Chief of the Prophets — Page 18
Chapter Two Abraham as The Ka‘bah and the Quraish Abraham as , 1 who is regarded as a distinguished and high-ranking prophet of God by Muslims, Christians, and Jews, passed away 2700 to 2800 years before the advent of Muḥammad sa. Abraham as spent his early life in Iraq, but later traveled through Egypt and migrated to western Palestine where he settled down. He had three wives; out of them Hagar as and Sarah as are well-known. Ishmael as was born to Hagar as and Isaac as was born to Sarah ra. Abraham’s elder son, Ishmael as , was still an infant when Sarah as , their stepmother, became angry with them for some reason, and asked Abraham as to expel them out of the house. This greatly grieved Abraham as , but Allah, the Exalted, Who had plans to establish a grand nation in the land of Ḥijāz from the progeny of Ishmael as , consoled Abraham as : Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named. And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring. 2 Abraham as took Hagar as and Ishmael as with him on a long journey and after traveling hundreds of miles left them alone with little provisions in a state of great desperation in the uninhabited and deserted valley of Becca, 3 thereafter returning back. 4 1 The title of Khalīlullāh is often used with the name of Abraham as which means the Friend of Allah. [Publisher] 2 Genesis, 21: 12, 13 (English Standard Version). 3 The valley where Makkah is located. 4 For the answer to the objections of the Christians that there is no historical evidence for Ishmael’s settlement in Arabia, see Sīrat Khātamun-Nabiyyīn, Urdu edition, published by Islam International Publications, 1996, p. 69 to 71.