The Keeper of the Key

A long, long time ago, Qusay Ibn Kilab the great - great - great grandfather of the Prophet ﷺ bequeathed the key to the Sacred House of Allah to his son Abd ad-Dar and his family, making them the Keepers of the Key. Anyone who wished to enter the Kaaba could only do so at their discretion and so the family could refuse entry to whomever they wished.🌕

One day just before the Hijrah, whilst the Prophet ﷺ lived in Makkah. He requested the key from a descendant Keeper, Uthman Ibn Talha except he refused (their family belonging to Abd ad-Dar tribe who were at the time against Islam), never imagining a day would come when Makkah would be conquered.🌕

So the Prophet ﷺ said; “O Uthman! Maybe one day you will see this key in my hands to put where ever I want.”

Time went by quickly and Makkah was soon conquered. The day that Prophet ﷺ  prophesied had finally come (though 10 years before that, Uthman Ibn Talha embraced Islam). As the Prophet ﷺ went to the Sacred House of Allah to perform tawaf, he said to Uthman;

“O Uthman, bring me the key.”

The key was in the possession of Uthman’s mother and when he asked for it she refused. But through Uthman’s good nature and use of wisdom he was able to obtain the key from his mother and give it to the Prophet ﷺ who was now in the position of granting it to whomever he wished (and many a sahaba wished to be its Keeper). Although Abd ad-Dar tribe had done much wrong against Islam, according to Quranic exegetes, the following verses were revealed regarding the conquest of Makkah.

“Verily Allah commands that you should render back the trusts of those whom they are due.” [4:58]

Having the best of morals and character the Prophet ﷺ  summoned Uthman and declared;

“Take your key, O Uthman! Today is a day of loyalty! Take it forever and ever and no one shall ever take it from you except one who is the wrongdoer.”

[ as-Sirat an Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham]🌕

So the key to the Sacred House of Allah was returned to its rightful Keeper.🌙

𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 of 𝗦.𝗡.𝗝𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗶 ✍🏼 (𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, Islamic chapter books for kids📚)