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PROPHET ISMAIL (a)
(Excerpt from the English translation of "The Prophets
of Islam", by late Dr. Haider Hussain Shamsi)
Ismail was the elder son of Ibrahim born to Hajirah.
Sarah, the first wife of Prophet Ibrahim had no child of
her own. She became jealous of Hajirah. But
Allah had his own designs for Sarah. Allah
instructed Ibrahim to take his wife Hajirah and his son
Ismail to Hejaz, deep south in the desert of Arabia
where the city of Makkah stands today. It was a
desolate place at that time.
The Miracle of Zam Zam
The place where Allah had instructed Ibrahim to leave
his wife and child was without any vegetation or
habitation. Ismail was thirsty and the mother had
run out of water. She ran several times between two
hills trying to look out for help, water or vegetation.
She was unsuccessful in her quest. However as the child
cried kicking the ground with his heels, a spring of
fresh water gushed out. This spring runs with unlimited
fresh water to this day, and is treated as holy water by
pilgrims to Makkah. The act of Hajirah became so
significant in her effort to save the life of her child
who would be a prophet, that Allah deemed this an
essential part of the Haj ritual for all times to come.
The Founding of the City of Makkah
Awandering tribe of the land known as Banu Jarham
arrived in the desolate territory to find Ismail and his
mother encamped with the fresh water spring which never
existed there before. They were fascinated when they
heard the story of the spring. They knew that there had
been no such spring at that site before. They paid
reverence to the holy family and erected their tents by
the spring. This temporary sojourn became a
permanent settlement, and later came to be known as
Makkah.
The Trial of Ibrahim by Allah
Ismail was only nine when his father Ibrahim saw in a
dream, that he sacrificed his only son to please Allah.
On seeing the same dream on three consecutive nights, he
told Ismail about it. Ismail replied that it must
be a test from Allah to test their wills, and he was
willing to be sacrificed in the way of Allah.
Ibrahim took his son Ismail to Mina, laid him on the
ground, and tied his arms and legs with a cord. As
he placed his knife on the throat of his son, the
Archangel Jibril (Gabrial) appeared and announced that
the test of their ultimate submission to Allah was
complete. Just then, by the Grace of Allah, a
healthy lamb appeared there to be sacrificed in place of
Ismail. Ibrahim was given the happy tiding that
Allah was pleased with them, and their position would be
elevated. Ibrahim was also given the happy news of
another son, Ishaq.
This act of the great prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail
became an essential part of Hajj for all times, and is
celebrated a day before the annual Eid al-Adha'.
The Building of Kalba
Ibrahim and his son Ismail, following divine
instructions, built the Ka'ba in Makkah as a House of
worship for Allah. On completion of the Holy
structure, both of them prayed to Allah for acceptance
of their service. They called upon the people to come
for pilgrimage (Hajj). Since then, the tradition
of the two prophets has continued to be performed
through the centuries. The black stone (Hajre Aswad) was
placed in one comer of the building by the Prophet
Ibrahim. According to some traditions, this stone
had descended from the heaven!
For the muslim pilgrim, one of the center points of the
rituals of Hajj is to go round the Ka'ba seven times and
to kiss Hajre Aswad. This is done in remembrance
to the act of devotion by the patriarch of our prophets.
It is one of the essential obligations of the faithful
to go to Makkah and perform the ritual Hajj at least
once during his life time.
Ismail had many sons and daughters who migrated to
several parts of the Arabian peninsula and they imparted
the teachings of Ibrahim wherever they settled.
However Makkah remained the central place of
congregation throughout the ages, and Ka'ba continued to
be the most revered house of worship.
Ismail is also known as Abul Arab, the patriarch of the
Arabs.
The last of the messengers of Allah, the Prophet of
Islam, Muhammad, was bom in the clan of Quraish who
descended from Ismail and were amongst the most powerful
people of Arabia.
Source: The Prophets of Islam by late Syed Muhammad
Hussain Shamsi (Originally written in Urdu, later
translated in English, by his son, Dr. Syed Haider
Hussain Shamsi).
References: al Qur'an: Sura Baqara, Anam, Maryam,
An'mbiya'. Sa ffat, Jinn.
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