The Hateem is a crescent shaped space adjacent to the Ka’bah. The Hijr Ismail is that portion of the space where Ebrahim built a shelter for Ismail and his mother Hajrah. The present configuration goes back to when the Prophet was 35 and a flood damaged the Ka’bah. The Quarysh decided to rebuild, but not to use resources gained through usury, prostitution or theft. Hearing of a Roman ship wrecked at a port nearby they sent out to buy wood and retained a carpenter. Lacking the funds needed to completely rebuild they designated the original area with a small wall that forms the crescent shaped Ka’bah. When Aisha asked the Prophet if the Hateem was part of the Ka’bah he replied that it was. There is an additional area of about three meters adjacent to the wall on the side of the Hateem that is part of the Ka’bah.
Tawaf must be performed outside the complete area of the Hateem
Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the prophet would sometimes sleep there to be close to the Ka’ab. He was sleeping there one evening when a visionary figure reveled to him the location of the Zamzam well, buried since the times of the Jurhum tribe.
Bibliography
Al-Islam. (n.d.). Makkah al-Mukarramah. Retrieved from Al-Islam: http://www.al-islam.org/ziyarat/saudi.htm
Islamic Channels. (n.d.). Hateem / Hijr Ismail . Retrieved from Islamic Channels: http://islamicchannels.net/new/islamic-places/51-makkah/283-hateem--hijr-ismail.html
Islamic Landmarks. (2013). Hateem/Hijr Ismail. Retrieved from Islamic Landmarks: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/saudi/makkah/haram_sharief/hateem.html
mahatma_andromeda. (n.d.). The Hijr Ismail - Al Haraam. Retrieved from flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23261007@N05/2240769183/
