Hajar, Umm Isma'il - Biography

One of the most prominent distinguishingfeatures of the Muslim woman
is her deep faith in Allah (SWT), and her sincere conviction that
whatever happens in thisuniverse, and whatever fate befalls human
beings, only happens through the will and decree of Allah (SWT);
whatever befalls a person could not have been avoided, and whatever
does not happen to a person couldnot have been made to happen. A
person has no choice in this life but to strive towards the right path
and to do good deeds - acts of worship and other acts - by whatever
means one can,putting all his trust in Allah (SWT), submitting toHis
will, and believing that he is always in need of Allah's (SWT) help
and support.
The story of Hajar offers the Muslim woman the most marvellous
exampleof deep faith in Allah (SWT) and sincere trust inHim. Ibrahim
'May peace be upon him' (PBUH) left her at the Ka'bah in Makkah, above
the well of Zamzam, at a time when there were no people and no water
in the place. Hajar had no-one with her except her infant son Isma'il.
Sheasked Ibrahim, calmly and with no trace of panic: "Has Allah (SWT)
commanded you to do this, O Ibrahim?" Ibrahim (PBUH) said, "Yes." Her
response reflected her acceptance and optimism: "Then He is notgoing
to abandon us." (Reported by Bukhari in Kitab al-Anbiya)
Here was an extremely difficult situation: a man left his wife and
infant son in a barren land, where there were no plants, no water, and
no people, and went back tothe distant land of Palestine. He left
nothing with her but a sack of dates and a skin filled with water.
Were it not for the deep faith and trust in Allah (SWT) that filled
Hajar's heart, she would not have been able to cope with such a
difficult situation; she would have collapsed straight away, and
wouldnot have become the woman whose name is forever remembered night
and day by those who perform hajj and 'umrah at the house of Allah
(SWT), every time they drink the pure water of Zamzam, and run between
the mounts of Safa' and Marwah, as Hajar did on that most trying
day...
"The first lady to use a girdle was the mother of Ishmael. She used a
girdle so that she might hide her tracks from Sarah. Abraham brought
her and her son Ishmael while she was suckling him, to a place near
the Ka'ba under a tree on thespot of Zam-zam, at the highest place in
the mosque. During those days there was nobody inMecca, nor was there
anywater So he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather
bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some
water, and set out homeward. Ishmael's mother followed him saying, "O
Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is
no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to
enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back
at her Then she asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He
said,"Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us," and returned
while Abraham proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where
they could not seehim, he faced the Ka'ba, and raising both hands,
invoked Allah saying the following prayers:
'O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley
without cultivation, by Your Sacred House (Kaba at Mecca) in order, O
our Lord, that they may offer prayer perfectly. So fill some hearts
among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with
fruits, so that they may give thanks.' (14.37) Ishmael's mother went
on suckling Ishmaeland drinking from the water (she had).
When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became
thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at him
(i.e. Ishmael) tossing in agony; She left him, for she could not
endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the
nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started
looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she
could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa andwhen she
reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valleylike a
person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and
reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking,
expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated
that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times."
The Prophet said, "This is the source of the tradition of the walking
of people between them (i.e. Safa and Marwa). When she reached the
Marwa (for the last time) she heard a voice and she asked herself to
be quiet and listened attentively. She heard thevoice again and said,
'O, (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you
got something to help me?" And behold! She saw an angel at the place
of Zam-zam, digging the earth with his heel (or hiswing), till water
flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin
around it, using her handin this way, and started filling her
water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out
after shehad scooped some of it."
The Prophet added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had
she let the Zam-zam (flowwithout trying to control it) (or had she not
scooped from that water)(to fill her water-skin), Zam-zam would have
been a stream flowing onthe surface of the earth." The Prophet further
added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said
to her, 'Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of
Allah which will be built by thisboy and his father, and Allah never
neglects His people.' The House (i.e. Kaba) at that time was ona high
place resembling ahillock, and when torrents came, they flowed to its
right and left. She lived in that waytill some people from the tribe
of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they
(i.e. the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada'. They
landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that had the
habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said, 'This bird
must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in
this valley.' Theysent one or two messengers who discovered the source
of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came
(towards the water)." The Prophet added,"Ishmael's mother was sitting
near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?"
She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.'
They agreed to that." The Prophet further said, "Ishmael's mother was
pleased withthe whole situation as she used to love to enjoy the
company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent
for their families who came and settled with them so that some
families became permanent residents there. The child (i.e. Ishmael)
grew up and learnt Arabic from them and (his virtues) caused them to
love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the ageof
puberty they made him marry a woman fromamongst them.
After Ishmael's mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael's marriage
in order to see his family that he had left before, but he did not
find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael's wife about him, she
replied, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her
about their way of living and their condition, and she replied, 'We
are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,'
complaining to him. He said, 'When your husband returns, convey my
salutation to him and tell him to change the threshold of the gate (of
his house).' When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt something
unusual, so heasked his wife, 'Has anyone visited you?' She replied,
'Yes, an old man of so-and-so description came and asked me about you
and I informedhim, and he asked about our state of living, and I told
him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.' On that Ishmael
said, 'Did he advise you anything?' She replied, 'Yes, he told me to
conveyhis salutation to you and to tell you to change the threshold of
your gate.' Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and he has ordered me to
divorce you. Go back to your family.' So, Ishmael divorced her and
marriedanother woman from amongst them (i.e. Jurhum).
Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah
wished and called on them again but did not find Ishmael. So he came
to Ishmael's wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said, 'He has gone
in search of our livelihood.' Abraham asked her, 'Howare you getting
on?' asking her about their sustenance and living. She replied, 'We
are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in abundance).'
Then she thanked Allah' Abraham said, 'What kind of food do you eat?'
She said. 'Meat.' He said, 'What do you drink?' She said, 'Water." He
said, "O Allah!Bless their meat and water." The Prophet added, "At
that time they did not have grain, and ifthey had grain, he wouldhave
also invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet added, "If somebody has
only these two things as his sustenance, his healthand disposition
will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca." The Prophet added,"
Then Abraham said Ishmael's wife, "When your husband comes, give my
regards to him and tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of
his gate.' When Ishmael came back, he asked his wife, 'Did anyone call
on you?' She replied, 'Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,' so she
praised him and added. 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he
asked about our livelihood and I told him that we were in a good
condition.' Ishmael askedher, 'Did he give you any piece of advice?'
She said, 'Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that
you should keep firm the threshold of your gate.' On that Ishmael
said, 'It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He
has ordered me to keep you with me.'
Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah
wished, and called on them afterwards. He saw Ishmael under a tree
near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw Abraham, he rose up to
welcome him (and they greeted each other as a father does with his son
or a son does with his father).Abraham said, 'O Ishmael!Allah has
given me an order.' Ishmael said, 'Do what your Lord has ordered you
to do.' Abraham asked, 'Will you help me?' Ishmael said, 'I will help
you.' Abraham said, Allah has ordered me to build a house here,'
pointing to a hillock higher than the land surrounding it." The
Prophet added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House(i.e. the
Ka'ba). Ishmael brought the stones and Abraham was building, and when
the walls became high, Ishmael brought this stone and put it for
Abraham who stood over it and carried on building, while Ishmael was
handing himthe stones, and both of them were saying, 'O our Lord!
Accept (this service)from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the
All-Knowing.' The Prophet added, "Then both of them went on building
and going round the Ka'ba saying: Oour Lord ! Accept (this service)
from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." [Narrated
Ibn Abbas: Bukhari]
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