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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

For how many years did prophet Abraham leave his wife in the desert and why? what happened thereafter?

 

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Answer:

 

How many years did Ibraheem(a.s.) leave hagar

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.583         Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Abbas (r.a.)

Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) brought Hajrah and their infant son Ismail (a.s.) while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka'ba under a tree on the spot of Zam-Zam. During those days there was nobody in Makkah, nor was there any water. 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  (towards Jerusalem).  Hajrah followed Ibraheem (a.s.) saying, "O Ibraheem! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to eat or drink)?"  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 Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where they could not see him, he faced the direction of 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 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."  (Al-Quran 14.37)

Ismail's mother went on suckling Ismail and drinking from the water (she had).

When all the water in the water-skin had been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at him (i.e. Ishmail) 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 and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like 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.

When she reached the mount Marwa (for the last time), she saw an Angel at the place of Zam-zam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it."

The Prophet (saws) added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had she let the Zam-Zam (flow without trying to control it), Zam-Zam would have been a stream flowing on the 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 this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His slaves.'

She lived in that way till 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 Makkah 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.' They sent 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, "Ismail'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, "Ismail's mother was pleased with the whole situation.  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. Prophet Ismail (a.s.)) 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 age of puberty they made him marry a woman from amongst them……

 

Your Question: …..for how many years did prophet Abraham leave his wife in the desert and why?

Contrary to popular belief, and the false belief of the People of the Book, Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) did not take Hadrat Hajrah and their infant son Ismail (a.s.) all the way from Jerusalem to Makkah because Hadrat Sara was jealous of Hadrat Hajrah!  If that was indeed the case, Hadrat Ibraheem (a.s.) could very well have taken and kept Hajrah and their son to a place closer to his base in Jerusalem rather than thousands of miles away to the barren valley of Makkah!!!

 

Prophet Ibraheem (a.s.) took Hadrat Hajrah and their infant son Ismail (a.s.) from Jerusalem to Makkah under the Precise Command and Guidance of Allah Subhanah…..for in this Holy city of Makkah and from the very loins of Prophet Ismail (a.s.) was to be born and raised the Last and Final Messenger of Allah Subhanah unto all of mankind!

 

It is not conceivable that a normal human being would leave one’s wife and one’s infant child in a far-away and distant uninhabited place…..to claim or believe that a human being and a Prophet of the stature and rank of Hadrat Ibraheem (a.s.) would leave his wife and his child in a barren uninhabited place without being specifically Commanded and Guided by his Lord to do so, is absolutely beyond comprehension!

 

Hadrat Ibraheem (a.s.), under the Precise Command and Guidance of his Lord, left Hadrat Hajrah and their son Ismail (a.s.) in Makkah when Hadrat Ismail (a.s.) was only an infant…..and although there is no specific record to determine exactly how many times Hadrat Ibraheem (a.s.) visited his family in Makkah, it is more than probable that Hadrat Ibraheem (a.s.) regularly visited Makkah to visit his wife and his child in concern for their well-being. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan