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Ishaq
A (Isaac)
was a Rasul (Messenger)
of Allah (God). He was
the younger son of Ibrahim A (Abraham),
who is respected equally in all the three major religions
of the world - Islam, Christianity and
Judaism. All
of these three religions emerged from the Middle East.
Rusul
(Messengers)
of Islam, Christianity and Judaism
were all from the family of Ibrahim A
(Abraham).

And
We bestowed on him [Ibrahim (Abraham)], Ishaq
(Isaac) and Ya’qub (Jacob), and We ordained among his
offspring Prophethood and the Book [i.e. the Taurat
(Torah) (to Musa – Moses), the Injil
(Gospel) (to “Isa – Jesus), and the Qur-an
(to Muhammad S), all from the offspring of Ibrahim
(Abraham)], and We granted him reward in this world; and verily,
in the Hereafter he is indeed among the righteous.
Surah
(Chapter) Al-Ankabut
(The
Spider)
The Qur-an 29:27
Ibrahim
A (Abraham)
began spreading the message of Allah (God)
among his people, but they did not agree with him and wanted
him to leave their town.
Ibrahim
A (Abraham) migrated (Made Hijrah)
from his hometown Ur, with his wife Sarah
and his nephew Lut A (Lot),
also a Rasul (Messenger)
of Allah (God). He stayed
in Filastin (Palestine)
for some time before moving to Misr
(Egypt)
to spread the Message of Allah
(God).
In
the beginning the King of Misr
(Egypt)
tried to misbehave with his family, but when he found out
that Ibrahim A (Abraham)
was a Rasul (Messenger)
of Allah (God), he repented
and sent his daughter Hajar (Hagar)
to serve him.
Ibrahim
A (Abraham) and his wife
Sarah did not have any child after many years
of their marriage. Sarah asked Ibrahim
A (Abraham) to marry Hajar
(Hagar), to get an offspring. Soon after
their marriage, Hajar (Hagar)
gave birth to a son Isma'il A (Ishmael).
Sarah
still did not have any child of her own. She began to feel
uncomfortable in living with Hajar
(Hagar) and her son Isma'il A
(Ishmael).
One
day Sarah told Ibrahim A
(Abraham) that she did not want to live
with Hajar (Hagar)
and her son Isma'il A
(Ishmael), any more. Allah
(God) commanded
Ibrahim
A (Abraham) to take Hajar
(Hagar)
and Isma'il A (Ishmael)
to a far away place. After a long journey, they arrived
at the valley of Makkah in Arabia. That was
a very hostile place and the valley was completely barren.
Ibrahim
A (Abraham) told Hajar
(Hagar)
that he is leaving them in the valley of Makkah
to fulfill the wish of Allah (God).
He
prayed for the safety of Hajar
(Hagar) and Isma'il
A (Ishmael)
before returning. He
prayed to Allah (God)
to look after his family before he embarked on his return
journey. He left some food and water for Hajar
(Hagar) and Isma'il
A (Ishmael).
The
supply of water exhausted some time after Ibrahim
A (Abraham) went back to Sarah.
When infant Isma'il A (Ishmael)
got very thirsty, his mother Hajar (Hagar) went
in search of water. She put Isma'il A
(Ishmael) on ground and ran atop a hillock
to locate water. When she could not see any source of water
from there, she ran down and climbed another nearby hillock.
She ran between these two hills several times but could not
locate any source of water within the visible distance. In
desperation, Hajar (Hagar)
prayed to Allah (God)
for help.
Allah
(God) sent Jibril A (Gabriel),
a Malak
(Angel) to help
them, and made the spring of Zamzam to appear
there.
Hajar
(Hagar) and Isma'il
A (Ishmael) settled near the Zamzam
well, in the valley of Makkah.
As time went by, they began serving the caravans which passed
through that area. The valley of Makkah became
a popular stop for the caravans because of water. With time,
nomadic tribes, which usually roamed in search of water, settled
down near Zamzam. This was the beginning of
the city of Makkah.
Back
in Misr
(Egypt),
Allah
(God) sent Mala”ikah
(Angels) to give Ibrahim
A (Abraham) the good news of his second son.

Has
the story reached you, of the honored guests [three angels;
Jibril (Gabriel) along with another two] of Ibrahim
(Abraham)?

When they came in to him and said: “Salam, (peace
be upon you)!” He
answered: “Salam, (peace be upon you),” and
said: “You are a people
unknown to me.”

Then
he turned to his household, and brought out a
roasted calf [as the property of Ibrahim (Abraham)
was mainly cows].
And placed it before them, (saying):
“Will you not eat?”
Then
he conceived fear of them (when they ate not). They said:
“Fear not.” And
they gave him glad tidings of a son having knowledge (about
Allah and His
religion of True Monotheism).
Then
his wife came forward with a loud voice: she smote her face,
and said:
“A barren old woman!”

They
said: “Even says so your Lord. Verily, He is the All-Wise,
the All-Knower.”
Surah
(Chapter) Adh-Dhariyat
(The Winds that Scatter)
The Qur-an 51:24-30
Sarah
gave birth to Ishaq A (Isaac)
when she was quite old.
Allah
(God) bestowed His special
favors upon his faithful and obedient servant Ibrahim
A (Abraham). Both of his
sons Isma'il
A (Ishmael) and Ishaq
A (Isaac) became Rusul
(Messengers)
of Allah (God).
Many descendents of Ishaq
A (Isaac) became Rusul
(Messengers)
of Allah (God).
Ya'qub
A (Jacob), one of the sons of Ishaq
A (Isaac) was also a
Rasul (Messenger)
of Allah (God).
Yusuf
A (Joseph),
Musa A (Moses),
Dawud A (David),
Yahya A (John),
Sulayman A (Solomon),
Ayyub A (Job) and 'Isa
A (Jesus) were descendents
of Ishaq
A (Isaac).
Descendants
of Isma'il A
(Ishmael)
settled in Arabia. Quraysh
and other Arab tribes were from his family. Muhammad
S, the last Rasul
(Messenger)
of Allah (God),
was a direct descendant of Isma'il A
(Ishmael).
All
Rusul (Messengers)
of Islam, Christianity,
and Judaism were from the family of Ibrahim
A (Abraham).
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