Part 61

wickedness and depravity, as will be ex plained in its place, if

A ll ah, Most High, says, ( I-las the story reached yo u or the

hono red g uests o f Ibrah ccm? Wh en Ih ey cam e in to him and

sai d, "Salam, (peace be upon you) !" He answered , "Salam

(peace be upon YO u)," and said, " You a rc a peo pl e unknown

10 me." Th en he lumed 10 his househo ld , and broughl o ul a fat

(roasted ) ca lf (a s the property of lbraheem wa s ma inly cows)

and placed it be fo re Ihem, (saying), "Wil l you nOI cat?" Then

he concei ved a fc ar of Ihcm (whell they ate not) . T hey sa id,

" Fea r no\. " And they ga ve hi m glad tidin gs of an intelli gen t

so n, hav ing k nowledgc (abo ut Al lah and I-li s Relig ion of True

Mo no th e ism). The n hi s wifc came fo rw ard wilh a lou d vo ice,

she smo te he r face and sa id, "A barrc n old woman! " They said,

" Evc n so says your Lord . Ver il y, He is the Most Wise, the AIl-

Know ing." ) (SoOl·all Adll-Dllariyat 5 1:24-30) A lI ah, Most

Hi gh, te lls us th at when the ange ls - who wcre thrce in number,

Gabriel , Meckac l and Israfce l - vis ited A I-Khaleel .~, a t first

he tho ught that they were (huma n) vis itors and he trcated them

274 Tltl! SIOIT oJlbrahel!m "fa.

as (honored) guests and roa sted a fat cal f from the best of his

cattle for the m. BUI when he presented it 10 t h ~ m, he saw IlIm

th ey had no desire at all to ea l. This is beca use angels have no

strong need for food . He fe lt a sense of mi strust of the m ( nnd

conce ived a fenr of thelll. They sa id , " Fenr no t, we have been

sent aga inst the people of Loot (Lot)o" ) (SoO/o"II Hood 11 :70)

That is, to des troy them. Upon hea ring this, Sa rah laughed, be ing

pleased that All ah's Wrath was to be visited UpOll them . She was

stand ing wait ing on the guests, as was the custo m of the Arabs

and othe rs and when she la ughed, be ing pleased at the news,

Allah, Most Hi gh said, ( And We gave her glad tidings of lshaq

(Isaac) and after him, ofYa'qoob ) (SoO/o"II Hood I I :7 1) That

is, the angels gave her the glad tidings o f thaI. ( Th eil hi s wife

came fo rward with a loud cry ) (SoOl'oh Adh-Dlwriyat 5 1:29).

That is, giving a loud c ry of amazeme nt. ( she smote her fhce

) (Sooroh Adh-Dhariyat 51 :29) As women do whe n they arc

surprised or amazed. ( "She snid (in as tonishment w+oe unto

me! Shall I bea r a chi ld whi le I am nn o ld woma n, and here is

my husband, an old man'!" ) (SoOl'all Hood II :72) Thai is, how

can a person like me, who is advanced in yenrs and also ba rren,

give birth? ( and here is Ill y hu sband, nn old man ? ) . She was

amazed tlmt a c hild sho uld be born to he r whil e she wa s in thi s

state and that is why she said, ( Ve rily! This is a strange th ing!"

They said: '" Do YOli wonder <It the Decree of Alla h? The Mercy

o f Allah and Hi s Bless ings be on YOll , fa mily (Of Ibfi.l heem).

Surely, He (A llah) is Wonhy of all pra ise, Mo>! Glorious: o )

(Saorah Hood II :72,73) Ibmh ccm ~ was also astoni shcd, but

very happy wit h these glad tidi ngs, which strengthe ned hi m

and g laddened his heart . ( (Ibrahcem) said , " Do YOli give mc

glad tidi ngs (of a son) when old age has ove rtake n mc? O f

what then is your news?" They (the angels) said, "We givc

you glad tidings in truth . So be not of th e des pairing ones." )

(Soorall AI-I-Iijr 15:54,55) They confirmed the truth of these

glad tidin gs and informed them both ( of an in te ll igent son )

- and that wa s Ishaq &J\ the brother o f Isma ' eel ~ , a gentle

son. Th us was he descr ibed by his Lord, as being one who kept

his pro mi ses and was pat ient and forb earin g. In anoth er verse,

He says, ( But We gave her glad tidi ngs of ishaq , and after him,

of Ya 'qoob . ) (Saara" Naad 11:7 1) Muha mmacllbn Ka' b A I-

Qu razi and others c ited th is as evidence that Isma ' eel ~ was

th e sacrifice and that it would not be poss ib le that A llah would

order Ishaq ~ to be sacri ficed after the tid ings of his bi rth and

the bi rth of Ishaq 's son, Ya ' qoob &!!l had bee n gi ven.

As fo r His Words: ( But We gave her g lad tid in gs of Ishaq ,

and ane r hi m, o f Ya ' qoob ) (Saara" Nood I I :7 1), th ey arc

ev idence th at she would be happy with the b irth of her son,

I s haq "1!J.~ and aft er him , her grand so n, Ya ' qoob ~; that is, he

would be born du ring her lifetim e and he wou ld de li ght th eir

heart s, j ust as her son had done. Ir thi s had not been written,

the re woul d ha ve bee n no benefi t in mcntioni ng Ya ' qoob ~~

and s ing li ng him out from amon g the progen y of lshaq ~ ,

And sin ce he wa s sin g led out for spec ial ment ion, it proves

that they wo uld be happy at hi s birth, just as th ey we re happy

at th e birth of hi s fa the r befo re him . A ll ah, Most High, says,

( And We bestowed upon hi m Ishaq a nd Ya ' qoob , each o f

them We guided , a nd before him We guid ed Noo h, ) (SoO/·all

The StOlY of the Building of the Ancient House

Alla h, Mos t High, says, ( And (remember) whe n the Lord

of Ibra hcelll (i,e, A ll ah) tri ed hi m with (ce rtai n) Commands,

276 The SWrI' oj Ihrahcem -M

whieh he fulfilled. He (Allah ) said (to him). ··Vori iy. I am going

to make you a leader (Prophet) of mankind," (Ibrahecm) sa id,

"A nd o r my o ns pring (w ill You I1wk c Icaders)'!" (A ll ah) sa id,

" My Covenant (Prophethood, elc.) incl udes no t =aIi1l1ooll .·' And

(remcmber) when We made the Iioli se (the Ka 'bah a t Makkah)

a place orreson for mank ind and n place ofsa fc ty? And take you

(peoplc) the Maqa1l/ (stand ing place) o f Ibrahcl!m (or th e stone

all which Ibra hcelll stood whi le hc was build ing th e Ka'bah)

as a place of prayer (for some of your prayers, i.!, g. two rak 'ahs

after the f(lwalof the Ko 'bah at Makka h), And We comma nded

Ibrah ccm and Isma 'ee l th at they sho uld purify My House (the

Ka 'bo" at Makka h) for th ose who are c ircumambulating it, or

stay ing (i ~ika/) . o r bow ing or prostra ting them selves (there.

in pmyer). A nd (reme mber) when Ibrah eem said. " My Lord.

mak e this cit y (Makka h) a placc of security and provide its

peop lc wi th fru it s. such ofthe111 as bcli eve in A ll a h and the Last

Day." l ie (A ll ah) answe red. "As ro r him who di sbe li eves. I

sha ll lea ve him in con tent ment for a while. then I sha ll co mpel

him to the puni shme nt of thc Fire, and worst indeed is that

destin atio n!" And (re member) when Ibrahec lll and (hi s son)

Isma 'cel wcre ra isin g the foundatio ns of th e Iioll se (the Ka 'bah

at Makkah). (say ing) , "Our Lo rd! Accept (this se rvicc) fro m

us. Verily ! You arc the A ll -Hea ring. thc All -Knowing. Our

Lord ! And makc us submi ss ivc un to You and o f our ofTsp ring

a nnt ion submiss ive lI lltO You . and show us our lIIanasik (all

the ceremonies o f pi lgrimage - lIajj and 'VII/ral/, c tc.). and

accept o ur rcpentan ce. Truly. Yo u arc the One Wh o accepts

repenlnnce, th e Most Merc iful. Our Lord! Se nd am ongst them

a Messcnge r o f their ow n (a nd indced Allah a nswered thei r

invoca ti on by se ndi ng Muhammad [peace be upo n him]).

who shall rec it e unto the m Your Verses and in,\truct them in

the Book (th is Our'an) a nd AI-/likmah (full kno w ledge o f the

111(' Story ul lhralieclII '1-:. 277

Islamic laws and jurisprudence or wisdom or Pro ph ethood,

etc.), and sanctify them. Ve ri ly ! You arc the Almight y, the

Most Wi se." ) (Soorah AI-/3aqarah 2: 124129). Allah, Most

Hi gh, info rm s us co ncerning I-li s sla ve, Hi s Messe nger, Hi s

Pure One a nd Hi s KIlO/eel, the Imalll of the I-1lIl1afa' fl) and

the fa ther of the Prop hets ~ . tha t he built the A nc ient House,

whi ch was the first mosque bu ilt for the genera lit y of mank ind

to worship A llah . All ah gui ded him to the location in which it