The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 87
III Makkah, the Ka‘bah & the Quraish The Father of Prophets – Khalīlullāh 1 The name of Abraham as does not at all require an introduction, for who is unacquainted with Khalīlullāh , the Father of Prophets? He is accepted by the Muslims, Christians and Jews alike. In approximation, his era has been declared to be 2100 to 2200 years before Christ, in other words, Abraham as lived approximately 2700 to 2800 years prior to the advent of the Holy Prophet sa. Abraham as was a descendant of Noah as and was a resident of Iraq. However, later on, he travelled through Egypt and ultimately settled in Northern Palestine. He married three times. The name of his first wife was Sarah as , that of his second was Hagar as and the name of his third wife was Keturah as. The particulars of the last of these wives are not known, nor are we concerned with them in this particular instance. However, it would not be irrelevant to mention that she was among the descendants of the nation of Midian. Among his first two wives, Sarah as was a close relative of Abraham as , but Hagar as was not related to him, and was a native of Egypt. Both of these wives begot children who spread in such multitude, as today, they are found in every corner of the world. Ishmael as was born of Hagar as and was the eldest son of Abraham as and Isaac as was born of Sarah as. Both of these children were born under the distinct glad tidings of God and both were promised the accompaniment of extraordinary blessings from God the Almighty. 2 Their names were also given by Divine revelation. 3 Moreover, in relation to Ishmael as , Abraham as and Hagar as had especially prayed for him 4 , as is apparent from his 1 The Friend of Allāh (Publishers) 2 Genesis (16:1), Genesis (17:20), Genesis (17:16-19) 3 Genesis (16:11) and Genesis (17:19) 4 Aṣ-Ṣāffāt (37:102-112) and Genesis (16:11)