Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr

"Family of al-Zubayr, if you give yourselves up willingly for me, we shall be people of a distinuished house among the Arabs. We shall have been extirpated for the Sake of God, but no calamity will have afflicated us. And now, O family of al-Zubayr, let sword blows not frighten you. Whenever I have been present at a battle field, I have been carried away wounded from among the slain; and I have found the treatment of sword wounds to be worse than the pain of the sword's blow. Guard your swords as you guard faces. I know of no man who ever broke his sword and saved his life. If a man loses his sword, he is a defenseless as a woman. Pay no attention to the glittering swords; let each man engage his adversary. Let no question about me distract you, and do not say, Where is Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr? But if anyone asks about me, I am in the front ranks."

"Hannad ibn Sari (may Allah be pleased with him) ..... Narrated Ata (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: The Kaaba was burnt down during the reign of Yazid ibn Muawiyah - when the Syrian army was fighting in Makkah (63 AH) and that is what happened to the Kaaba. When the people arrived during the Hajj (Hajj/Pilgrimage) season, ‘Abdullah ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) left the Kaaba in this state. His intention was to incite the people or to inspire them to fight against the Syrians. When the people gathered, he said: O people! Give me advice about the Kaaba. Should I demolish it and rebuild it completely, or should I repair only the damaged parts? Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "A thought has occurred to me that you should repair only the damaged parts and leave the Kaaba and its stones in the condition in which they were when the people embraced Islam and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent." Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "If one of you has a house that is burnt down, he will not be relieved until he repairs it. So how can the House of your Lord be left in such a dilapidated condition? I will seek refuge with my Lord for three days. Then I will take a final decision." After three days, he firmly decided to demolish the Kaaba and rebuild it. The people feared that the first person to climb to the roof of the Kaaba would be subjected to a heavenly wrath. Finally, a man climbed to the roof of the Kaaba (to demolish the roof) and threw a stone down. When the people saw that he was not in any danger, they followed him and demolished the Kaaba and razed it to the ground. Then Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) erected some pillars and hung curtains on them. Finally, the walls of the Kaaba were raised. Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I heard Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) say that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "If the people had not abandoned disbelief a short time ago and I did not have the means to rebuild the Kaaba, I would have included five yards of Al-Hajar (Hatim) in the Kaaba and built two doors for the people to enter and exit." Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Now I have enough money to build it and there is no fear of any opposition from the people." Al-Rabee' said, "Then he included five yards of Hatim in the Kaaba." So it was built on the (old) foundation on which Abraham (peace be upon him) had built it, and the people looked at it. A wall was built on this foundation. The length of the Kaaba was eighteen yards. When it was extended, it was increased by another ten yards, as it was short, and two gates were built for it, one for entry and the other for exit. When Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, Hajjaj (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to ‘Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. He also said that Ibn Zubair had built (the Kaaba) on that foundation [which was the foundation of Abraham (peace be upon him)] and the trustworthy people of Makkah (Makkah) had verified it. ‘Abdul Malik wrote to him and sent him saying that we do not need to accuse Ibn Zubair of anything. Leave what he has extended in length, and break down what he has extended towards Hatim and restore it to its original state. And close the (new) door that he has opened. Then Hajjaj broke it down and rebuilt it on its old foundation."