Thursday, December 4, 2025

Exposing the kissing of the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) as a pagan practice with no theological consistency

THE KISSING OF THE BLACK STONE IN ISLAM: A THEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL EXPOSITION OF PAGAN CONTINUITY

By Dr. Maxwell Shimba

Shimba Theological Institute

Abstract

This article evaluates the Islamic practice of kissing, touching, or venerating the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) located in the Kaaba. Through historical analysis, hadith literature, Qur’anic silence, and comparative studies of Near Eastern paganism, this study demonstrates that the Black Stone ritual is not monotheistic, lacks divine sanction, and is an uninterrupted survival of pre-Islamic Arabian paganism. By examining the prophetic statements attributed to Muhammad—particularly the hadith describing the Black Stone as a creature that will have eyes, a tongue, and speak on the Day of Judgment—this article raises essential theological questions about the nature of worship, idolatry, and divine consistency.

1. Introduction

Among all Islamic rituals, none is more strikingly contradictory to monotheistic claims than the kissing of the Black Stone during the Hajj. Millions of Muslims annually struggle—sometimes violently—to touch, stroke, or kiss a physical object believed to possess spiritual power.

Yet, neither the Torah, nor the Psalms, nor the Gospel, nor any previous prophetic Scriptures ever command the veneration of stones. Rather, the Bible explicitly condemns such acts as pagan idolatry (Deut. 16:21; Lev. 26:1; 2 Kings 23:10).

Islamic tradition, however, preserves rituals inherited directly from Arabian pagan worship of sacred stones, trees, and idols. Even the Qur’an acknowledges that the Kaaba and its rites existed before Islam (Qur’an 8:35; 106:1–4), when pagans circled the Kaaba naked, blowing whistles and clapping as religious rites.

Thus, the question arises: Why does Islam retain a central ritual rooted in the very pagan practices it claims to abolish?

2. The Hadith Evidence: The Black Stone Will Have Eyes and a Tongue

The following hadith—graded hasan (good) by Imam al-Tirmidhi—states:

Ibn Abbas narrated:
“The Messenger of Allah said about the Black Stone:
‘By Allah! Allah will raise it on the Day of Resurrection with two eyes by which it sees and a tongue that it speaks with, testifying to whoever touched it in truth.’”
— Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 961

This narration raises profound theological contradictions:

A stone will have eyes and a tongue.
This contradicts Islamic claims that objects are not divine, conscious, or living.
The stone will testify for or against worshippers.
This attribute resembles pagan divine intermediaries, not monotheistic purity.
Touching a physical object earns spiritual merit.
This concept is fundamentally foreign to the monotheism claimed in Islam.

The hadith therefore makes the Stone a supernatural creature, endowed with consciousness and eschatological authority—functionally similar to idols in other pagan religions.

3. Historical Origins: The Pagan Roots of Stone Worship in Arabia

Before Islam, the Arabs widely practiced stone-veneration:

Tribes kept stone idols (e.g., al-Lat, al-Uzza, Manat).
Many tribes carried portable stones from the Kaaba to serve as household gods.
Pilgrims venerated stones, circled shrines, and performed kissing rituals.

According to early Islamic historians (Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari):

The Black Stone was part of pre-Islamic idol rituals.
The Quraysh performed tawaf long before Islam.
Muhammad himself participated in pagan rituals before declaring prophethood.

Thus, the Black Stone ritual predates Islam by centuries.

4. The Qur’an’s Silence and Theological Problem

Critically:

The Qur’an never commands Muslims to kiss the Black Stone.
It never states that the stone has spiritual power.
It never says the stone is from God.
It never explains why the stone is necessary for salvation or worship.

This exposes a deep inconsistency:
If the Black Stone were essential to Islamic faith, why is it absent from the Qur’an?

All authority for the ritual comes from hadith, not Scripture.

5. Biblical and Theological Critique: Stone Veneration as Paganism

The Bible clearly condemns the veneration of stones:

Leviticus 26:1 – “Do not set up an image or a sacred stone.”
Deuteronomy 16:22 – “Do not erect a sacred stone, for the Lord your God hates them.”
Isaiah 44:9–20 mocks those who worship objects made of created matter.

True monotheism forbids:

attributing supernatural powers to objects,
believing a stone can intercede,
performing rituals to earn divine favor through a physical object.

Therefore, kissing a stone is not merely unnecessary—it is theologically incompatible with the monotheism of previous prophets.

6. Umar ibn al-Khattab’s Confession: The Stone Has No Power

The second caliph, Umar, famously admitted:

“I know that you are a stone that can neither harm nor benefit.
If I had not seen the Prophet kiss you, I would not kiss you.”
— Sahih al-Bukhari 1597

This statement confirms:

The stone has no power—yet Muslims kiss it anyway.
The practice imitates the Prophet, not God.
Even the earliest Muslim leaders struggled to justify it.
It contradicts Qur’anic teachings that only Allah benefits or harms.

7. Critical Theological Questions for Islam

Below are expanded academic questions exposing the contradictions:

1. If Allah is all-powerful, why must humans kiss a stone to receive spiritual testimony or blessings?

2. Why would a merciful God endow a stone with eyes and a tongue? What is its metaphysical purpose?

3. How is kissing a stone fundamentally different from pagan idol-veneration condemned in the Bible?

4. Why does the Qur’an remain silent on a ritual so central to Islamic identity?

5. If touching the stone “in truth” earns spiritual merit, does this not introduce a form of works-based salvation mediated through a physical object?

6. What is the mechanism by which a stone recognizes sincerity, truth, falsehood, or faith?

7. If the Black Stone will speak on Judgment Day, does it share in divine attributes?

8. Why does Islam condemn polytheists for venerating stones, while requiring Muslims to venerate one specific stone?

9. If the Stone truly came from heaven, why did Muhammad replace its pagan function rather than abolish it entirely?

10. How is Muhammad’s continuation of pagan stone rituals compatible with the Abrahamic faith he claimed to restore?

8. Conclusion

The practice of kissing the Black Stone is not grounded in divine revelation, biblical monotheism, or rational theology. Instead, it represents a direct continuity of Arabian pagan practices, re-packaged within Islamic ritual. The hadith granting the Stone eyes, a tongue, and eschatological authority reveals a theological contradiction incompatible with true monotheism.

Islam’s attempt to purge paganism is undermined by its preservation of one of the most distinctive pagan symbols of pre-Islamic Arabia.