Stories of the Prophets,
Stories of the Prophets,
peace be upon them.
May the blessings of Allah
followed by
peace
be upon the best of all creation,
entirely,
those of firm resolve,
whose station is exalted,
and a light.
The story of Ibrahim,
peace be upon him.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
and peace and blessings
be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and Companions,
all together.
To proceed:
After the pagan star-worshippers saw
how Allah,
Exalted is He, saved Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
from their tremendous fire,
it only increased them
in arrogance and haughtiness.
So they did not believe in him,
and they persisted in their disbelief
and stubbornness,
except for one single man among them
who believed in him and followed him,
and that was Lut, peace be upon him.
At that point,
the Prophet of Allah, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, became certain
that there was no benefit
in calling these
people,
especially since his people wanted
to kill him in revenge for their alleged
gods.
So he thought of migrating to a land
where he could spread the call
and convey the message.
Then Allah Almighty permitted
him to migrate to the land of
the Levant—that
blessed land
that would be the cradle
of future divine messages.
So the Intimate Friend, Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
embarked on that blessed
journey and tremendous
migration to the land of
the Levant.
On his way, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, passed
through a city ruled by a tyrannical
king named
Nimrod.
This king used to claim
divinity. So when
he heard the story of Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
and what had happened to him
with that fire, he requested
to meet him. When
he met him and heard his story,
he was intrigued by him.
Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
mentioned to him that
he had only entered his city
to seek provisions
and continue his journey,
migrating to his Lord Almighty.
Thereupon, the king asked him
about his Lord whom he worshipped,
so Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, said to him:
"I worship Allah, my Lord, alone,
without any partner,
the One who gives life and causes death."
But the king argued with
Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
and said, "I am a lord
as well, and I,
I give life and cause death."
The king then summoned two men
who were condemned to death;
he executed the first
and released the other,
and said to Ibrahim,
"Look, I have given life to this one,
for I released him
after he was counted among
the dead, and I caused the death
of the other; so I
give life and cause death!"
Here, Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, realized the sheer foolishness of this tyrant,
who did not understand that
Allah, Majestic and Exalted, creates life
out of nothingness.
So Ibrahim, peace be upon him, abandoned
debating him on this point,
and presented him with another argument
that silenced him completely,
saying: "Indeed, my Lord
brings the sun from
the east, so bring it
from the west."
Thus was the disbeliever dumbfounded,
his tongue was tied,
and his arguments were shattered;
he could find no answer.
Yet, despite that,
he remained stubborn and arrogant,
and forbade Ibrahim from taking
food provisions from his city,
as a punishment for not
believing in him as a lord,
and threatened him because of that.
So Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, departed from his city
in haste, fearing
that he might assault him.
Allah Almighty said:
"Have you not considered the one who
argued with
Ibrahim about
his Lord because
Allah had given him
kingship?
When
Ibrahim said, 'My Lord
is the One who gives life and causes death,'
when
Ibrahim said, 'My Lord
is the One who gives life and causes death,'
he said, 'I give life
and cause death.'
Ibrahim said,
'Indeed, Allah brings
the sun from the east,
so bring it from the west.'
'So bring it
from the west.' So dumbfounded was
the one who disbelieved,
and Allah does not guide
the wrongdoing people."
And among
the events that happened
to Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
and his wife Sarah on their journey,
is that they came upon
a tyrant among tyrants.
It was said that he was Nimrod himself,
and it was said that he was another
tyrannical, oppressive king
other than Nimrod.
It was said to this tyrannical king,
"There is here
a woman among the most beautiful of women,
and she is fit
for none other than you," and they made him covet
her. So that tyrannical king
sent
for Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
and asked him about the woman who
was with him. Thereupon,
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said,
"She is my sister."
So the king released him
and ordered the soldiers to bring
Sarah to him.
The Prophet of Allah Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, returned to Sarah
and said to her, "Indeed,
if this king knows
that you are my wife, he will overpower me
to take you. So if he asks you,
tell him that you are my sister,
for indeed you are my sister in
Islam; there is no
believer on earth besides me and you."
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, only said
about Sarah
that she was his sister
in order to incur the lesser of two harms;
for had the tyrannical king known
that she was his wife,
he would have killed Ibrahim and taken
Sarah. However,
if he knew she was his sister,
he would take her without having
to kill Ibrahim, peace
be upon him.
When Sarah was taken to the king,
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, stood
in prayer.
When Sarah was brought before the tyrant king,
he could not contain
himself and stretched out
his hand toward her due to her extraordinary beauty.
Thereupon, Sarah prayed
to her Lord, saying:
"O Allah, if You
know that I have believed in You
and Your Messenger, and have guarded
my chastity against all
but my husband, do not give
this disbeliever power over me!"
Instantly, the king's hand was seized
with a severe paralysis,
becoming completely stiff and withered,
and he collapsed in a fit.
When he recovered, he pleaded with her:
"Pray to Allah for me,
and I will not harm you."
She said to herself: "O Allah,
if he dies, it will be said
that she is the one who killed him."
So she prayed to Allah for his relief,
and his hand was released.
Yet the king reached out toward her a second time,
so she invoked Allah,
the Almighty and Majestic,
and he was seized as severely as the first time,
or even more intensely.
He begged her once again to pray for him,
and she did so,
whereupon his hand was freed.
But he advanced toward her yet again,
only to be afflicted just as he had been
on the first two occasions.
He then summoned the man who had brought
Sarah to him
and said to him: "You
have not brought me a human being!
You brought me nothing of the sort!
Take her back
to Ibrahim!"
And he gifted her a maidservant,
who was Hajar.
When she was released,
accompanied by Hajar,
she returned to Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
who was still standing in prayer.
He said to her
after finishing his prayer:
"What news do you bring?"
Sarah replied, summarizing
all that had transpired:
"Allah thwarted the plot of the disbeliever,
and gave us Hajar as a servant."
Among the significant events
that Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, experienced during his journey
was that he asked Allah a profound question,
saying:
"My Lord, show me how You give life
to the dead."
Allah, Exalted is He, said to him:
"Have you not believed, O Ibrahim,
that I over all things
am Capable?"
Ibrahim answered:
"Yes, my Lord, but
so that my heart may be at ease."
The scholars explained:
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, wished
to ascend from the level of certainty based on knowledge ('ilm al-yaqin)
to a higher station,
which is certainty through direct witnessing ('ayn
al-yaqin);
doubt had never crossed his heart
in the slightest.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"We are more prone to doubt
than Ibrahim
when he said: 'My Lord, show me how You give life
to the dead.'"
This was a defense by the Prophet, peace be upon him,
of his forefather Ibrahim,
peace be upon him,
affirming that he never doubted.
That is to say: as long as
we ourselves do not doubt,
then all the more so
he never doubted either,
may the blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him.
Allah, Exalted is He, commanded Ibrahim,
peace be upon him:
“And when Abraham said (unto his Lord): My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: Dost thou not believe? Abraham said: Yea, but (I ask) in order that my heart may be at ease. (His Lord) said: Take four of the birds and cause them to incline unto thee, then place a part of them on each hill, then call them, they will come to thee in haste, and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (2:260)
"Take four birds of whatever kinds you wish,
then slaughter and cut them up,
and thoroughly mix their parts
together.
Then place a portion of this mixture
upon the peak of this mountain,
another portion upon the peak of
that mountain,
and another portion upon a third mountain,
and so on.
Then call each bird
by its name,
and they will come to you alive and in haste,
flying swiftly back to life."
Allah, Exalted is He, said:
"And when Ibrahim said, 'My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead.'
“And when Abraham said (unto his Lord): My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead, He said: Dost thou not believe? Abraham said: Yea, but (I ask) in order that my heart may be at ease. (His Lord) said: Take four of the birds and cause them to incline unto thee, then place a part of them on each hill, then call them, they will come to thee in haste, and know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (2:260)
Allah said, 'Have you not
believed?'
He said, 'Yes,
but only that my heart
may be at ease.'
Allah said, 'Take four
birds,
incline them
toward you,
then place
on each mountain
of them
a part;
then place
on each mountain
of them
a part;
then call them,
and they will come to you
in haste.
And know
that Allah is Almighty,
All-Wise.'"
Ibrahim,
peace be upon him, arrived
at the destination of his migration,
which was the land of the Levant (al-Sham),
the blessed land.
He settled there
along with his wife Sarah
and her maidservant Hajar.
Allah revealed to him the Scriptures,
containing immense goodness,
guidance, and righteousness.
Now Sarah,
the wife of Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
was barren
and had not borne him any children.
So she gifted Hajar to Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
in the hope that Allah, Exalted is He,
might grant him a child through her.
And indeed,
Hajar gave birth to Isma'il,
peace be upon him.
Consequently, the situation shifted,
and feelings of jealousy arose in Sarah's heart.
Then Allah, Exalted is He, commanded
His Prophet and Close Friend,
Ibrahim, peace be upon him,
to depart with Hajar
and her infant son Isma'il,
migrating with them toward Mecca.
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, complied with
the command of his Lord,
traveling with Hajar and her son Isma'il
while she was nursing him,
until he settled them near the House,
beside a large tree
above the location of Zamzam in the upper part
of the Sanctuary.
Zamzam did not exist
at that time,
nor was there anyone living in Mecca,
nor was there any water.
He settled the two of them there,
placing beside them a leather bag
containing some dates
and a waterskin containing water.
Then he turned around and walked away,
leaving them there
as he departed.
The mother of Isma'il followed him,
crying out: "O Ibrahim!
Where are you going, leaving us
in this desolate valley
where there is neither human company
nor any provision?"
But he did not answer her and kept walking.
She repeated
this question to him several times,
while he continued to walk away
from her without turning his face
toward her.
At last she asked him:
"Has Allah commanded you to do this?"
He replied: "Yes."
She said:
"Then He will never forsake us!"
With this firm conviction
and this reliance upon Allah Almighty,
Hajar returned
to her son Ishmael
in that desolate place,
completely devoid of any means
of sustenance.
As for Abraham, peace be upon him,
he continued on his way
until he reached the mountain pass
where they could no longer see him.
There, he turned his face toward the House
and supplicated
with these words:
"Our Lord,
I have settled
some of my offspring
in an uncultivated
valley,
in an uncultivated
valley
near Your Sacred House,
our Lord, so that they may establish
prayer.
Our Lord, so that they may establish prayer!
So make hearts
among the people
incline toward them,
and provide for them
and provide for them
with fruits, so that
they may be grateful."
Then he departed,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The mother of Ishmael began
nursing her child and drinking
from that water, until it finally ran out.
She grew intensely thirsty,
as did her infant son,
and she watched him writhing
in agony from thirst.
Unable to bear looking
at him in that desperate
state, she set out,
finding al-Safa to be the nearest hill
rising from the land beside her.
She climbed atop it
and turned toward the valley,
looking to see if there was anyone in sight,
but she saw no one.
So she descended from al-Safa,
and ran with the desperate pace
of an utterly exhausted person
until she crossed the valley floor.
She then came to al-Marwah
and stood atop it,
looking to see if anyone was in sight,
but she saw no one.
She did that
seven times, pacing back and forth
between al-Safa and al-Marwah.
And on the final lap,
as she reached the summit of al-Marwah,
she heard a voice.
She said to herself, "Hush!"
addressing herself,
for there was no one else
in that place
for her to silence but herself.
Then she looked,
and behold, there was an angel
at the site of Zamzam,
near the infant boy.
The angel dug into the earth with his heel—
or struck it with his wing—
until water burst forth.
Hajar rushed toward the
water and began damming it up,
to keep the water from flowing away,
scooping
the water into her waterskin
while it continued to gush forth
after each scoop.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"May Allah have mercy
upon the mother of Ishmael.
Had she left Zamzam alone
without scooping up its water,
Zamzam would have become
a freely flowing spring."
So Hajar drank and nursed her child.
And the angel said to her,
"Do not fear being abandoned or lost,
for here stands a House of Allah
which will be built by this
boy and his father."
The mother of Ishmael remained
in this state until
a passing caravan from the tribe of Jurhum arrived.
They halted in the lower part of Mecca
and spotted a circling bird,
hovering in the sky.
They said,
"This bird would not hover
except over water,
yet we know this valley has no water."
So they sent someone to bring them news,
and he found water!
They returned and informed the clan
that in this place
there was indeed water.
They came,
and found the mother of Ishmael by the water.
They said to her,
"Do you permit us
to settle near you?"
This illustrates the noble
character of the ancient Arabs:
they sought permission from a vulnerable woman
accompanied only by an infant child,
while they were a large company.
The mother of Ishmael replied,
"Yes,
but you will have no
claim of ownership over the water."
They agreed, "Yes."
Thus the mother of Ishmael found
companionship in them,
which she dearly welcomed.
And among them grew up the Prophet
of Allah Almighty, Ishmael,
peace be upon him.
To be continued,
if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
and may Allah send blessings and peace
upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and companions,
one and all.
You have been listening to Stories
of the Prophets,
guidance for the believer.
May Allah bless
our master.