ALLAH TO ABRAHAM: "CALL THEM AND WE WILL CONVEY IT.''

Prophet Abraham is special compared to other prophets because Islam derives the most from him.

From him, we learn the true meaning of tawhid and its opposite, syirk (or idol worship).  From him, we learn that religion is rational, intelligible to mind and practical.  And from him, we owe the rites of Hajj, one of the pillars of Islam.

But the story of hajj, or pilgrimage, has as much to do with Ishmael as it is with Abraham.  In our installment "Did Allah Command You To Leave Us Here?," we have learnt that, not long after Ishmael was born, both he and his mother were left at the desolate and barren place called Makkah.  His father Prophet Abraham left them there under the instruction of Allah.  A few days later, they ran out of food and water. 

When both of them became very hungry and thirsty, his mother Hagar set out looking for water.  She walked quickly from the mount of Marwah to the mount of Safa, back and forth seven times.  This quick walk is known as Sa’i.  This sa’i has become one of the rituals in the performance of Hajj (greater pilgrimage) or Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).

Then we hear nothing about Ishmael until he was big enough to help his parent in daily chores.  During this time, Abraham saw in the dream that he slaughters his son Ishmael.  As a prophet, Abraham knew that dream is just like a revelation.  He had no choice but to slaughter his son.  This episode also indicates that Abraham did not leave his second wife and his first born son without paying them a visit from time to time. 

Neither Quran nor hadith tell us how devastated Abraham must have felt with the vision in the dream, which he has to fulfill.   But we can safely say that the matter must have weighed him heavily.  He had been longing to have children.  When both of them were old, Sarah was kind enough to tell him to take her bondmaid, Hagar, to be his second wife.  Now that he had a son, Allah suddenly told him to slaughter his son.  Only his strong faith and his deep trust in Allah kept him calm and sober.

Quran mentions that Abraham told his son about the dream and asked him what he thought of it.  Ishmael replied: "O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, among those who endure patiently."  This shows the strength of Ishmael’s character, worthy to be the son of Abraham.  The son’s reply also appeased the father.  It released some of his heavy burden.

Hadith says that while Abraham and his son were walking to a place where the sacrifice was to be held, the Devil came to dissuade him from fulfilling the act.  Abraham threw stones at the Devil, chasing him away.  After throwing seven pieces of stones, the Devil disappeared.  But the Devil appeared again at difference location, and again Abraham stoned the Devil.  This happened three times and the Devil finally disappeared for good.

At last, Abraham laid down his son and when he was about to slit Ishmael’s throat with a very sharp knife, a call came from Allah saying, “O Abraham, you have fulfilled your dream.”  Meaning, it was only a test from Allah to see how far Abraham would obey Allah’s command, and that Abraham has fulfilled the unimaginably heavy trial.

Then Quran mentions that for fulfilling this great trial, Abraham was rewarded with great reward.  Most commentator says that the reward was the ram that appeared from the bush nearby, which Abraham captured and slaughtered it. 

After this event, Abraham received the good news that he will have a son with Sarah whom they named Isaac.   The Quran also mentions that he was given a grandson called Jacob, the son of Isaac.  The Bible meanwhile says that for fulfilling his great trials, Abraham was rewarded with many progenies (descendants) who became the bearers of the great message. 

Taking both Quran and Bible together, we understand that the great reward was not only the ram (male sheep), but Abraham was also rewarded with descendants who were appointed as the prophets of Allah. 

In any case, Abraham’s action of stoning the Devil, and the sacrifice he performed on his son, which was replaced with a ram (male sheep), have become parts of the rites in Hajj.  These rites are to commemorate the great trial that Abraham, his son Ishmael and his wife Hagar had to go through in fulfilling Allah’s commandment. 

The day of this great sacrifice has also become one of our two main festivals.  It is known as the Festival of Sacrifice (Eid al Adha), or what is known as Hari Raya Haji among Malays.  Some consider this festival greater than the other great festival known as Eid al Fitri, called Hari Raya Puasa by the Malays, which is celebrated after the fasting month of Ramadhan.

After this event of sacrifice, the only story about Ishmael in the Quran was when Allah commanded Abraham to build the House of Allah at Makkah.  The house, known as Kaabah, was built with the help of his son Ishmael. 

When the construction of Kaabah was completed, Allah commanded Abraham to make announcement to people to do pilgrimage (hajj) to this house.  At that time, Makkah was a barren desert.  So it was not exactly a place where people would come. 

Furthermore, when Abraham was told to make the announcement, there was hardly anybody lived there.  For that reason, it was said that Abraham wondered aloud.  He said: "O Lord, how can I convey this to people when my voice will not reach them.''

Allah then spoke to him, saying: "Call them and We will convey it.''   In other words, Allah was saying, “Your job is only to make the call.  It is my job is to make them come.”  So Abraham stood up on one of the high places around Kaabah and shouted, "O mankind! Your Lord has established a House so come on pilgrimage to it.''  

True to what Allah has promised, since then people have come to Makkah to pray and circumambulate (tawaf) the Kaabah, as well as to perform Hajj or Umrah.  And Hajj has become one of the pillars of Islam, whereby annually millions would come throughout the world.

Later, when Ishmael got married, he and his children lived in Makkah.  When the Children of Ishmael, known as Ishmaelite Arabs, grew bigger in number, some remained in Makkah while others spread throughout the Arabia.  They and other Arabs came annually to Makkah to do pilgrimage.   

But we do not hear much about what happened to them, until about 2,400 years after Kaabah was built.  This was the time when a baby boy named Muhammad was born in Makkah.   It was said that Muhammad was the 60^th generation of Ishmael, who will become the seal of the prophets, or the last brick in the House of Prophethood.  And he was the only prophet that we know from the line of Ishmael.

The legacy of Abraham as the Father of Prophets lived on through the line of Isaac, the son of Sarah, not through Ishmael, the son of Hagar, until the birth of the last of all prophets.  There is also a controversy as to which son was sacrificed, whether it was Ishmael or Isaac, but we shall take this matter in our next installment.