It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: When Allah Almighty willed to create the creation, He sent a wind which pushed the water aside until a dry patch of land appeared, and this is the very place that is beneath the Ka'bah. Then Allah spread out the earth from there until He gave it as much length and breadth as He willed. He said: The earth was spreading out like this, and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) showed it spreading this way and that with a gesture of his hand. Then he said: Allah Almighty made the mountains as pegs for the earth, and Mount Abu Qubays was the first mountain placed upon the earth. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.