Let's hear the long story:
A long time ago, there was a man named Ibrahim (Abraham) (as). Now, he was a prophet of Allah (God). One day, Allah ordered him to go to a place now called Mecca. It used to be a barren place, with no city whatsoever. Well, I'm not going to say the whole story, you can find it elsewhere, but Allah told Ibrahim (as) and his son to build a building dedicated to His worship alone (like a masjid (mosque), church, synagogue, temple, etc.). The building they created is known as the Ka'ba. Well, there is a certain stone which is black. Not like covered with patches of black and gray or something, but
completely black. And it's stone, not coal. Have you ever seen a completely black stone? Anyways, after many, many, years, when the Ka'ba was used for idol-worship, there was a flood and it was damaged. This black stone was one of the remaining original stones used. Imagine: a stone placed by a man centuries before by Allah's Command! Well, it is in the present Ka'ba, and has no special powers whatsoever. But how many stones in the world are you sure of that have been used for worshipping Allah? And how many of those are black? And you do not worship the stone itself, you worship the purpose in which it was placed there in the first place: to complete a place for worshipping Allah Alone.
I am not sure of it being sent down from Heaven, though.
t3gah, you say you are a believer, but a believer in what? Just by looking at the front page you can get a very brief idea about the many religions, beliefs, and philosophies that abound here. I don't know how Rex has managed it.
