It is very important for us to know the history of our ancent.Nowadays we know the history of such and such person but for our deen...Hence,we are in the period of EID-UL-ADHA and it is obligatory for us to know the history.I'll present to you the hsitory insha allah.
THIS HISTORY IS EXTRACTED FROM MA'ARIFUL QUR'AN BY MUFTI SHAFI'I SAAB.
Words! And he fulfilled them. He said, "I am going to
make you an Imam for the people!' We said, "And from
among my progeny?" He replied, Wy promise does not
extend to the unjust." (Verse 124) 34
The great trials put to Ibrahim rul +
The section dealing with the story of Sayyidnii 1brahim rYIJi +L
begins with Verse 124. It recounts how he was tried by Allah in
different ways, how he came out of these trials successfully, and how
he was rewarded. It also tells us that when Allah promised to make
him a great guide to men, and their chief, (by conferring prophethood
34. So far a whole section of this Surah has been dealing directly with the
conduct of the Jews in the course of their history, and their present
hostility to Islam, delineating the inner motives and mainsprings of
this rabid opposition. As we have seen, they were proud of being the
children of Jacob and of Abraham (Sayyidna Ya'qiib and Sayyidn3
IbrZhim r~~&), and believed that, being the chosen people of God,
they had the exclusive privilege of being the leaders of humanity, and
hence the station of prophethood could not be conferred on anyone who
did not belong to their race. Now, the Holy Qur'an proceeds, in the
present section of the Surah, to refute this line of thought in an indirect
manner, by telling the story of Sayyidna 1brahirn ,,%..Janld+ of his
elder son SayyidnE Isma'il (Ishmael r%..JI 4). This section is going to
suggest some essential considerations in answer to the denial of the
Holy Prophet on the part of the Jews:- (1) He alone can be a guide to
humanity who is not unjust and not a transgressor, and has
successfully gone through the trial imposed on him by Allah -- and
these qualifications the Jews do not fulfil. (2) The Ka'bah, towards
which the Muslims turn in SalZh and which is not acceptable to the
Jews, had actually been built by SayyidnZ 1briihim ,Ul& , and hence
Continued
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 310
on him, or by giving him a huge number of followers), he prayed for
this reward to be bestowed on some from among his progeny too.
Allah granted this prayer, but on one condition, which is also to serve
as a general principle in this matter -- namely, that this dignity shall
never be conferred on those who are disobedient and unjust, but on
some of those from among his progeny who are obedient and just.
Now, Verse 124 gives rise to a number of very fundamental
questions:- The purpose of a trial is to test the aptitude and
worthiness of a man for a certain function, but Allah is all-knowing
and knows every existent inside out. Then, what was the purpose of
this trial? (2) What were the different forms of this trial? (3) What
kind of success did Sayyidna 1brahim +i attain? (4) What is the
nature of the reward he received? (5) What are the various aspects of
the principle which defines the conditions necessary for receiving this
reward ?
As for the purpose of the trials which Sayyidna 1briih:m .Ul
was made to undergo, we shall point out that the Arabic word VJ :
Rabb (Lord) occurring in this verse provides the clue to the problem. In
saying that it was Allah Himself who put him through the trials, the
verse chooses to employ, out of all the Divine Names, the title Rabb
Continued
the orientation (Qiblah) of the Muslims is the same as was his. (3) The
way of Islam is the Way of 1br3him ,WI A& , and the Muslims alone are
his real followers. (4) It was Sayyidnii Ibrahini r~A& Ihim self who had
prayed for the Last Prophet to be sent down to humanity, and hence
one who at all wishes to follow his way cannot but affirm the Holy
Prophet & and accept Islam. (5) It is wrong of the Jews to deny the
Holy Prophet &merely on account of his not belonging to their race, for
Sayyidna Ibriihim '.L had two sons, Sayyidna 1sma'?l and Sayyidna
Ishaq (Ishmael and Isaac +), and he had prayed for divine grace
to descend on both of them (Genesis, ch. 171, so that the superiority
enjoyed by the children of Isaac r~A& Iin t heir own time had now been
transferred to the children of 1sm5'~,lW I +L . What these indications
aim at is to show the Jews that if they wish to have a share in the grace
of Allah, they had better acknowledge the Holy Prophet & and accept
Islam, the last and now the only valid form of the Abrahamic Way --
Translator.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 311
which indicates a specific Divine Attribute -- namely, that of making a
thing attain the state of its perfection gradually and stage by stage. In
other words, the trial of Sayyidna 1brahim r~w&as n ot the
punishment for a crime, nor was it intended to uncover a hidden
aptitude, but was a manifestation of this particular Divine Action, and
a necessary part of the process of "nurturing" the prophet and making
him reveal his inherent qualities to the world, so that he may be led,
stage by stage, to assume his final station, already chosen for him by
his Lord. We may note, in passing, that the Arabic text of the Verse
places the object (~briihhb)e fore the subject (Rabb),t hus indicating
the glorious position of Sayyidnii bra him among the prophets.
We may also add that although it is Divine Knowledge and Will that
chooses a man for prophethood, yet he is not allowed to aisume this
station until his aptitude and worthiness has openly shown itself for
all men and angels to witness. This is just what had happened, as we
have already seen in this Surah, in the case of the trial of Sayyidna
Adam iXJ~ + before the angels.
As for the particular form in which Sayyidng 1br~h';m ?x-" A& was
tried, the Holy Qur'iin only refers to certain "things" (Kalimah -- literally,
"word"). According to most of the commentators, the "things" or
"words" mean certain divine injunctions. But there is some difference
of views among the blessed Companions and their immediate successors
as to what these injunctions were, and how many. According to
some, they were ten, and, according to others, thirty. But basically
there is no opposition among these views, for all the injunctions which
have been mentioned in this context were, in one way or another,
meant to serve as trials and tests. This is what the great commentators
like Ibn ~ariarn d Ibn ~athirbelieveto be the truth of the matter.
One thing is, however, quite clear. These trials were not like academic
tests, nor were intended to gauge mental capacities or the grasp of
mere theories; the purpose, on the other hand, was to test the readiness
in obeying Allah and the steadfastness in submitting oneself to
divine commandments. This helps us to see that what really has a
value in the eyes of Allah is not theoretical hair-splitting, but actual
deeds, within and without.
Let us now relate the story of some of the more important trials.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 312
Since Allah intended to raise SayyidnZ 1brahim ?XJl to a
specially exalted station among the prophets, and to confer on him the
title of ~hal~l~ll(tlhieh F riend of Allah), he was made to go through
very severe trials. Not only his people, but his own family also was
sunk deep in idol-worshipping; in opposition to their creed and
customs, he was given 'XL-D;a~l -~anl,' f" the Pure Religion", and was
asked to go out to his people, and to bring them back to the Straight
Path. Unflinchingly he obeyed the divine command, and, with the
courage and determination of the prophet that he was, he set out to
wage a war against idol-worship and to call them to the unalloyed
worship of the One God. This obviously drew upon him the ire of his
people and of their king Namriid (Nimrod), who finally decided to
burn him alive In a blazing fire. Seeking, as he did, nothing but the
pleasure of his Lord, he gladly let himself be thrown onto the pyre.
7 9 Since he had succeeded in this test. Allah commanded: I:;>~:L L' dLi
/FY'", ! & &,":" 0 fire, be coolness and safety for 1briih:m" (21:69). As
one can see, the command was given to fire as such, and not to any
particular one. Consequently, all fire, wherever it was present in the
world, grew cold, and the fire set ablaze by Namriid did so, too. Now,
excessive cold is equally painful and killing - there is a region of
extreme cold in Hell itself, called ~antharir. So, in commanding fire to
grow cold, Allah in His grace added the word Salama (be safe).
The second trial was that Sayyidnii 1brahim rXJi A& was asked to
leave his homeland, and to migrate to Syria along with his family.
Then, he was commanded to leave even this country -- which he
readily did, accompanied by his wife HZjirah (Hagar - Lgts dl +J and
his infant son Sayyidnii lsrna'il (Ishmael CUIA+ ), and led by the
archangel ~ibr~(Gilab riel +I A&). 11bn ~athbWl henever they passed
through a fertile land, Sayyidna 1br5hTm r~'_,GI wo uld wish to be
allowed to settle there, but the archangel would inform him that Allah
did not want him to do so. Finally, when they reached the barren
desert which was destined to be the site of Makkah and where the
Ka'bah was to be built, he was commanded to stay there. But now
began a new trial, much more difficult for man to bear. He was
ordered to leave his wife and son in the desert, and to go back to Syria.
"The Friend of Allah" had so annihilated his own will and desire, and
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 313
was so anxious to obey his Lord that he did not allow even a moment
to lapse between the command and its execution, and started on his
journey without informing his wife. When she noticed that he was
going away, she called after him -- but received no reply. Not even
when she demanded why he was forsaking them in such a vast and
lonely desert. But she was, after all, the wife of "the Friend of Allah",
and could now see for herself how the matters stood. So, she asked if
he had received a divine command. Only now Sayyidnii 1briihTm A&
r~~ replied that it was so. Having understood the situation, she calmly
remarked, "Alright. go. The Lord who has commanded you to part
from us shall Himself look after us, and not let us be destroyed."
And she sat back in the desert, full of trust and peace, with the
infant on her lap. But as time passed, thirst, her own and specially
that of her suckling son, compelled her to leave it behind and to go in
search of water. She climbed up and down the hills of Safa and
Marwah, but had, after seven attempts, to come back unsuccessfully.
It is to commemorate this event that running seven times between the
two hills has been made an obligatory part of the rites of the Hajj. As
she returned to her son, the mercy of Allah descended in the form of
the archangel ~ibrairlX I~ who made a spring of fresh water spout
forth from the parched ground -- the same spring which is now called
Zamzam. In a day or two, the water began to draw animals towards
itself, and the sight of animals brought men to the place. By and by,
the provisions necessary for human life became regularly available,
and the future city of Makkah began to take shape.
The infant -- who was to become Sayyidnii ~sma'il, lxJi ~r -- began
to grow up, and was soon able to take upon himself the usual functions
of human life. Under divine permission, Sayyidnii 1br5him r~~ 4
came now and then to see how his wife and son were doing. It is now
that Allah chose to submit him to the greatest of all possible trials.
The son had grown up in such unpromising circumstances, and been
deprived of constant fatherly care and affection. Now, the father
received the command to slaughter his son with his own hand. Says
the Holy Qur'iin:
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 314
When he had reached the age of being able to help his father
in his work, the latter said, 'My son, I see in a dream that I
am slaughtering you. Now, say, what do you think?' He replied,
'My father, do as you have been bidden; you shall find
me, if Allah so wills, one of the patient'. (37: 102)
Sayyidna 1brihim r~~ LjC took his son to the wilderness of MinZ,
and fulfilled, so far as he himself was concerned, the divine commandment.
But Allah did not really mean to have the son slaughtered, but
only to test the father. If we consider the words of the Holy Qur9iin
just cited, we shall find that in his dream, he had not seen the accomplishment
of the slaughter, but only thk act of slaughtering. And this
much he did perform. In this respect, revelation came to him in the
form of a dream, picturing the act, perhaps for this very reason - that
is to say, Allah did not want to give him a verbal command to ~acrifice
.,C /,' his son. Hence, Allah commended him for having b,.!l ML' : "confirmed
the dream" (37:105). In recompense for this total submission to divine
will, Allah sent down a ram from heaven to be sacrificed in place of
Sayyidna 1sm;'il rXlrl + . Now, the annual sacrifice of sheep or goats
etc. has been made a regular form of worship in commemoration of
the way of Sayyidna 1bGli;m 4 .
In addition to those rigorous trials, a number of other restrictions
were imposed on him in the shape of certain injunctions, which too, he
fulfilled as devotionally. Ten of these commandments are known as
the characteristics of the Fitrah and are concerned with the cleanliness
and purification of the body. These ten have been made permanent
injunctions for all the later Ummahs (or communities of believers) too,
and the Last Prophet has insistently commanded his followers to
fulfil them.
Ibn ~athihra s reported from the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn
'Abbiis that thirty elements make up the whole of Islam, ten of which
have been mentioned in Siirah, ("Al-Bara'ah, or "Al-Tawbah"), the other
ten in Surah 33 ("Al-Ahzab"), and the last ten in Surah 23 ("Al-
Mu'miniin"). These two had formed a part of the trials of Sayyidnii Ibrahim
r~l+, and he fulfilled these conditions with equal faithfulness.
Surah Al-Baaarah 2 : 124 315
Siirah 9 lays down these ten qualities as being characteristic of
true believers:
"Those who repent, those who worship (Allah), those who
praise (Allah), those who keep a fast, those who bow down and
prostrate themselves (before Allah), those who invite others to
good deeds and forbid evil deeds, those who keep within the
bounds fixed by Allah. And give good tidings to the true believers."
(9:112)
And the ten qualities mentioned in Siirah 23 are:
"Those true believers shall certainly prosper who show
humility in their Salah, and turn away from idle activities,
and are keen to purify themselves, and guard their private
parts except from their wives and what their right hands own
(bondswomen) - which is not blameworthy, but whoever seeks
after more than that is a transgressor - and those who
preserve what has been entrusted to them and also their
covenant, and who are regular in performing their Saliih.
Those are the inheritors who shall inherit Paradise, and they
shall live there forever." (23: 1-11).
And the ten qualities mentioned in SGrah 33 are as follows:
"Men and women who perform what Islam enjoins upin them,
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 316
men and women who are true believers, obedient men and
obedient women, truthful men and truthful women, men and
women who are patient, men and women who possess humility,
men and women who give in charity, men who fast and
women who fast, men and women who guard their private
parts, men and women who remember Allah abundantly - for
them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward."
(33:35)
A third question with regard to Verse 124 still remains to be
answered - what degree of success did Sayyidna 1brah:m rXJl & attain
in these trials? The Holy Qur'iin defines his accomplishment in these
words: >j'i;j+f1+!3;; : "And Ibrahim who paid his debt in full." (53:37)
As,for the reward he received, Verse 124 itself has announced it: 3i
@ 2-"H e (Allah) said - "I am going to make you a n rm~m
for the people." The Arabic word Imam, which we have not translated
here, lexically signifies "leader or chief or guide." Since the present
verse is related to Sayyidnii 1br5hTm ;UI , the word '?mnm in this
context means, above all, "a prophet", though it includes the general
sense of "leadership", too, as also of the title "Patriarch" which the
Jews and Christians have given to him. Prophethood, let us repeat,
cannot be won through personal effort; all the same, a prophet has to
display his perfection in the thirty qualities we have just referred to,
and even people of a lower scale must, in order to be worthy of
leadership in a general sense, possess these qualities in their own
degree. The Holy Qur'iin makes it quite plain in another place:
"And from among them We appointed some as leaders to
guide men by Our command, when they were patient (in restraining
themselves from disobedience), and had a sure faith
in Our commandments." (32:24).
This verse gives a resume of the thirty qualities in the two words,
Fabr (patience) and yaqh (sure faith, or certitude) - the second refers
to the perfection of knowledge, and the first to the perfection of actual
practice.
The last question pertains to the law which lays down that the
station of a guide and leader would not be granted to the unjust and
the disobedient. To hold this station is, in a way, to be a viceregent of
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 124 317
Allah, and hence this rank cannot be given to a rebel. It follows from
this that Muslims, insofar as they have a choice in the matter, should
not appoint as their ruler or representative a man who is a rebel
against Allah or disobedient to Him.
The word +lim ("unjust") also shows us - and very explicitly, too -
that each and every prophet is totally sinless before becoming a
prophet as much as after becoming a prophet. Certain words in the
Holy Qur'Zn, which seem to suggest the contrary, have been employed,
not in a literal or technical sense, but only metaphorically - for
example, in the case of Sayyidn; Adam ;UiI_jS . To interpret such
expressions in the sense of technical "sin" constitutes a very grave
doctrinal error, and an insistence on such an interpretation opens the
way to further errors.35
35. We may add a few words for the benefit of those who are anxious to
adopt unquestioningly the literary and philosophical mores of the West.
Sincz the Second World War, the writings of the Danish marl of letters
and thinker, Kierkegaard (who was a dilettante in theology too), have
been casting a sort of paralysing fascination over the men of sensibility
in the West. Particularly his book "Fear and Trembling", which deals
with the trial of Sayyidna 1brShim rUI A& avowedly in the manner of a
psychological novel, is supposed to have triggered into action a number
of Existentialist philosophies, and even to have furnished the point of
departure for all modernistic Christian theology, specially of the
Protestant persuasion.
Now, Sayyidna 1br5him +JI A& was, even according to the admission
of Jews and Christians, a prophet, and not "l'homme moyen sensuel"
which is the subject matter of the novel, of psychology, and, not the
least, of the theology of the Dane.
Secondly, he did not merely have to go through emotional stress and
strain, or through a problem of the conscience, or through a "crisis of
identity" - the fear and the trembling, as the philosopher maintains -,
but was equally tried in the matter of faithfully observing divine
injunctions.
Thirdly, when he knew that Allah had chosen him to be a prophet, he
did not grow silent and secretive and lonely - as the fancy of our literary
artist would have us believe -, but proclaimed the fact to others. Without
such a proclamation, he would not at all have been able to perform the
function of a prophet. In fact, it has been said that "the Friend of Allah"
would not take his daily meals until he had found a guest to share it
with him. In short. all we wish to voint out is that the nature of
prophethood is a degree of reality which we can understand only
partially, and that too only with the help of Divine Books, and hence it
is not a sphere in which human fantasy may be allowed to roam at its
sweet will.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125 318
Verse 125
And when We made the ~kusea (sacred) resort for
men, and a place of peace! And make from the station
of Ibrahim a place of prayer. And We gave direction to
Ibrahirn and Isma'il: "Purify My House for those who
are to circumambulate (make Tawaf) or stay in
seclusion (do I'tikaf) or bow and prostrate (in prayer)!'
(Verse 125)
The History of Ka'bah
In the course of the story of Sayyidna 1brhhim ?XJI Ljc , we now
come to the building of the "House of Allah" - the Ka'bah. An answer
is thus being given to the Jews who used to deny the Holy Prophet &
on the ground of their assumption that prophethood could not be given
to anyone outside their own clan, and who used to scoff at the
Muslims for turning towards the Ka'bah in their prayers, and to
believe that the Hajj was no more than a custom of the ignorant
Arabs. The earlier verse had made it clear that prophethood could not
be given to the unjust and the disobedient, even if they belonged to the
progeny of Sayyidna Ibrahim ~j- ta rule which tiestroys the very
basis of the presumptuousness and vanity of the Jews. The present
verse reminds them that the Ka'bah was built under divine
commandment by Sayyidna 1br5hYm ?YJI A+ himself with the help of
his son Sayyidna 1smalil r~~~ , and thus suggests that the
performance of the Hajj and the orientation towards the Ka'bah have
both been instituted by divine decree, and that the Holy Prophet & is
a direct descendant of Sayyidna 1br3him and Sayyidna 1smi'il rKJl A&
, and is reviving the Abrahamic Way, which the Jews too must follow.
Verse 125 briefly outlines the history of the re-construc.l;ion of the
Ka'bah, the characteristic qualities of the "House of Allah" and the city
of Makkah, and the injunctions with regard to the respect which has
to be paid to this sacred place. The Holy Qur'an returns to the subject
again and again in different chapters, providing more details. We shall
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125 319
cite Verses 26 and 27 from the Surah "Al-Hajj" which deals particularly
with the annual pilgrimage:
"And when We appointed for 1br5him the place of the House:
"You shall not associate anything with Me. And keep My
House clean for those who circumambulate it, who stand there
for the prayers, and who bow and prostrate themselves. And
proclaim the pilgrimage among men, and they shall come to
you on foot and on every lean camel too, coming from every
deep ravine.." (22:26-27)
1br5hym +I& m igrated to Makkah
Ibn Kathir reports from Mujahid etc. that SayyidnZ 1brahrm A&
+JI was living in Syria when he received the revelation that Allah was
going to indicate to him the site of the Ka'bah, which he was required
to build and keep clean for those who should assemble there for
performing the Hajj and offering the SalZh. In connection with the
earlier verse, we have already told the story how he was led by the
archangel ~ibra'il? YJl+ to the desert where the city of Makkah is
now situated and where the remains of tE.c earlier structure of the
Ka'bah stood only in the shape of a mound, and how he was
commanded by Allah to leave his wife and infant son behind and to
return to Syria. He immediately started on the journey, but was
naturally anxious about his wife and child. So, when he was out of
ear-shot, he prayed to Allah for them, as has been reported in the
Siirah "~br~him":
"My Lord, make this city a place of peace, and keep me ad
my sons away from worshipping idols." (14:35)
And he prayed further:
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125 320
"Our Lord, I have made some of my offspring dwell in a
valley which is incultivable, close to Your Holy House that
they may, Our Lord, be steadfast in the prayers. So, make the
hearts of men tender towards them, and provide them with
fruits, so that they may be thankful." (14:37)
In the earlier commandment which had brought him to his place,
Allah had asked him to keep His House clean. He knew that Allah
intended the House to be kept clean not only from external dirt but
also from internal filth - namely, association (Shirk) and infidelity
(Kufr). So, while departing from this barren desert where he was
leaving his family but where a town was to grow, he prayed to Allah,
firstly, to make it a place of safety and peace, and, secondly, to protect
him and his children from idol-worship and association. "The Friend
of Allah" had attained that degree of knowledge where one sees oneself
as a mere nothing, and one makes no movement without a full
realization of the truth that nothing happens independently of Divine
Will, and that all one's actions and even inclinations rest in the hand
of Allah. So, he turned to Allah Himself for help in being able to carry
out the command to keep the House of Allah clean from association
and infidelity. There is another subtle suggestion in this prayer. Allah
had commanded that due respect should be paid to His "House." Now,
there was a likelihood that some people might begin, out of sheer
ignorance, to worship the Ka'bah itself. That is why Sayyidnii brah him
rUl A& specially prayed for him and his children to be protected from
association (shirk). Then, out of his love for his wife and son, he
prayed to Allah to provide them, in His grace, with fruits in this
barren and uncultivable land where he was leaving them under divine
command.
A hadith in ~l-~ukh~croill'esct ion of the Traditions (~h;Editht)e lls
us in detail how the archangel Jibra'il appeared and made the spring
of Zamzam flow in the desert, how some people from the tribe of Jurhum
came and settled there, and how Sayyidna 1smZ7il +I +L was
married to a lady of this tribe. We also learn from different Traditions
(~hiidltho)f the Holy Prophet & that the command to settle near the
Ka'bah and to keep it clean (mentioned in Verse 26-27 of the Siirah
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125 321
"Al-Hajj") was at that time addressed only to Sayyidna 1brShTm +
r WI , for his son was yet an infant. And in those circumstances the in-
Lention of the command was not to start the reconstruction of the
Ka'bah but only to place the wife and the son of Sayyidna 1br6h& 4
.UI in this locality so that a human settlement should begin to take
shape. On the other hand, the verse we are dealing with (2:125) repeats
the same command to keep the House clean, but is addressed as
much to Sayyidna 1sma'il rUl A+ as to his father, for the son had now
grown into a young and married man, and could be included in the
command to rebuild the Ka'bah.
A had& reported by Al-~ukharsfa ys that, on one of his periodic
visits to his wife and son at Makkah, Sayyidns 1brShim r~ I_~Lfo und
his son sitting under a tree, making arrows. He informed the son that
Allah had entrusted him with a special task, and asked him if he
would help his father. The son was, of course, as ready to obey and to
serve as ever. Allah had already indicated the spot and also the area
where the Ka'bah was to be rebuilt. When they started digging the
ground, the earlier foundations became visible, and it was on them
that they began to raise the walls. The next verse speaks of this event
- w!,'+L;i, ~?1 3e9 1A77 9@) /A7/ ?%,I, .. "When 1brah;m was raising up the
foundations of the House, and 1sma'il (too)." The order of the names
indicates that the builder of the Ka'bah is Sayyidna 1br5him & ,
while the role of Sayyidna 1sma';l r'hll LJI is that of a helper.
All the verses of the Holy Qur'Gn on the subject of the Ka'bah
either say that the location had been indicated by Allah Himself, or
report the divine command to keep the House clean, but never suggest
that a new House was to be built in a new place. This in itself shows
that the Ka'bah already existed in some.form. Indeed, the ~aditha,n d
history too, confirms this fact, and from these sources we learn that
the earlier structure of the Ka'bah had either been destroyed at the
time of the Deluge of SayyidnE Nuh (Noah ?uI A+) or raised into the
heavens, leaving the foundations buried in the ground. Hence,
Sayyidnii 1bGih&n and Sayyidni 1srn$:l r~~ .+ were not the original
founders of the Ka'bah, but had raised a new building on the earlier
foundations.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125 322
As to who founded the Ka'bah for the first time and when, there is
no fully authenticated ~adithw hich could clarify this point. Certain
narrations coming from the people of the Book, however, tell us that it
was founded by the angels even before SayyidnE Adam 1~~ 4 came
down to the earth. He built the Ka'bah a second time, or renovated it.
This structure remained intact upto the time of the Deluge, which
destroyed it, and left it a mere mound - the shape in which Sayyidna
Ibrahim and Sayyidni 1sm271 r?Ul & found it. And they constructed a
new building on the site. Since then, the Ka'bah has undergone
certain alterations, but has never been demolished completely. Before
the Holy Prophet & assumed the prophetic functions, the Quraysh of
Makkah built the Ka'bah afresh, and he himself took part in this
renovation.
Some injunctions related to the Haram
(1) The word MathEbah, used in this verse, comes from the root
Thaba (signifying "to come back"), and thus denotes a place to which
one returns again and again. This shows that Allah has given a
position of privilege to the Ka'bah - it shall always remain a place
where people will assemble from the four corners of the world, and
would long to return to it again and again. ~l-~urturbepio rts the
great commentator Mujiihid to have said that one never has enough of
visiting the Ka'bah, but comes back every time with a greater longing
to return, and to see it again. Certain scholars have remarked that
one of the signs of one's Hajj having been accepted by Allah is that, on
one's return, one should find in one's heart a greater desire to present
oneself in the House of Allah again. This is borne out by the
experience of those who have had the good fortune to be there - each
visit, instead of slaking the thirst, rather increases it. Considering
that Makkah has nothing to offer by way of a beautiful landscape or
easy access or mundane comforts, yet, its power to draw millions of
people to itself every year is nothing short of miracle.
(2) This verse says that Allah has made "the House" a place of
peace. "The House" refers not only to the Ka'bah itself, but also to the
whole area of the Mosque which surrounds it, and is called the Haram.
There are other instances in the Holy Qur'an where the word "Ka'bah"
or the expression Baytullah ("House of Allah") connotes the whole
Surah Al-Bauarah 2 : 125 323
'9 /+,,
area of the Harum. For example, the phrase: ,*I $,c:'&lp : "an offering to
reach the Ka'bah" (5:95) refers to the Haram, for the verse deals with
the subject of animal sacrifice, while it is not legitimate to offer such a
sacrifice inside the Ka'bah. So, Verse 125 means that the whole of the
Haram has been made a place of peace - that is to say, people have
been forbidden from shedding blood or taking ;evenge within these
precincts (Ibn a]-'~rabi). In fact, this commandment was one of the
residues of the Way of 1brihym iYJ~ A& which were still alive in the
Age of Ignorance (Al-Jahiliyyah), and all kinds of bloodshed or battle,
individual or collective, were held to be forbidden inside this
sanctuary, so much so that a man would never let himself take his
revenge, even if he came upon the murderer of his brother or father in
the Haram. The Islamic sharpah has preserved this injunction. The
ban was lifted only for the sake of the Holy Prophet & on the day of
the conquest of Makkah, and that too only for a few hours, and was
reimposed for ever immediately after - the Holy Prophet & himself
announced it in his address on the occasion. (~l-~~khzri)
Now, as for the man who commits, within these precincts, a crime
for which the Shari'ah has laid down a specific physical punishment
(Hadd) or allowed the victim to be revenged (Qi;Es), the Haram will
not provide sanctuary to him - the consensus holds that such a
criminal will be duly punished. (Al-Jassas and Al-Qurtubi) For, the Holy
979~z,9,,9: ,f 7 , Qur'an itself says: PALi p(& b jl,i : "If they fight you [inside the Haram],
you may kill them." (2:191) There is, however, a difference of views
among the masters of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) on one point. What
is to be done with the man who commits a crime outside, and then
seeks a sanctuary in the Haram? Even in this case, some masters
would have the criminal punished in the manner prescribed by the
~hari'ah.O n the other hand, Imam Abii ani if ah, believes that if such
men are allowed to save themselves from punishment in this manner,
the Haram would become an easy refuge for all kinds of criminals and
disorder would prevail, but in view of the sanctity of the place, the
criminal would not be punished inside the Haram, but forced to come
out, and then the punishment prescribed by the Shari'ah would be
duly given to him.
(3) The present verse mentions "the Station of brah him." It is a
~urahA l-Baqarah 2 : 125 324
stone on which Sayyidnii 1br3hym & had stood while building the
Ka'bah, and which miraculously acquired the print of his foot.
(~l-~ukhzTnh)e blessed Companions Anas says that he has himself seen
the mark on the stone. On the other hand, it has been reported from
the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas that the Haram as a
whole is the "Station of 1brahim." Probably he meant that the two
rak'ahs of the SalGh which this verse enjoins upon us to offer near the
"Station of brah him" after completing tazuGf (circumambulation) of the
Ka'bah, may be offered anywhere within the precincts of the Haram,
and that the prayers thus offered would be quite valid. Most of the
FuqahE' accept this view.
The Maqarn of 1briihim
(4) As to the commandment for making "the Station of 1brSh&" a
place of offering one's prayers, the Holy Prophet himself has
explained it through his own words and actions on the occasion of his
last Hajj. After completing the taluaf, when he reached "the Station of
Ibrshim," placed sorne yards away from the Ka'bah, he recited this
very verse, and then offered two rak'ats on the other side of this stone,
with his face turned towards the Ka'bah (Mushml The FuqahG' have
inferred from this the rule that if one does not get the room to stand
close to "the Station of Ibrahim," one may, while offering prayers,
validly stand at any distance from it that one can, so long as the
Ka'bah, as well as "the Station of brah him," is in front of him.
(5) This verse shows that it is necessary (Wajih) to offer two
rak'ahs after the tawaf of the Ka'bah. (Al-JassZ~a nd Mulls 'AI; al-~ar;) But
offering these prayers specifically behind the "Station of 1brshim" is a
Sunnah (the Way of the Holy Prophet ). There is, however, no bar
on offering these prayers at any other spot within the Haram, for the
Holy Prophet & himself has been reported to have offered them near
the gate of the "House of Allah", as did the blessed Companion
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, too (al-~a;;:?,. In his "Al-ManEsik", ~ull'aAG
al-~5rsia ys that if one is not, for some reason, able to offer these
necessary (WGjib) prayers behind "the Station of ~brshim,a" s required
by the Sunnah, he may validly offer them anywhere he possibly can
within the Haram, or even outside. In fact, this is exactly what
happened to Sayyidah Umm Salmah & jJI &J , one of the wives of the
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125 325
Holy Prophet & . On the occasion of her Last Hajj, she could not find
the opportunity to offer these Wiijib prayers inside the Haram, and
was able to do so when she was outside the city of Makkah itself. Most
of the FuqahC', except Imam Malik, hold the view that if
circumstances compel one to offer these prayers outside the Faram,
one is not required to make an animal sacrifice by way of
compensation.
(6) The divine command to +:I$' : "Keep My House clean"
includes purifying it from physical and external dirt as much as from
internal filth like infidelity (Kufr) and association (Shirk), and from
impurities like greed, lust, envy, pride, vanity, hypocrisy, etc. Then,
the use of the expression "My House" indicates that the commandment
applies to mosques in general, for all the mosques are "the Houses of
Allah", as the Holy Qur'an itself has said F/i9 7jlb dWl 92jf~i';'I:n houses
which Allah has commanded to be raised up" (24:36). ~l-~urtub:
reports that the Second ~halifah'U mar u AI &J once heard a man
shout in the mosque, and rebuked him for having forgotten where he
was. That is to say, one should pay due respect to a mosque, and
refrain from speaking loudly, and, above all, from saying something
which the ~hari'ahh as forbidden. In short, just as the Haram must be
kept clean from all kinds of dirt and filth, i.xterna1 and internal, so
must every mosque. Those who enter a mosque must keep their
bodies and their clothes free from dirt, filth and even from bad smells,
and also keep their hearts free from Shirk, hypocrisy, pride, malice
and greed etc. The Holy Prophet has asked the people not to enter a
mosque, if they have just eaten raw onion or garlic, and has also
forbidden very small children and mad men to enter a mosque for fear
of their polluting it.
(7) The verse shows that "the House of Allah" is meant for people
to make tawaf of the Ka'bah, to do I'tiktif (to seek a retreat for worship
and meditation), and to offer their prayers. In the case of those who
come from outside to perform the Hajj, the 6awiYf carries greater merit
than offering prayers. Lastly, the verse makes it clear that it is
absolutely permissible to offer one's prayers inside the "House of
Allah", whether the prayers are fard (obligatory) or nafl
(supererogatory) (JassZs).
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128 326
Verses 126 - 128
And when Ibrahim said, "My Lord, make this a city of
peace, and provide its people with fruits - those of them
who believe in Allah and the Last Day." He said, "And the
one who disbelieves I shall make him enjoy a little, then
I shall drag him to the punishment of the Fire. And an
evil end it is! And when Ibrahim was raising up the
foundations of the House, along with 1sma6il: "Our Lord
accept from us! Indeed, You - and You alone - are the All-
Hearing, the All-Knowing! And, our Lord, make us both
submissive to You, and of our progeny a people submissive
to You. And show us our ways of Pilgrimage and accept
our repentance. Indeed, You - and You alone - are
the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful." (Verses 126 - 128)
The prayers of 1brahim +I
Sayyidna ~briihtrtt1 ~ ~& A always carried out the commandments
of Allah without losing a moment, and was ready to make all kinds of
sacrifices in His way, whether they involved worldly goods, or wife and
children, or his own likes and dislikes. All t.he same, having affection
and love for one's family is not only a natural urge in man, but also a
divine commandment. This is what manifests itself in the present
verses, where we find him praying for the well-being of his family in
this world as much as in the other.
The prayer begins with the word Rabb, which lexically signifies
"One who gives nurture." Thus, it teaches us the proper mode of
praying to Allah, for this form of address in itself draws the mercy and
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128 327
grace of Allah on the man who is praying. The first thing Sayyidna
1brahyrn ?XJI + prayed for was that Allah may turn the barren desert
where he had left his family under divine commandment, into a city,
so that his wife and son should not feel lonely, and that their daily
needs should be easily satisfied. The same prayer occurs in Surah
ha bra him" (14:35), but employs the construction Al-balad ("the city"),
while the present verse employs Baladan ("a city"). The difference
probably arises from the fact that the prayer reported here was made
when the place was still a desert and SayyidnZ 1brahim r)UI + wished
"a city" to grow in this barren land, while the prayer reported in Surah
"1brZhim" was made when "the city" had already risen and was quite
well-known, for near the end of the same Sfirah we find him saying
<'7,,
& ' -1, $A,$& ~~,'~~,I7, ,: &"P~raIis e be to Allah who has given me,
in my old age, 1smZ'il and Ishaq" (14:39), which suggests that the
second prayer was made after the birth of Sayyidna IshZq (Isaac &
r~~an) e,ve nt that occurred thirteen years after the birth of Sayyidnii
~sma'i(lI shmael ??4Jl &). (Ibn ~at.h&)
Coming back to the verse under discussion, we see that Sayyidna
1brZh;m ?XJI + also prayed for this city to be made "a place of peace"
- that is to say, safe from slaughter and plunder as from calamities,
and secure against the domination of the infidels. The prayer was
granted. Makkah became a thriving city, which is now a place of
pilgrimage for Muslims who come to it in millions every year. It also
became safe and secure, for no infidel has ever been able to conquer it
or dominate over it. The Holy Qur'Zr, itself narrates the story of
"Ashab al-Film( "the People of the Elephant") who were destroyed for
having ventured to invade Makkah. The city has also been safe from
slaughter and plunder. Even before the advent of Islam, the Arabs in
the Age of Ignorance, for all their deviation into infidelity and
association, deeply respected the Ka'bah and its environs as a matter
of their creed - in spite of being vengeful, they would never take their
revenge so long as the enemy remained within the precincts of the
Haram. In fact, the inhabitants of Makkah themselves were respected
throughout Arabia, and the trading caravans passing to and fro
between Makkah and Syria or Yemen were never interrupted. Allah
has given security even to birds and animals inside the Haram, and
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128 328
forbidden all kinds of hunting within this area. So, even birds and
animals distinctly show a feeling of security inside the Haram, and are
not scared of men. The sanctity of the place was emphasised and
enforced by Islam even further. As for the slaughter which took place
in the Haram at the hands of Hajjiij ibn Yusuf or the ~arGmitahi,t
was the work of those who called themselves Muslims, and not an
invasion by infidels. If a man chooses to set fire to his own house, it
does not falsify the general rule of the security provided to it against
outsiders. Moreover, incidents like these have been very rare since
the days of SayyidnB 1br5him PI 4 , and, then, we also know the
dreadful fate of those who had dared to pollute "the House of Allah."
In short, Allah has, in answer to his prayer, made the city so secure
that even the Dajj6l (Anti-Christ) shall not have the power to enter it.
SayyidnZ 1brah:m +dl& had also prayed for the people of
Makkah to be provided with fruits. The surrounding land was
uncultivable, but, in answer to the prayer, Allah made the
neighbouring city of TGif very fertile and productive in fruits, which
started coming to Makkah. According to certain traditions of the
Israelites, T5if was originally situated in Syria, but was transferred to
the present locality by the Archangel ~ibrs'il LJC under divine
command.
The Ibrahimic wisdom
One may also notice that Sayyidnii 1brahYm ~r did not pray for
the land of Makkah to be made fertile, but suggested in his prayer
that the fruits might come to Makkah from somewhere else as an
import. He probably intended that his descendants should not get
unduly absorbed in agriculture, for his purpose in founding the
settlement was that his people Z~1I3: "s,h ould be steadfast in the
prayers." In other words, he wanted the essential function of his
descendants to protect "the House of Allah" and to engage themselves
in acts of worship. Otherwise, he could have prayed for Makkah itself
to be made fertile, and Allah would have granted the prayer as easily.
The point becomes all the more clear if we consider the word
Thamariit (plural of Thamarah - "fruit"). This word appears in the
,'"9,?, , 7y *
same context again in another verse* ~I>,+J!&-': "the fruits of all
kinds of things are drawn towards it (the city)" (28:57). If it is the
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128 329
fruits of trees that are intended here, the word "Yujb6 ("drawn") is a
sufficient indication that in granting the prayer Allah had not
promised to produce them in Makkah itself, but to send them to the
city from other places. On the other hand, the verse does not speak of
"the fruits of all kinds of trees", but of "the fruits of all kinds of things."
Obviously, the intention is to generalize the sense of "fruits" - a word
which in common idiom implies the product obtained from a thing or
an activity. The word should, then, cover not only the fruits of trees,
but also the products of all kinds of crafts and industries in fact, all
that is needed to sustain human life. Now, everyone can see for
himself that Makkah possesses neither agriculture nor industry, and
yet enjoys the benefits of these as much as any prosperous city in the
world.
Verse 126 also provides an example of the rectitude of Sayyidna
1brah?mr%.tl A& . The first phrase of his prayer for the well-being and
prosperity of the people of Makkah seems to suggest that he wished to
include the infidels as much as the faithful. But earlier when he had
prayed for all his descendants without making any distinction between
the faithful and the infidels (as reported in Verse 1241, Allah had
answered that the prayer would be granted in the case of the faithful,
but not in the case of the unjust - that is, rnushrikk (associators). On
that occasion, he had prayed for the position of Imamah (leadership).
But the fear of Allah and the solicitude for being totally obedient to
Him was so deeply ingrained in the heart of "the Friend of Allgh" that
even in praying for the prosperity of his people the earlier proviso
came to his mind, and he at once added a rejoinder to the effect that he
was praying only for the faithful. Allah was pleased with his
rectitude, and told him that the worldly prosperity would be given to
the disbelievers too, but that in the other world the faithful would be
the only ones to prosper, while the disbelievers would receive nothing
more than the punishment due to them.
Verse 127 shows another essential quality of this great prophet. In
obedience to Allah, he had left the fertile land of Syria and made his
wife and child to settle in the barren desert, and now he was taking up
the labour of building "the House of Allah." This was a moment when
a man who had been bearing such hardships in the way of Allah could
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128 330
normally be expected to feel satisfied with himself and relax in a mood
of self-congratulation. But "the Friend of Allah" recognized the
Majesty of Allah, and knew that no creature can possibly worship or
obey his Creator as is His due, but within his own limited powers.
Consequently, he also knew that in performing the hardest or the
greatest tasks one should not be proud of one's attainment, but should,
in all humility, pray to Allah to accept the little effort one has been
capable of making - and that, too, with the grace of Allah Himself.
That is exactly what Sayyidnii 1br5him ?W+I L did when he startred,
along with his young son, to build the Ka'bah. That is to say, he
prayed to Allah to accept this deed, for Allah hears all prayers, and
knows the intentions of His creatures.
Verse 128 reports that he further prayed to Allah "to make" him
and his son obedient to His commandmellts and to His Will. This
prayer too proceeds from the same sense of fear and awe, and from the
same knowledge. He has, all his life, been performing exemplary
deeds of obedience, and yet he prays to "be made" obedient. It is so,
because the more one grows in one's knowledge of Divine Majesty, the
more one comes to realize that one is not being faithful and obedient
as is due.
I t is significant tha t Sayyidnii 1brahim r~4l in cluded his
descendants too in his prayer. This shows that the "men of Allah" who
never hesitate in sacrificing themselves and their children in the way
of Allah, yet love them deeply. All the same, they know what the
proper requirements of parental love are, and how they should be
fulfilled. This is something beyond the reach of average men, who
suppose the well-being of their children to reside in physical health
and comfort alone, and spend all their love and care on providing just
this to their family. But those who have received the favour of Allah
show a much greater solicitude for the spiritual well-being of their
children than for the physical, being more anxious as to what happens
to them in the other world than in this. So, the great prophet prayed
to Allah to make a group from among his descendants fully obedient to
Him. This prayer aims at another advantage as well. Experience tells
us that if those who enjoy a respectable position in their community,
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129 331
and their descendants keep to the right path, they are naturally held
in esteem, and their conduct inspires others to reform themselves.
(~1-~aah]-rM U~TA~l)l ah heard this prayer too, and among the descendants
of Sayyidna 1brahym ,.Ul Jr there has always been a group of people
obedient to Allah and firm in the Straight Path. Even in the Age of
Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) when the whole world, and Arabia in
particular, was lost in the darkness of idol-worship and Shirk, there
still remained some men from among his descendants who had faith in
the One God, who believed in the other world, and were obedient to
Allah - for example, Zayd ibn 'Amr bin Nufayl, and Quss ibn Sa'idah.
It has also been reported that 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, the
grand-father of the Holy Prophet & , shunned idol-worship and Shirk.
(Al-Bahr ;il-Mu@)
We might add an explanatory note about the word Manasik (the
plural of Mansik) which occurs in Verse 128. This word signifies the
different actions involved in the performance of the Hajj, and also the
different places where the rites are performed - like 'Arafah,
Muzdalifah or Mina. Both the meanings of the word are intended here,
and the substance of the last part of the prayer is that Sayyidna
1brihYm wanted the rites of the Hajj to be explained and their
locations to be indicated. The verb which has been employed in this
connection is Arina - "show us." Now, seeing is done through the eyes,
and also through the heart. So, the different locations of the rites
were shown to him through the Archangel ~ibri'ilr ~~r-, jansd the
injunctions regarding the Hajj were explained in detail.
