Iltizaam Between The Corner And The Door ( from Rites of Hajj and Umrah – by Shaik Nasiruddin Albanee )
38. And he may cling to the place between the corner and the Door – placing his chest and face and forearms upon this place.(45)
This is narrated by two isnaads from the Prophet by which the hadith reaches the level of hasan – and is increased in strength by the fact that a group of the Sahaabah acted on it – from them Ibn ‘Abbaas – may Allaah be pleased with him – who said: “This is the Multazam between the Corner and the Door. And it is authentically narrated from ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubair also – see ‘As-Sahaabah, no.2138.
And Ibn Taimiyyah said in his ‘Mansak’ (p.387): “And if he wishes to come to the Multazam – and that is what is between the Black stone and the Door – and he places upon it his chest and face and forearms and hands – and makes du’aa – and he asks Allaah for whatever he needs – then he may do so. And he may do so before the Farewell Tawaaf there being no difference in this being at that time or any other – and the Sahaabah used to do so when they entered Makkah – and if he stands near the Door making du’aa without iltizaam of the House then that is also good, and when he leaves he does not stand or turn or walk backwards.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This is a matter concerning which the scholars differed, although it was not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (i.e. that was not narrated in a saheeh hadeeth, as the ahaadeeth that were narrated concerning this were deemed to be da’eef or weak). Rather it was narrated from some of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them). So is iltizaam (clinging) Sunnah? When should it be done – upon arrival or when about to leave, or at any time?
The reason for this difference of opinion among the scholars is that it is not narrated in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) used to do that when they arrived in Makkah.
The fuqaha’ said: He (the pilgrim) should do that when about to leave, and should cling to the multazam, which is the area between the corner where the Black Stone is located and the door…
Based on this, there is nothing wrong with iltizaam (clinging to the Ka’bah in this area) so long as that does not involve annoying others.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 7/402, 403.
AbdurRahman.Org 