Hajr-E-Aswad
The hajr-e-Aswad is a Black Stone, in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Makkah. The stone was brought to earth from paradise/Jannah by Jibrail (Aalehe As'salam) when Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and Prophet Ismail (AS) were building Kaaba. When it was first brought from paradise/Jannah it was whiter and brighter than snow and milk and its length was about one feet.
Allah SWT has given the stone a special place and said that anyone kissing it will be forgiven for all the sins, and on the Day of Judgement the Hajr-e-Aswad will testify for everyone visiting it. Over the years the stone has become dull and black and reduced in size because it has "sucked" the sins of all the sinners visiting it. It is believed that the other half that is embedded in the wall is still whiter and brighter than snow and milk.
Please be informed that kissing the stone while visiting Kaaba is only voluntary and pilgrims do it because it is the sunnah of our Prophet (PBUH). Imagining that you are kissing it while standing at a distance is also enough.
Also be informed that people do not worship the stone, neither have it been worshipped ever.
Maqam-E-Ibrahim
In order to complete the upper part of the walls of the Kaaba, Ibrahim stood upon a large stone block which he moved along when each section was completed. When the Kaaba was finished, the large stone block was left outside the Kaaba, close to the eastern wall of the sanctuary. It became known as the Maqam Ibrahim (the station of Ibrahim). Today, the Maqam Ibrahim, with the stone within, is located in front of the door of the Kaaba. The boulder is about 2 x 3 feet. Where it stands today is the place where Ibrahim offered up his prayers.
Madinah-Al-Munawarah
Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah is the second holy city after Makkah Al-Mukkaramah. It has also got many other names such as Taibah, Yathrib, the City of the Messenger, and Dar Al-Higra (i.e. Home of Immigration). It is the city whose people supported Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) when he immigrated from Makkah. It comprises the Masjid of the Prophet, his grave, the Islamic University, King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran and many archaeological Islamic features.
The Holy City of Madinah, which lies 447 kilometers north of the Holy City of Makkah, is the second holiest city in Islam. It was to Madinah that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his followers, faced by the hostility and persecution of the Makkah merchants, departed in 622 AD - and, when the citizens of Madinah asked the Prophet to live amongst them and to arbitrate in their affairs (an invitation taken to mean their rejection of polytheism and submission to the will of the one God, Allah), it was in Madinah that the Islamic era began. Madinah is also the place in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, was buried.
