Encounter with a King
When it became clear that no one would reap any further benefits from his da’wah to Allah, Ibrahim AS, together with his wife Sara and his nephew Lut AS, migrated for the sake of Allah and headed towards the Levant, the part of the world where Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine now stand. They were the only three believers on earth at the time.
When they were passing Egypt, Sara’s outstanding beauty caught the eye of the people, who reported it to the king. The king, who was a tyrant, sent for Ibrahim AS and asked what her relationship to him was. If Ibrahim AS had replied with the truth, it would have meant certain death for Sara, for she would have been killed. Instead, Ibrahim AS told the third lie in his life and claimed that Sara was his sister. This was not entirely untrue, for Sara was his sister in Islam. Ibrahim AS then asked her to collaborate his story when summoned by the king.
The king sent for Sara. Now, Sara was in a huge and potentially life threatening predicament. What were her realistic options – allow herself to be dishonoured, or take whatever means necessary to defend herself? Was she physically strong enough to fend him off? If she were to kill him or even harm him in the process, how severe would the penalty be? It seemed to be an impossible situation.
Ibrahim AS remained in prayer from the time she left to appear before the king, and supplicated for Allah to protect her dignity from being violated. She was in the hands of Allah.
Reports say that Sara made ablution and then prayed to Allah – “O Allah! If you know that I believed in You and Your Prophet, and I kept myself chaste except for my husband, so You do not let this disbeliever overpower me.” By the power of Allah, when he made his move on her, the king was plunged into the water and started thrashing his legs. Sara then realised that if the king were to die, she would be charged with the crime of killing him, so she turned to Allah and made another supplication – “O Allah! If he died, people would say: she killed him.” The king was released, but once he overcame his fear, his lust for her overwhelmed him and he started making advances again. So Sara repeated her supplication, upon which the king was again plunged in the water. As he was thrashing about, Sara repeated her supplication, for she did not want to be accused of his death. So Allah released him again.
This happened three or four times, and finally, the king, angered and deeply frightened of the effect she had, said: “You did not bring to me but a Satan. Take her back to Ibrahim and give her Hagar.”
Allah had replaced his desire with repulsion and fear. When Sara returned, bringing the slave girl that the king had given her as a gift (and in some other reports, he also showered her with other gifts in order to get rid of her), she told Ibrahim AS “Did you know that Allah has failed the plot of the disbelievers, and gave us a girl to serve us.”
Hence, the four of them – Ibrahim AS, Sara, Lut AS and Hagar, continued towards the Levant. Lut AS parted ways with them and headed towards a town in Jordan, where its residents were notorious for their rampant homosexuality. His story will be related at another time, insha Allah.
The Birth of Ismail AS
Meanwhile, what was lacking in the harmonious marriage between Ibrahim AS and Sara was children. Ibrahim AS yearned to have children, for he wanted his progeny to continue spreading the message of Allah on earth. Yet years passed and the couple remained childless. This situation continued until Sara reached an extreme old age upon which it seemed out of the question that she would able to bear any children.
Hagar at this time was Sara’s slave. Understanding that she was physically unable to fulfil her husband’s wish to bear children, Sara gifted Hagar to him. During the rules of this era, once Hagar was under Ibrahim’s AS ward, it was then legitimate for him to have physical relations with her. Their union resulted in a baby boy, Ismail AS, who was later to become a prophet. At this time, Ibrahim AS was in his eighties.
The birth was pivotal to the history of Islam, for from the progeny of Ismail AS, Muhammad SAW was born. Unfortunately, upon the birth of the baby, Sara succumbed to feelings of jealousy, and started bearing ill will towards Hagar. This disrupted the peace in the household.
Walking in Hagar’s Footsteps
It was then when Allah inspired Ibrahim AS to bring Hajar and their son towards the place which we now know as Makkah. At this time, Makkah was a desolate spot deep in the desert. It was entirely uninhabitable, for there was no water source. Packed with some dates and leather skins filled with water, the three of them journeyed towards Makkah. Ismail AS was still an infant during this time and relied on his mother’s milk for sustenance.
When they reached the destination, Ibrahim AS left the both of them there, and started walking away, leaving them behind. He gave them neither explanation for his abrupt behaviour, nor words of farewell. Hagar grabbed him by his clothes and asked him where he was going – was he to leave them to die in the middle of nowhere? Ibrahim AS remained silent and did not even look back. She questioned him again and again – one can imagine her panic and distress at the thought of being abandoned by her husband, with a young child to feed and no signs of life for miles around – but his lips remained sealed.
Why would Ibrahim AS unaccountably abandon his wife and the son that he had been longing for so badly? No Messenger or Prophet of God would behave in such a manner, unless it was in obedience to a divine instruction, for a wisdom and benefit that only Allah knows. Finally, she asked “Has Allah commanded you for that?” He indicated that this was the case. Learning this, she then said: “Allah will not leave us to perish.” Such was her faith and belief in Allah, coupled with her obedience to her husband, that she did not hold him back after that and was contented to stay behind.
Hagar was left to fend for the both of them. Her resources were limited. The provisions they had were meagre, and soon the dates and water were consumed. She and her son were extremely thirsty and hungry. She had nothing to feed him or stop his wails of starvation. Her milk had dried up and in some reports she was so severely dehydrated that even her saliva had run dry. Both of them were totally isolated and at the brink of death.
In a last ditch attempt, she left her son on the sand, and climbed up the nearest peak, Safa, to see if there was anyone around to help. She scanned the landscape, but it was barren and lifeless. She descended, crossed the sandy valley and climbed up the next peak, which was Marwah. Her eyes searched long and hard, but still, only silence greeted her across the parched dunes. Time was running out, and it had come to an alarming point where Ismail AS was already standing in his grave.
With the last of her remaining reserve, and fuelled by survival and maternal instincts, she went back to Safa, and then Marwa, and back to Safa. She was increasingly desperate and it was a race against the clock. Although physically weakened, her determination was intact. She went back and forth repeatedly, walking swiftly and urgently, until she had climbed both peaks seven times in total. This is the incident which gave rise to the ritual of sai’e, one of the mandatory steps that all men and women have to comply with in order to complete their hajj or umrah. Allah had bestowed Hagar with such honour that until the end of time, believing men and women have to walk in her footsteps by going back and forth between Safa and Marwah seven times as part of the hajj and umrah rites.
Meanwhile, the situation was beyond endurance. Hagar had run out of strength and could no longer continue, but she did not despair in Allah’s help. Her heart was still connected to Allah and she remained steadfast even though the state of affairs was terrifying. Struck by a sudden inspiration, she raised her hands towards the direction of where the Ka’abah would late be built, which was then just a pile of rubble. She raised her hands to the sky and supplicated to the Owner of the place where she was stranded, the One who brought them there and pleaded that just as He had led them there, for Him to save them. This was the supplication of a woman in its purest form, as she lay dying with no other recourse but towards Allah. Allah accepted her supplication, and in some reports the angel Jibril AS was already on standby, waiting for the command of Allah.
Then, by the toes of her baby, something miraculous happened. Pure water started gushing from the ground – beautiful sweet life giving water. Such was the power of Allah that the water did not appear some distance away from them, but instead appeared exactly at the spot where Ismail AS was sitting. This did not happen by chance, it was a clear sign that they had been rescued and were granted a new lease of life. Allah had sent down Jibril AS, who hit the ground with the tip of his wing, and what we now call the well of Zam Zam was born.
The quick thinking Hagar immediately built a barricade around the water to contain its flow, for had she not done so, the water would have trickled away, and eventually been swallowed by the desert sands. She drank the water to her fill, and once replenished, she was able to suckle her thirsty infant.
It is narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA) that the Prophet SAW said: “The angel said to her: ‘Do not be afraid of being lost. Here there is a House of Allah which this child and his father will build. Allah certainly does not neglect His people.’”
Hagar and Ismail AS remained there for some time, until a tribe passed by. When they had set up camp, they spotted birds flying close by, which indicated the presence of water. They sent a couple of people to investigate, and when they found Hagar and Ismail AS by the water, brought the rest of the encampment to the water source. It was a constitution on the olden days that ownership of a well in a desert lay with the person sitting beside it. They asked Hagar for permission to stay with her, and she consented to their use of the water, but did not let them stake a claim in the possession of the well.
Thus a new town was born, as the settlements increased around this well. The land that used to be barren could now be cultivated. The population grew and it is now the thriving centre of the Islamic universe – Makkah, the home of the Ka’abah.
Lessons for Us
What made the family of Ibrahim AS so special that Muslims give them blessings up to this day?
Both his wives were righteous and God fearing. The strength of Sara’s faith was evident during the long years she stood by Ibrahim’s AS side as he spread the Message of Allah. The certainty of her faith also surfaced during the confrontation with the king, and this gave her all the defence and protection she needed to survive the encounter. Later, when Ibrahim AS yearned for an heir to continue his legacy of spreading the message of Allah, Sara, who had been a loyal wife and companion to Ibrahim AS throughout the years, made the sacrifice of letting Ibrahim AS wed Hagar in order for his wish to come to fruition.
The dramatic incidents which followed, give us a recurring message: to have total and utter faith in Allah. Hagar displayed complete loyalty to her husband and Messenger of Allah, by accepting his decision to leave her and Ismail AS alone in the desert. She did not attempt to escape from the location, but rather stayed rooted at the spot where he had left her, for she knew that she had been placed there for a reason. This also shows the depth of the trust she had in him, and her unconditional obedience to Allah’s command. Even when the odds of survival were slim, she remained where she was, having full trust in Allah to take care of her and her son. Her faith was tested to the point where both of them came perilously close to death. Yet, all the means of survival which were taken away from her only strengthened her connection to Allah, for even though the situation was excruciating, her heart always remained in remembrance of Allah and hope for His mercy.
Today, when we are backed into a corner, we can either choose to acknowledge that it is Allah’s way of making us turn to Him, or we can get angry about the situation. When Allah puts a believer under a trial, it is usually a means of purification in order for him to be elevated to a higher plain in Allah’s eyes, provided that he passes the test placed before him. Those of strong faith stay steadfast and rely on Allah to guide them through the difficulty, while those of unsteady faith will rebel against the apparent injustice in the circumstances placed before him. In Hagar’s case, she chose to remain patient and steadfast, never once complaining despite being placed in a life threatening situation.
Her faith and obedience were absolute, and this crystallised into opening and support from Allah. Allah bestowed both of them with a great honour, as the catalysts instrumental to the birth of the holiest spot on earth and the focal point of all Islamic worship up to the end of time. Today, no person can complete his hajj or umrah rituals without following in the steps of this lady, who came from the humble beginnings of a slave girl. Look at how Allah has elevated Hagar’s status until the end of time, as a reward for her absolute obedience. For her unwavering faith and obedience, Hagar has indeed achieved victory in this life and in the hereafter.
In Islam, one is continuously tested, and of the characteristics of a Muslim is his ability to sacrifice for the sake of Allah. Ibrahim AS had been yearning for a son for decades, and within months of being granted one, was then commanded to abandon him in the desert. Would we be able to make a sacrifice of such magnitude, or even a fraction of it, if commanded by Allah? Many of us remain too devoted to our lives on earth; and to the things and people that we have grown to love and become attached to. Inability to sacrifice any of these is an indication of our inability to sacrifice for Allah. Fortunately, we are not commanded to make such heavy sacrifices as compared to Ibrahim AS, yet we are nonetheless still reluctant to give up the things that we have become fond of – money, career, excessive adoration of a loved one – and put Allah as our priority. We should realise that it is only when we obey and rely on Allah absolutely and utterly, that Allah will grant us victory in this life and the next.
Please click here for Part 4.
