The building of the Kaaba was ultimately completed, and a great
festival was held in honour. Many hymns of praise were sung at the
accomplishment of so difficult and important a work. The Kaaba has
remained substantially the same as it was when it was first rebuilt. It
is a small place of no architectural pretensions, merely a square with no
windows, and a tiny door raised from the ground, by which the Faithful,
duly prepared, are allowed to enter upon rare occasions. The sacred Black
Stone lies embedded about three feet from the ground in the eastern wall,
at first a dark greenish stone of volcanic or aerolitic origin, now worn
black and polished by thousands of kisses. There is little in the Kaaba
to account for the reverence bestowed upon it, and its insignificance
bears witness to the Eastern capacity for worshipping the idea for which
its symbols stand. This was the sacred temple of Abraham and Ishmael,
therefore its exterior mattered little.

Mahomet's share in the construction of the Kaaba brought him further
honour among the Kureisch. From this time until the beginning of his
mission he lived a quiet, easeful domestic life, interrupted only by
mental storms and depressions. He found leisure to meditate and observe,
and of this necessarily uneventful time there is little or no mention in
the histories. He certainly gained an opportunity of examining somewhat
closely the tenets of Christianity by the entrance into his household of
Zeid, a Christian slave, cultured and well-informed as to the doctrines
of his religion, and his presence doubtless influenced Mahomet in the
spiritual battles he encountered at a time when as yet he was certain
neither of God nor himself. Besides Zeid another important personage
entered Mahomet's household, Ali, son of Abu Talib, and future convert
and pride of Islam, "the lion of the Faith." The adoption of Ali was
Mahomet's small recompense to Abu Talib for his care of him, and the