Ep. 03: Finding Purpose | History of The Ka’bah

Sayyid Hajar and sayyid Isma’il (AS) have now started living in this town of Makkah. Isma’il (AS) is still a young boy and, at some point, a nomadic tribe by the name of Jurhum happened to be passing by that area. This tribe would move from place to place in search of water and pasture for their animals. When they saw some birds flying overhead, their chief said, “Those birds are a sign of water in that area.” His people said, “You know very well that there is no water in this area.” He said, “No, these birds are only found where there is a source of water. Let us go and explore.” He insisted. When he reached the area where the birds were, there was, in fact, zamzam, along with sayyid Hajar and Isma’il (AS), who the tribe chief respectfully approached. The tribe chief took from the water and went back to inform the rest of the tribe, and the tribe came with them. After spending a few days there, the tribe came to the conclusion that they should think about settling down there, after thinking of how the main reason why they were nomadic was because there was no stable source of water or vegetation in the lands they had travelled. The tribe agreed on this proposition, but first thought to seek the permission of Hajar and Isma’il (AS), because their laws dictated that if someone finds a piece of land, then it is theirs to keep. Therefore, the came to Hajar and requested her permission to stay there, to which Hajar gave the permission, but laid down the condition that no one of the tribe can take the water of zamzam as their personal property, and that it must remain open to the public. They agreed and settled down. For sustenance, they would hunt the animals in the mountains and deserts and drink the water of zamzam and they started establishing a small settlement. During this time, Ibraim (AS) would come and visit once a year. His visits would be very brief to check on the welfare of his family, but he would not be permitted to stay very long, so he would continue to come and go, and during this time, the incident of slaughter took place.

What some Ulama have mentioned is that Ibrahim (AS) would very dearly miss Isma’il (AS) and any child that he saw would remind him of his own son, so, as Ibrahim (AS) was ascending the level of closeness to Allah (SWT) and presenting him with all of these beautiful acts and deeds, Allah (SWT) describes this. [“And (mention, O Muhammad,) when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands and he fulfilled them. (Allah) said, “Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people.” (Abraham) said, “And of my descendants?” (Allah) said, “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers.” Surah Al-Baqarah: 124] Allah (SWT) tested Ibrahim (AS) with many instructions; however, Allah (SWT) had taken Ibrahim (AS) as his khalil (intimate friend) so he wanted Ibrahim (AS) to rise to the highest level of sacrifice, and Allah (SWT) showed him in his dream that he was slaughtering his son. So, on one of his visits, he told his son, “Allah has shown me in a dream that I am slaughtering you.” And the dreams of anbiyaa are forms of divine revelations and they are true, so Isma’il (AS) was prepared. [“And when he reached with him (the age of) exertion, he said, “O my son; indeed, I have seen in a dream that I (must) sacrifice you, so see what you think.” He said, “O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.” Surah Saffat: 102] “I will be patient; you do what you are instructed to do.” This story is very well known; Allah (SWT) saved Isma’il (AS) and replaced him with a ram that Ibrahim (AS) ended up slaughtering.

As Isma’il (AS) continues to grow, the people of Jurhum offer him to marry one of their girls. Isma’il (AS) and Hajar accept, and Isma’il (AS) gets married, starting a new part of his life. During one if Ibrahim (AS)’s visits, when he returns, he finds that Isma’il (AS) was not home. Isma’il (AS) was a very gifted hunter and was away hunting. Ibrahim (AS) comes to his house and asks his wife where he was, to which she replied that he was out hunting. Ibrahim (AS) now asks, after realizing that he is talking to Isma’il (AS)’s wife and that he is now married, he asks his wife, “How are things going? How is life?” To which she responds, “Our life is terrible. We are miserable and we do not have anything. In other words, I am sick and tired of this.” Ibrahim (AS) observes all of this and he tells her, “When Isma’il (AS) comes, convey my salaam to him, and tell him that he needs to change the entrance to his house.” Isma’il (AS) eventually comes home and senses the presence of his father, and that he must have been to his house while he was away. He then asks his wife if anyone came, to which she replies that there was a man that came and asked about their life. Isma’il (AS) asked, “Did he leave any message for me?” and she then told him about Ibrahim (AS)’s message about changing the entrance to his house. Finally, Isma’il (AS) tells her that the man that came was his father, and through the message he conveyed, he had instructed Isma’il (AS) to leave his wife. And so, he divorced her.

During this time, sayyid Hajar passes away. Isma’il (AS) has now lost his beloved mother, and deep inside, he feels that there is no reason left to stay where he is anymore, and that he should not continue living there. The people of Jurum said, “If Isma’il leaves, we are going to lose someone great. This man is so noble, wise and knowledgeable; we cannot afford to let such a man leave and migrate from here.” Therefore, they presented another one of their daughters to him, and Isma’il (AS) agreed. Now, some narrations mention that when sayyid Hajar passed away, she was buried right in front of where the Ka’bah is now, and historians have affirmed this, that before the more recent construction of Al-Masjid Al-Haram took place, these places were marked on the ground. Later on, when Isma’il (AS) passed away, he was also buried there. In any case, this incident occurs and passes; Allah (SWT) told Ibrahim (AS), “I am going to make you an Imam for mankind.” This was after Ibrahim (AS) had fulfilled all of his conditions and passed all of his tests. Allah (SWT) then honors Ibrahim (AS) by instructing him to build a house for the worship of Allah (SWT).