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Breaking of the Black Stone in 413

كسر الحجر الأسود ٤١٣

c. March 1023 CE · Dhu al-Hijja 413 AH

Mecca

In the days of the Hajj of 413 a man among the pilgrims from Egypt struck the Black Stone with a mace and broke off a piece, and the people killed him on the spot. Strife broke out between the people of Egypt and the Maghribis; twenty of them were killed, and the people of the Haram plundered them, they being between Mecca and Mina for that reason. Ibn al-Jawzi says: Abu'l-Ghana'im said, 'I saw a large red man with a sword and a mace climb to the Stone on the day of nafr, a Friday, and strike it three times in succession, saying: How long will the stone be worshipped while neither Muhammad nor Ali prevents me?' The people rose against him and killed him, and killed about twenty men who climbed up to it after him; four were burned. A piece broke off the Stone, in three small parts; its outer skin was stripped on every side, leaving a visible portion and three fragments. The Banu Shayba gathered what had broken off, mixed it with musk-scented water and lac, and smeared it on the Stone, where it remains as it is today 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Arabia
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1010102010301040 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

In space

Mecca

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Sacred space and pilgrimageDissent, heresy and freethought

Summary

In the pilgrimage season of 413, a man from among the pilgrims of Egypt struck the Black Stone with a mace and broke a piece from it, and the people killed him on the spot. A riot then broke out against the people of Egypt and the Maghrebis, in which about twenty were killed, and they were robbed on the road to Mina. 1

The eyewitness account

Ibn al-Jawzi, citing Abu al-Ghana'im, gives an account close to the event: a large, red-complexioned man, carrying a sword and a mace, climbed to the Stone on the day of departure from Mina, which was a Friday, and struck it three times in succession, saying, "How long will the Stone be worshipped? Neither Muhammad nor Ali can stop me." The people then rushed at him and killed him, and killed about twenty of his helpers; four of them were burned. 2

The fracture and repair

A fragment broke off the Stone, made up of three small pieces, and its outer layer came away on every side until something visible remained. The Banu Shayba gathered what had broken off, mixed it with musk-scented water and lac, and daubed the place where it was missing. Ibn al-Jawzi says that it remained in that state until his own day. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Mecca
Mentions
The Black Stone

People and things also explored

Dar al-Nadwa· The Kaaba· The offices of Quraysh at Mecca· The cleansing of the Kaaba and destruction of idols· Ibrahim's journeys to Mecca· Abu Talib's prayer for rain with the boy Muhammad· The killing of Ibn al-Anwa' and the sermon on Mecca's sanctity· The partition of the Meccan offices between Abd Manaf and Abd al-Dar

Sources

  1. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.350-351
  2. al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.351
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Breaking of the Black Stone in 413”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/black-stone-attack-413/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Dar al-Nadwa

The council house founded by Qusayy on the north side of the mosque of the Kaaba, with its door into the mosque; Quraysh deliberated its grave matters and married off its daughters there.