By Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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, ‘How are 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 if they had grain, he would have also invoked Allah to bless it.” The Prophet added, “If somebody has only these two things as his sustenance, his health and 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 asked her, ‘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 him the 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: O our Lord ! Accept (this service) from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (2.127)   (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Prophets, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 583)”

The Prophecy of the yearly pilgrimage to Makkah in the Noble Quran:

“Behold!  We gave the site, To Abraham, of the (Sacred) House [That is the Kaaba that he built], (Saying):  ‘Associate not anything (In worship) with Me; And sanctify My House For those who compass it round, Or stand up, Or bow, or prostrate themselves (Therein in prayer).  And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways;  (The Noble Quran, 22:26-27)”

As we clearly see in the Noble Verses, Allah Almighty promised Abraham peace be upon him that He will cause for people from all around the world to come and proclaim the pilgrimage to the House (Kaaba) that he built.

The story began, when Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael to the city of Paran (Makkah), based on Allah Almighty’s commands.   There was literally no life there; not even water.  Allah Almighty then ordered Abraham to build the House of GOD (Kaaba) and leave Hagar and his son Ishmael there.  When later Hagar and Ishmael became very thirsty after they ran out of the water they brought with them in the journey, Hagar prayed to Allah Almighty to provide water for them.  Hagar then started to desperately run to search for water seven times (I believe) back and forth between the Safa and Marwa hills.  Allah Almighty then caused Ishmael to rub his feet against the sand and a pool of water, the water of Zamzam came out.

This Prophecy of Allah sending people from all over the world to Makkah is fulfilled every single year in Saudi Arabia through the Muslims’ yearly pilgrimage, where no less than three million Muslims come to perform the Hajj.

“When the Pilgrimage was proclaimed, people came to it from every quarter, near and far, on foot and mounted.  The ‘lean camel’ coming after the fatiguing journey through distant mountain roads typifies the difficulties of travel.”