Prophet Ishmael

Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)and his wife Sarah, who was unable to have children for many years, yearned for a child to alleviate their loneliness and carry forth the family legacy. In her devotion to her husband,Sarah proposed that her handmaid Hagar marry Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)in the hopes of fulfilling this longing.This union soon blessed them with their first son,Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ).Ishmael, like his father, was appointed by Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)to serve as a noble Prophet.

The family traveled long through diverse landscapes, including cultivated land, deserts, and mountains, until they reached a barren valley in the Arabic Peninsula.There,under a lone tree, they had stopped. The area showed no signs of human life, cultivation, or water sources.

Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ), with a heavy heart and concern for leaving his family in such a barren land, raised his hands in prayer:“Our Lord! I have made some of my offspring settle in a barren valley near Your Sacred House! Our Lord! I did so that they may establish Prayer. So make the hearts of people affectionately inclined to them, and provide them with fruits for their sustenance that they may give thanks. Our Lord! Surely You know all that we conceal and all that we reveal, and nothing in the earth or in the heaven is hidden from Allah.”— (Surah Ibrahim, ayat 37-38)

Finding neither help nor water at the top,she descended Mount Safa, and then climbed up another nearby mountain called Marwa. Still, she saw nothing in sight but sand.

Out of desperation, she ran back and forth,climbing between the two mountains a total ofseven timesbefore hearing a voice. She then quieted down, waiting patiently for the voice to call out again.

She then heard the voice again but was unable to make any sense of it, Hagar called out, yelling:“O, (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?”

To Hagar's astonishment,she spotted an angel at the site of Zamzam, he was digging with his heel (or wing) till water miraculously began to flow.Overwhelmed with relief, she ran to the watering hole fashioned a basin-like structure around it, and proceeded to fill her water skin.

Still, the water kept gushing out. Hagar quenched her third and nursed her baby.

The angel then said to Hagar:“Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah, which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His people.”In the hadith recounted by Ibn Abbas, as recorded in Sahih Bukhari 3362 and 3364, Prophet Muhammad(ﷺ)said:“May Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)bestow mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had she let the Zamzam (flow without trying to control it) (or had she not scooped from that water) (to fill her water-skin), Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth.”(Sahih Bukhari 3362, 3364)

NoteThis watering hole is known as the Zamzam, and the practice of running between the two mountains is the ritual of Sa'ee that Muslims observe during pilgrimage.

Prophetصَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَthen continues telling,"The House (i.e., Kaaba) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e., the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada'.They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it.They said,"This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley."They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards the water)."

The people of the Jurhum tribe then sent for their families, who arrived and later became permanent residents of Makkah.

Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)grew up among the tribe of Jurhum and learned Arabic from them. He was adored by the tribe for his remarkable character and virtues.When he reached the age of maturity,he(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)married a woman from amongst them. The hadith briefly mentions the passing of Sarah, but neither the Qur'an nor Hadith records any details of this event.

During this visit, Ibrahim revealed the contents of a recurring dream he had been having, saying,"My son,I see in my dream that I amslaughtering you. So consider (and tell me) what you think."— (Surah As-Saffat, ayah 102)

Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)was in his old age, praying diligently for his firstborn, and Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)granted him his heart's desire. He loved his son, but he had to submit to Allah's will. It was the utmost test of complete faith and submission to Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)that any person could be subjected to.

As described in Surah As-Saffat, ayah 103:"...they had both submitted their wills (to Allah),"

Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)asked Ishmael to travel with him to Mount Arafat to perform the sacrifice. According to certain historical and exegetical sources, it tells us thatShaitan had tried to seduce Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)on three separate occasionsJamarat-al-Ula, Jamarat-al-Wusta, and Jamarat-al-Kubra.

The Tafseer, Maariful Qur'an, narrates the conversation between Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)and his son, as follows:"My dear father, tie me down well enough so that my body may not toss and turn too much; and also keep your dress protected, lest the drops of my blood spoil it which might reduce my reward with Allah, and moreover, if my mother were to see this blood, she will be virtually smitten with sorrow.And sharpen your knife, and run it fast over my throat, so that my last breath comes easy on me, for death is hard; and when you return to my mother, pay my respects to her and should you wish to take my shirt to her, you are welcome to do so, may be it would give her the comfort she needs."Hearing these words coming from the lips of the only son a father has, who can imagine what would have been going on in his heart.But, here was Sayyidna Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)Like a mountain of fortitude, he says to his son,"Son, what a good helper you are for me in this task assigned by Allah."Saying this, he kissed his son and, with wet eyes, he tied him.The ayah of the Qur'an then continues,"and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice)"— (Surah As-Saffat, ayah 103).

There are several reasons for having him lay his head in prostration for sacrifice.For one, it could be seen as a symbolic gesture that further exemplifies their complete submission to the will of Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ).Secondly, it helped Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)avoid having to look into his son's eyes, a sight likely to stir up feelings of compassion and love while also fearing to disobey Allah's(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)command.So, Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)and his son chose to position the knife to come up from beneath him to somewhat ease an impossible task.

He then heard a voice:“O Ibrahim, you have indeed fulfilled your dream. Thus do We reward the good-doers.”(Surah As-Saffat, ayat 104-105)Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)continues by saying:"This was indeed a plain trial. And We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice (i.e., a ram), and We preserved for him a good name among posterity. Peace be upon Ibrahim. Thus do We reward the good-doers. Surely, he was one of Our believing servants.”(Surah As-Saffat, ayat 106-111)

After the death of Hagar, Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)arrived in Makkah to visit his son Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)and his family. When he arrived at Ishmael’s(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)home, he met his son’s wife. When he inquired into the whereabouts of Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ), she replied that her husband had gone in search of livelihood.

Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)then asked herabout their living conditions.“We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,”she complained.Prophet Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)replied:“When your husband returns, convey my salutations to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of his house).”

“Yes”she replied.“an old man of so-and-so description came and asked me about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our state of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.”"Did he give you any piece of advice?”Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)asked"Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of your gate,"she said.Ishmael realized it was his father andunderstood the encoded message; he said,"It was my father, and you are the threshold of the gate. He has ordered me to divorce you. So, go back to your family."

So,Ishmael divorced herand married another woman from amongst them (i.e., Jurhum).

“Yes”she replied.“A good-looking old man came to me.”Praising the old man,she added:“He asked about you, and I informed him that we were in a good condition.”“Did he give you any piece of advice?”Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)asked.“Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of your gate,”she said.“It was my father, and you are the threshold of the gate.He has ordered me to keep you with me,”Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)noted.

Ibn Abbas continues in the hadith to mention how, one day, Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)visited Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)in Makkah again. When he arrived, he saw Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)seated under a tree by the Zamzam, sharpening his arrows.Recognizing his father, Ishmael(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)promptly stood and greeted him warmly. Ibrahim(عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ)then informed his son of a noble task that Allah(سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ)had entrusted to him.

Rabbanaa taqabbal minnaa innaka Antas Samee’ul Aleem

“Our Lord! Accept this service from us. You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”

The square stone with Prophet Ibrahim's footprints is famously known asMaqām Ibrāhīm"Station of Ibrahim,"and is preserved in an enclosure close to the Kaaba.