THE PROPHET ISMA'IL (peace be upon him)
Advent of Prophet Isma'il and
Desertion by his Father:
The Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon him) was the
eldest son of Prophet Ibrahim (peace he upon him) by his second wife Hajira.
As he had no off-spring from his first wife Sarah, he entered into
matrimonial allegiance with Hajira, a devoted lady.
He did so with the consent of his first wife.
The Prophet Ibrahim (peace he upon him) prayed to his Lord to bless him
with a son. The Prophet Isma'il
(peace he upon him) was born to him in response to his prayers.
The Holy Qur'an makes mention of it in these words:
"Ibrahim said: My Lord! Grant me of the doers of
good deeds. So We gave him the good
news of a boy possessing forbearance." (37: 100, 101)
Shortly after his birth, in obedience to a Divine
behest, he was left by his father Ibrahim (peace be upon him) along with his
mother at the place where stands Ka'bah. It
was a barren and waterless place with no trace of life in any form.
The great Patriarch, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) left them to their fate
with a heavy heart and prayed:
"O' Lord! I have made some of my off-spring
settle in this barren valley near the Sacred House so that they may keep up
prayer." (14: 37)
The scene of departing Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon
him) from his family was highly pathetic. It
is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbàs that the Holy Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him)
brought with him his wife Hajira and his son Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon him)
whom she suckled. They placed the
child close by the spot where Ka'bah now stands.
In those days Mecca was uninhabited and without water.
The Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) placed beside them a bag full of
dates and a skin full of water. When
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) returned, the mother of Prophet Isma'il
(peace be upon him) ran after him and said: Ibrahim! Where are you going? Why
have you left me in the wilderness where none is to take pity on us.
Nothing is available here to eat and drink. She repeated this several times but Prophet Ibrahim (peace be
upon him) did not hearken to her voice. Then
she asked him. Have God Commanded
you to do so? He replied in affirmative. She said: Then God will cause no harm to me.
Thereupon she returned back. When
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) got out of sight, he faced towards Ka'bah
and prayed: 0' Lord! Grant that the hearts of some men may be affected with
kindness towards them and bestow upon them all sorts of fruit so that they may
be thankful. After this the mother of Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon him)
began to suckle her child and to drink water out of the skin until it was
emptied. Soon after her son felt
thirsty. She could not bear to see
him in such plight. Hajira ran
seven times from the hill of Safa to Marwa in quest of water. As she was about to commence the eighth trip, her attention
was drawn to the crying child who in the agony of thirst was kicking the ground.
Lo! the water gushed forth miraculously from the earth in the form of
fountain to save Prophet: Isma'il (peace be upon him) from the tortures of
thirst. Then she drank the water and suckled her child.
May God bless the mother of Prophet Isma'il! Had she left the Zam Zam as
it was or had she not filled her skin with water, the Zam Zam would always have
remained an overflowing mountain. (Bukhari)
Trial of Sincerity:
The origin of the custom of true believers running
between Safa and Marwa at the time of Hajj is deep connected with Hajira, the
mother of Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon him).
Similarly the rite of sacrifice also owes its origin to the Prophet
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his obedient son. He had received a Divine Command to sacrifice his beloved
son. Both of them stood the test
with credit. The Prophet Ibrahim
(peace be upon him) decided to fulfil the vision on one hand whereas the Prophet
Isma'il (peace be upon him) was ready with alacrity to lay down his life to win
the favour and pleasure of Allah. While
they were proceeding towards Mina for the performance of the solemn duty, Satan
tried to dissuade them from their firm resolve but to no effect.
The Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) passed the sharp knife over the
throat of his son but an angel turned the knife upside down and a heavenly
message forbade the act. The Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was desired to
sacrifice in lieu of his son, a ram. So
he slaughtered a well-fed ram presented by Allah.
When the Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon him) grew up, he married a girl
of the tribe but soon divorced her at the request of his father to whom
she proved to be discourteous. After
this he married a daughter of the Jurhum Chief.
Re-construction of the House
of Allah:
Ka'bah is the veritable heart of Islam towards which
all the prayers of the Muslims flow to vivify their souls.
It was built by the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him), the father of the
human race. When it was damaged by
flood, it was reconstructed on the same foundations by the Prophet Ibrahim
(peace he upon him) with the help of his son Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon
him), the ancestors of the Arabs. The
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) directed his son to bring a good stone to
mark the corner of foundation. He
brought one of which the angel Gabriel gave him information.
It was the sacred Black stone-Hajar al-Aswad.
When the Prophet Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them) raised the
foundations of the House of Allah they prayed:
"Our Lord! Accept from us; surely You are the
Hearing, the Knowing. Our Lord!
Make us both submissive to You and raise from our off-spring a nation submitting
to You and show us ways of devotion and turn to us mercifully.
You are the oft-Returning to mercy, the Most Merciful." (1:127, 128)
"Our Lord! And raise up in them an Apostle from
among them who shall recite to them Your communications and teach them the Book
and the Wisdom and purify them. Surely
You are the Mighty, the Wise." (2: 129).
Mecca is Habitated:
The Prophet Isma'il (peace be upon him) and his
mother settled down in the vicinity of the Ka'bah. His progeny multiplied and ramified into numerous tribes.
One of these is known as the Quraysh from which the Ishmaelite Arabs
sprang up. The Holy Prophet (peace
be upon him) belonged to this family. They
habitated the city of Mecca which became the centre of Islam.