Hateem was a special place for the grandfather of the Holy Prophet, “Abd al Mutalib”.In that time, this was the place of Hazrat Abdl al Mutalib, and no one else used it or sat in the area. Hateem is also known as Hijr Ismail. It was inside Hateem that he saw dreams regarding the birth of the Prophet and digging of the holy well Zamzam. It is a low wall originally part of the Kaaba. It is a small wall opposite, but not connected to the northwest wall of the Kaaba. It is made of white marble. The wall is 4 feet and 4 inches in height and 2 feet and 11 inches wide. It is crescent-shaped wall. Almost all Muslim pilgrims wished to offer Salah in Hateem during hajj or Umrah, because it has great significance. Muslim pilgrims travel with packages of Umrah In December throughout the year.
Here are some important facts to know about Hateem.
Holy Place where Hazrat Ibrahim make shelter
When the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) arrived in Makkah, they had no shelter over their heads. Allah Almighty ordered Hazrat Jibrael (AS) to guide the family to the place where the current Hijr Ismail Is located. Prophet Ibrahim (AS) used the branches of nearby trees to create a shelter for his son and wife. Therefore, it was also called “Bayt Ismail” or “House of Ismail”.
Flood in the Holy KAABA
At the age of 35 years of the prophet (PBUH), a disaster flood harmed the Kaaba, which was already weakened previously by a huge fire and was at risk of destruction. Then the Quraysh decided to rebuild the Kaaba and did every possible thing for the development. There was a ship destroyed in an accident nearby, they also used its wood to rebuild the Kaaba.
Construction of Hateem
The Holy Kaaba had faced severe damages due to flood, it was rebuilt again during the era of the Quraysh, while the Quraysh were finalizing the construction of the Kaaba, due to a financial crunch, and they were not able to connect the hijr Ismail to the wall of Kaaba. Hence the people of the Quraysh decided to build a small wall on the northwest side of the Holy Kaaba around the foundation laid by Prophet Ibrahim (AS). Hazrat Ayesha (RA) did the question to Muhammad (PBUH) about the reason behind Hijr Ismail not being connected to the walls of the Kaaba, to which he (SAW) replied, because Quraysh did not have funds.
The cube shape of Kaaba
The most famous cube in the world, started out shaped as a rectangle. It was never meant to be in a cube shape. The actual dimensions of the house included the semi-circular area known as the Hijr Ismail, when the Kaaba was rebuilt just a few years before the prophet (PBUH) received his first revelation, the people of the Quraysh agreed to only use income from pure sources to complete the rebuild of Kaaba. So they settled for a smaller version of the Kaaba and put a brick wall called “hijr Ismail’.
The importance of Hateem can be judged by the fact that praying in Hateem is equal to praying inside the Kaaba. The Muslim Pilgrims travel with all inclusive umrah packages from all over the world, it brings happy religious journey for them with ease and comfort.
