Sunan Ibn Majah 2955

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā narrated to us: Shaybān narrated to us, from Ashʿath ibn Abī al-Shaʿthāʾ, from al-Aswad ibn Yazīd, from ʿĀʾishah, who said: I asked the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) about al-Ḥijr. He said, “It is part of the House.” I asked, “What prevented them from including it within the House?” He said, “They ran short of funds.” I asked, “Then why is its door raised so that it can only be reached by a ladder?” He said, “That was done by your people so they could let in whomever they wished and keep out whomever they wished. Were it not that your people are so recently removed from disbelief, and I fear their hearts would recoil, I would consider changing it, incorporating into it what was left out, and placing its door at ground level.”