Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 2/196
Newsletter for March 2018
Article 1- Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
Prophet ISMAIL (A.S.)
English
Translation by
Ismail was the elder son of Ibrahim bom 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.
References: al Qur'an: Sura Baqara, Anam, Maryam, An'mbiya'. Sa ffat, Jinn.
DISCLAIMER:
All material published by Al-Huda.com / And the Message Continues is the sole responsibility of its author's).
The opinions and/or assertions contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this site,
nor of Al-Huda and its officers.
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES - FEEDBACK