Question
Is it established that the Messenger of Allah supplicated [to Allah The Almighty] at the Multazam during ‘Umrah (minor pilgrimage), or was that reported about one of the Companions?
Fatwa
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Him and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
The reports of embracing the Multazam (literally means the place to hold on firmly to something, and it is area between the Black Stone and door of the Ka’bah) and supplicating are not authentic. However, some scholars like Al-Albaani did consider them Hasan (sound), by way of corroborating [multiple and similar] accounts. The book As-Sunan, by Abu Daawood, includes two relevant narrations, yet both of them are weak.
‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Safwaan, may Allah be pleased with him, related, “When the Messenger of Allah conquered Makkah, I dressed up and, because my house was on the road, I went to see what he would do. I set out and saw the Prophet having departed from the Ka‘bah along with his Companions, after they had touched the door of Al-Hateem and placed their cheeks on it, while he was in their midst.” [Abu Daawood, Ahmad] However, An-Nawawi judged this narration as weak, whereas Ath-Thahabi said that it is Munkar (a grade of a weak Hadeeth).
Some actions of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and those that followed them that have been reported, do indicate the validity of embracing the Multazam. Multazam, according to Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, “lies between the corner [that houses the Black Stone] and the door [of the Ka’bah]”. [Ibn Abi Shaybah]
It was this same area that ‘Amr ibn Maymoon put his chest against, as narrated by Ash-Shaybaani both. Muhammad ibn Abdur-Rahmaan Al-‘Abdi also recounts: “I saw ‘Ikrimah ibn Khaalid, Abu Ja‘far and ‘Ikrimah the freed slave of Ibn ‘Abbaas, embracing what is between the corner and the door of the Ka‘bah. I also saw them there under the Meezaab in the Hijr [i.e., the drainage on the top of the Ka’bah].” Similarly, Hanthalah said, “I saw Saalim, ‘Ataa’ and Taawoos standing against the area from the corner to the gate.”
Mujaahid said, “They [i.e., the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them] would embrace what is between the corner and the door, and supplicate [while standing there].” This statement of one of the most meritorious Taabi’oon, who was old enough to have personally met a few Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, indicates this to be the practice of some of them. Therefore, this suffices, Allah willing, to establish the validity of approaching the Multazam and supplicating there.
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “If a person likes to approach the Multazam, which lies between the Black Stone and the door of the Ka‘bah, and embrace it, supplicating to Allah, asking for [the fulfillment of] one’s needs, he may do so. Also, he can do that before the farewell circumambulation, since there is no difference between embracing the Multazam during it or at any other time. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, would do it whenever they would enter Makkah. [..] If one stands next to the door of the Ka‘bah and supplicates there without embracing the Multazam, this would be fine too.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said,
“This issue has been contested among scholars, for it was not proven to have been done by the Prophet and only some Companions did it. Now, is it an act of Sunnah to embrace the Multazam? Moreover, when should it be done - upon arrival [in Makkah], departure or at any time? Scholars differ on this subject, because no such practice was reported to have been done by the Prophet himself.
As for the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, they would embrace the Multazam when arriving [in Makkah]. Jurists have opined that one may do so upon leaving, too; consequently, this practice is permissible [at any time], unless a person harms or annoys others in the process.”
Allah knows best.