the judgement in his case. So the act of fasting and the act of reciting the Quran are good deeds which shall materialize and be made to speak to honour the believer
"The Prophet said: “The Qur’an is an intercessor, something given permission to intercede” (Al-Tabarani)
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