What is the authenticity of the hadith: "Enjoy this House, for it has been demolished twice and will be raised a third time," and what is its meaning, and is it related to what Ibn al-Zubayr and Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan did?
The hadith "Benefit from this House, for it has been demolished twice, and it will be raised up a third time" was narrated as a marfu' (attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him) narration, and as a mawquf (stopped at a Companion) narration, attributed to Ibn Umar or Ibn Amr. The more preponderant view is that it is mawquf, being the words of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas, and not marfu', for several reasons. These include: that the narrators of the mawquf version (Hammād ibn Salama and Yazīd ibn Hārūn) are more حافظ (accurate in memorization) and more ثقة (trustworthy) than the narrator of the marfu' version (Sufyān ibn Habīb). Also, Humayd al-Tawīl (the central narrator of the hadith) was a mudallis (one who conceals defects in a chain of narration) and did not explicitly state that he heard it directly (did not use the صيغة تصريح بالتحديث, e.g., "حدّثنا"). Furthermore, similar statements about the demolition and raising of the House were reported from Abdullah ibn Amr and Ka'b al-Ahbār. Additionally, scholars found it problematic to restrict the demolition of the Kaaba to only two times.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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