The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 88
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 88 name, which in fact is a compound of the words Sa-mi-‘a and Īl. 1 Therefore, God the Almighty made both of these children the recipients of immense blessings, and as promised, enriched the progeny of both these children with virtually every type of reward in this world. Therefore, the Banū Isrā’īl, among whom such high-ranking prophets were born, such as Moses as , David as , Solomon as and Jesus as , were the descendants of Isaac as. However, presently, we are concerned with the Banū Ismā‘īl who settled in Arabia, from whom the being of the Pride of the First and the Pride of the Last, Muḥammad, the Prophet of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him was born. Settlement in Ḥijāz and the Population of Makkah Ishmael as was still a child when his step-mother Sarah as , at one occasion, in her anger, asked Abraham as to expel Hagar as and her son from home. Naturally, Abraham as was very grieved by the thought of this. However, God the Almighty instructed Abraham as , “Grieve not, nor be offended, rather, do as Sarah has suggested – Isaac is also your offspring but I wish to produce a nation from Hagar’s son, Ishmael”. 2 Hence, in accordance with this divine instruction, Abraham as travelled hundreds of miles in order to settle Ishmael as and his mother Hagar as in the Valley of Becca situated in the Arabian region of Ḥijāz. This valley is where Makkah is now populated. At that time it was a completely uninhabited and desolate valley. In this valley, near the mountains of Ṣafā and Marwah, Abraham as left these two helpless and forlorn souls in the midst of the desert with diminutive provisions, and left for his homeland. On observing Abraham as leaving, Hagar as followed him anxiously and inquired in words of extreme pain, “Where are you going? And why do you abandon us in this manner?” Abraham as silently stepped forward and did not respond. At last, Hagar as said, “At least say something – has God commanded you?” “Yes” responded Abraham as , and once again continued moving forward in silence. At this, Hagar as responded, “If it is God who has commanded this, then without a doubt, you may depart. For God shall not forsake us. ” After this statement, Hagar as returned. 3 The Holy Qur’ān alludes to this instance in the words of Abraham as as follows: 1 Sami‘a meaning ‘he heard’ and Īl meaning ‘God’, i. e. , ‘God heard the prayer’. (Publishers) 2 * Genesis (21:12-13) * Tārīkhul-Khamīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan Dayār Bakrī, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan Dayār Bakrī, Dhikru Hājirah, Volume 1, p. 86, Muwassasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 3 * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Aḥādīthil-Anbiyā’, Bāb 10, Ḥadīth No. 3364 * Tārīkhul-Khamīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan Dayār Bakrī, Al-Manṭaqu ka-mimbari Shiqqah Talbasuhā, Volume 1, p. 93, Muwassasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut