Sunan Ibn Majah Book 25, Hadith 2955

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، حَدَّثَنَا شَيْبَانُ، عَنْ أَشْعَثَ بْنِ أَبِي الشَّعْثَاءِ، عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ عَنِ الْحِجْرِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ هُوَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ مَا مَنَعَهُمْ أَنْ يُدْخِلُوهُ فِيهِ قَالَ ‏"‏ عَجَزَتْ بِهِمُ النَّفَقَةُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ فَمَا شَأْنُ بَابِهِ مُرْتَفِعًا لاَ يُصْعَدُ إِلَيْهِ إِلاَّ بِسُلَّمٍ قَالَ ‏"‏ ذَلِكَ فِعْلُ قَوْمِكِ لِيُدْخِلُوهُ مَنْ شَاءُوا وَيَمْنَعُوهُ مَنْ شَاءُوا وَلَوْلاَ أَنَّ قَوْمَكِ حَدِيثُ عَهْدٍ بِكُفْرٍ مَخَافَةَ أَنْ تَنْفِرَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لَنَظَرْتُ هَلْ أُغَيِّرُهُ فَأُدْخِلَ فِيهِ مَا انْتَقَصَ مِنْهُ وَجَعَلْتُ بَابَهُ بِالأَرْضِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:“I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about the Hijr, and he said: ‘It is part of the House.’ I said: ‘What kept them from incorporating it into it?’ He said: ‘They ran out of funds.’ I said: ‘Why is its door so high up that it can only be reached with a ladder?’* He said: ‘That is what your people did so that they could let in whoever they wanted and keep out whoever they wanted. Were it not that your people have so recently left disbelief behind, and I am afraid that it would bother them, I would have changed it, incorporating what they left out and I would put its door at ground level.”