8. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from abu Ali Sahib al-Anmat from Aban ibn Taghlib who has said the following: “When al-Hajjaj destroyed al-Ka‘bah, people scattered its soil. When they wanted to rebuild it, a serpent came out on them, stopped people from rebuilding and they ran away. They went to al-Hajjaj and informed him of the matter. He feared that its rebuilding might have been prohibited. He went on the pulpit and swore people, saying, ‘I swear to Allah any servant who knows anything about the trial we are facing to inform us about it.’ He (the narrator) said, ‘An old man stood before him saying, “If anyone knows anything about this matter is the man whom I saw came to al-Ka‘bah, took something from it and went back.’” Al-Hajjaj asked, ‘Who is he?’ He replied, ‘He is Ali ibn al-Husayn .” He said, ‘This is the source.’ He then sent his people for Ali ibn al-Husayn , who came to him, and he informed him of Allah’s prohibiting them to rebuild al-Ka‘bah. Ali ibn al-Husayn , said to him, ‘0 Hajjaj, you have destroyed the establishment of Ibrahim and Isma‘il and threw it on the road. You looted it as if it was your inheritance. Now go on the pulpit and swear people (everyone) to Allah, to bring back everything everyone has taken, they have taken away from al-Ka‘bah.’ He (the narrator) said, ‘He, Hajjaj did so and swore people to Allah and asked everyone who has taken anything from al-Ka‘bah to bring it back.’ He (the narrator) said, ‘They returned everything back.’ When he saw the soil collected, Ali ibn al-Husayn , came, laid the foundation and commanded them to dig.’ He (the narrator) has said, ‘The serpent then disappeared and they dug until they reached the site of the basis and foundations. Ali ibn al-Husayn , told them to move aside. They moved, he went closer and covered it with his clothes. He wept, then covered it with soil with his hand, then called the workers and told them to lay the foundation. They built the walls; when the walls were raised, he commanded them to fill the inside with soil. For this reason the floor of al-Ka‘bah is higher than the ground around and it requires a ladder to climb in it.’”