Al-Kalbi does mention two structures called “ka'bah”...

Al-Kalbi does mention two structures called “ka'bah”, one belonging to Banu al-Harith ibn Ka'b, in Najrin, and the other to the tribe of Iyad in Sindad, a village situated in the region between Kufah and Basrah (pp. 44, 45) But he immediately adds that they are said to be only prominent structures without any religious significance.

Al-Kalbi mentions also the case of one `Abd al-Dar ibn Hudayb, a man belonging to Juhaynah, who tried to persuade his tribesmen to build a place of worship which would compete with the Ka'bah for the allegiance of the Arabs. His tribesmen rejected the proposal, considering it sacrilegious. This episode also shows the special respect in which the Ka'bah was held.

Although the Surat al- Alaq is considered the first surah to have been revealed to the Prophet (S) in the ahadith of the , there is no mention there of this story, which is rejected emphatically by Shia scholars as a fabrication. Ja'far Murtada al `Amili, a Lebanese scholar, in his book al-Sahih min sirat al-Nabi al- Azam (Qum, 1400 H., v. I, pp. 216-238) has discussed in some detail this spurious story of the first revelation.

Had this story any circulation during the early era of Islam, there would not have existed early divergence about the first surah to be revealed to the Prophet (S). The episode, of course, is a favourite with the Orientalist, who despite their critical leanings, are only too willing to accept as authentic an image of the Prophet (S) distorted by filtration through a tradition formed during the degenerate Umayyad and Abbasid rules.

This tradition could not have preserved the true image of the Prophet (S), which would have been radically destabilizing for the rulers. [^3]: Of these writers, W. M. Watt, who has written more on the Shi'ah, and Shi'ism than the others, seems to be the least competent of them. His works show an amazing ignorance of Shia sources even such important Shia sources as Al-Kafi and an equally intrepid readiness to advance bold conjectures about the origins of Shiaism.