This story has one sure source: a long hadith of Ibn 'Abbâs (may Allah be pleased with him) in al-Bukhârî.
Parts of it are words of the Prophet ﷺ; Ibn 'Abbâs tells the rest. This book follows this hadith closely.
Hâjar, the mother of Ismâ'îl (peace be upon him), came from Egypt, the historians say.
The hadith says she was the first woman to wear a girdle, to hide her tracks from Sârah.
Ibrâhîm (peace be upon him) brought her and their son, still nursing, near the place of the House.
He set them under a large tree, above the spot of Zamzam. Makkah then had no people and no water.
He left them a leather bag of dates and a small skin with some water. Then he turned to go home.
She followed him: “O Ibrâhîm, where are you going, leaving us in this valley with no one and nothing?”
She said it to him many times. He did not turn back toward her.
Then she asked another question: “Is it Allah who ordered you to do this?” He said: “Yes.”
She said: “Then He will not abandon us.” And she went back.
In another version: “To whom do you leave us?” “To Allah.” She said: “I am content with Allah.”
Why did he not turn back at first? The hadith does not say. We will not invent a reason.
Her first question was about the place. Her second was about Allah. The second one gave her peace.
He walked on to a pass, the Thaniyya, where they could no longer see him.
There he faced the House, raised both hands, and prayed.
“Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a valley without cultivation, near Your sacred House,
our Lord, so that they may establish prayer.
So make hearts among people incline toward them,
and provide them with fruits, that they may be grateful.”
He asks first for prayer, then for hearts, then for food. The order of the dua is a lesson.
A mother, a baby at the breast, a bag of dates and a little water.
And a valley where no one lived. Who would leave them there, and why?
She did not know what would come. She knew who had decided.
Tonight, recite Ibrâhîm's dua (14:37) for your own family, and name each one.