On the night of Sunday to Monday, the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced the documentation of the Black Stone using "Focus Stack Panorama" technology. The presidency stated in a series of tweets on Twitter that the "Focus Stack Panorama" technique involves assembling images with different clarities to produce a single image of the Black Stone in the highest possible resolution.
It was explained that the photography session lasted for 7 hours, capturing 1050 "Focus Stack Panorama" images, resulting in a picture with a resolution of 49 thousand megapixels, and the processing time took more than 50 working hours.
The Black Stone is the starting and ending point of the Tawaf (circumambulation) around the Kaaba. It is oval in shape, black with a reddish tint, 30 cm in diameter, and located in the southeastern corner of the Kaaba from the outside.
According to historical texts, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was 35 years old (before his prophethood), the Quraysh wanted to rebuild the Kaaba, leading to a dispute over who would have the honor of placing the Black Stone in its position, to the extent that conflict almost broke out among them. Eventually, it was agreed that they would decide by the first person to enter through the Al-Safa gate. When they saw Muhammad as the first to enter, they said: "This is the trustworthy one; we accept his judgment."
They then told him their story, and he said: "Bring me a garment." When it was brought to him, he spread it out, took the stone, placed it in the center, and said: "Let each leader of the tribe take hold of the edges of this garment." They did so and carried it all together to the spot where the stone belonged in the structure, then he took the stone and placed it in its position, thus resolving the dispute.
According to Islamic belief, it is recommended for those performing Tawaf around the Kaaba to touch the Black Stone (i.e., to touch it with their hand) and kiss it as they pass by. If they cannot do so, they should point to it with their hand and say, "In the name of Allah, Allah is the Greatest."
It has been reported that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) used to kiss the Black Stone and say: "I know that you are just a stone that neither harms nor benefits, and had I not seen the Messenger of Allah kissing you, I would not have kissed you."
The scholar Ibn Hajar narrated from Al-Tabari that Umar said this because people were recently accustomed to idol worship, and he feared that touching the stone might lead some to think it was an act of revering stones, as the Arabs did in pre-Islamic times. Umar wanted to teach the people that touching it was a following of the actions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), not because the stone has any inherent benefit or harm, as was believed regarding idols.
