The Key and the Images

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then made ṭawāf around the Kaʿbah, and then he called ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥah to bring the key of the Kaʿbah. The key of the Kaʿbah belonged to Banū ʿAbd al-Dār. Kaʿb, who is the great-grandfather of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)^* — when he passed away, all of the different honours of Makkah had been in his hands, and then they were divided among his children. So the family of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had the responsibility of providing water to the pilgrims — the well of Zamzam; they would provide the pilgrims with water, and that is called siqāyah. And the family of Banū ʿAbd al-Dār were the custodians of the Kaʿbah; they held on to the key. So the key was with them.

ʿUthmān was a Muslim, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him to go and get the key. The key was with his mother, so he went, and at first she refused, and then he took the key and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) opened the Kaʿbah and entered, and he saw a pigeon made of wood, and he destroyed it. There were images on the walls of the Kaʿbah, of angels, and of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) using al-istiqsām bi-al-azlām — the divining arrows, which is one of the innovations of the Jāhiliyyah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: qātalahumu Allāh — may Allah destroy them; they portrayed our elder, meaning our forefather Ibrāhīm, as using these divining arrows. And then he ordered ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb to wipe out all of these images from inside the Kaʿbah. So ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb soaked a cloth in water and wiped out all of these images. So when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered the Kaʿbah, it was cleaned of all the innovations of the Jāhiliyyah and kufr.