Although there was the risk of the Quraysh rising against this step...

Although there was the risk of the Quraysh rising against this step, the Prophet (a.s) decided to go ahead with the performance of his duty against all possible odds. First he erased the paintings of the prophets and the angels from the walls of Ka`bah. Then, along with `Ali (a.s), he destroyed the idols put at the lower levels of the Ka`bah. Now was the turn of the bigger idols at higher level. The Prophet (a.s) told `Ali (a.s) that he would climb on his shoulders to reach the idols.

He did climb but he felt weakness and came down. He now asked `Ali (a.s) to climb on his shoulders and perform the task. `Ali (a.s) went up the shoulders of the Prophet (a.s) and besides the smaller idols he destroyed the big Hubal that was installed on a foundation of steel rods. He pulled it with such strength that it crashed to the ground and shattered to pieces.

It would have been such a pathetic scene for the Quraysh that until the other day they were worshiping the idol that was lying today shattered on the ground! `Ali (a.s), after breaking this big idol, dropped down to the ground and smilingly told the Prophet (a.s), “I have jumped form such height but was not hurt a little!” The Prophet (a.s) replied, “How could you get hurt when Muhammad (a.s) raised you and Jibril (Archangel Gabriel) helped you down!” This was the greatness of `Ali (a.s)!

In other words, this was the Mi`raj (Ascension) on the shoulders of the one who had the privilege of the Real Mi`raj. `Ali (a.s) himself has said: “If I wished, I could have touched the heights of the sky!” There were other people too with the Prophet (a.s) at that time. This task could have been entrusted to any other person by the Prophet (a.s). But the Prophet (a.s) did not want any one else to be associated with the work of the purification of the Ka`bah.

The reason was that `Ali (a.s) had never bowed down before the idols in the past and always prostrated before Allah, the Real Creator! Other persons, at some time in their past lives, were idolaters! If they were asked to destroy the idols, they might have hesitated in performing the task. One example is the people of Ta’if, who, even after embracing Islam, did not like to break the idol with their own hands.

Therefore, when they embraced Islam at the hands of the Prophet (a.s), they requested him to leave their idols untouched for one year.