Answer
Salam Dear Brothers,
Thank you for your comments.
The comments are related to Brother Alex’s story about his journey to Islam where he said:
“I was never told that the Kaabah was built by Prophet Abraham, and Prophet Ishmael (peace be upon them). And when I found out that the Kaabah was built by them, I was really upset. I felt like I was lied to from the Catholic Church, why they kept this away from me.”
Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) is the father of all prophets who came after him and is known as the patriarch of the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Jesus being the last prophet from Isaac’s descendents while Muhammad was the last prophet from Ishmael’s side.
Why is Brother Alex blaming the church for not teaching him about the Kaabah and that it was built by Prophet Abraham and his eldest son Ishmael (peace be upon them)?
Ideally the church is supposed to teach everything about Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him).
We read in Genesis, the Old Testament, that Prophet Ishmael is not only the eldest son of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon them), but it also praises him as being righteous, promising him a great nation from his offspring; chapter 16, 17, 21, 25 tells the story of Abraham with his wives, Sarah and Hagar.
I will select the verses that are pertaining to our subject, however, I request readers to read those short biblical chapters in order to grasp the complete meaning:
[And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur] (Genesis, 16:7)
The above verse is talking about Hajar and Shur is current day Saudi Arabia and Yemen; specifying Yemen means that it is the western coast of that region where Makkah is currently located. The above short verse coincides well with the Islamic belief that Angel Gabriel helped Hajar to find water.
Please pay close attention to the word “wilderness”; Allah says in His book when Abraham left Hajar and Ishmael (peace be upon them) in Makkah when it was a wild uninhabited land:
{Our Lord! I have made some of my offspring settle in a barren valley near Your Sacred House! Our Lord! I did so that they may establish Prayer. So make the hearts of people affectionately inclined to them, and provide them with fruits for their sustenance that they may give thanks} (Ibrahim 14:37)
Regarding Ishmael’s credibility which is completely ignored by the churches and their followers, the Old Testament states:
[And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.] (Genesis, 17:20)
The nation mentioned in the above verse is no other than Prophet Muhammad’s nation (peace be upon him), the Muslims.
If we read Genesis 21:13-21, the picture even gets clearer, I will only quote the last verse:
[And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.] (Genesis, 21:19-21)
The verses before the above, makes it clear that it is talking about Ishmael and his mother (peace be upon them); this is describing when she reached the barren valley without water then God send His angel to show her the well of water; no other than the Zamzam well. The wilderness of Paran has been identified as current day Makkah; I am quoting: “the wilderness and mountains where Mecca is situated”
The Quran mentions the name Bakka for Makkah:
{Most surely the first House appointed for mankind (for the worship of Allah) is the one at Bakka, blessed and guidance for all nations. In it are clear signs: The station of Abraham (where he used to stand in worship). Whoever enters it is safe. Performance of pilgrimage to this House is a duty to Allah for all who can afford it;…} (Aal-Imran 3:96-97)
In Psalms 84:6, Baca is mentioned by name according to King James Version:
[Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.]
While in the Aramaic Bible in Plain English’s version, the word “Baca” has been translated into its original meaning “weeping”, since “Baca” means so in both Aramaic and Arabic; names of people and places shouldn’t be translated but it has been, so I have to use two different versions to make my point clear.
[They passed by the valley of weeping and they have made it a dwelling place, also blessings will cover The Lawgiver.]
The King James Version mentions “well” while the Aramaic version mentions that they make the valley a dwelling place. If we put both together, we get the whole picture, the people who are performing pilgrimage drink from the well and make Baca a dwelling place. This is explained through Barnes’ notes on the Bible, I quote:
“It would be vain, however, to attempt now to determine the locality of the valley referred to, as the name, if ever given to it, seems long since to have passed away. It may, however, be used as emblematic of human life – “a vale of tears;” and the passage may be employed as an illustration of the effect of religion in diffusing happiness and comfort where there was trouble and sorrow – as if fountains should be made to flow in a sterile and desolate valley.
Make it a well – Or, a fountain. That is, it becomes to the pilgrims as a sacred fountain. They “make” such a gloomy valley like a fountain, or like a road where fountains – full, free, refreshing – break forth everywhere to invigorate the traveler. Religious worship – the going up to the house of God – turns that in the journey of life which would otherwise be gloomy and sad into joy; makes a world of tears a world of comfort; has an effect like that of changing a gloomy path into one of pleasantness and beauty.”
Even though the writer of the above notes does not seem to identify the place of the Baca valley, however, he mentions immediately in the paragraph below about pilgrims and about worship in the house of God turning that in the journey of life.
Please notice the similarities in the explanation above and the Quranic verses that I quoted earlier. Also Muslims call the pilgrimage the journey of life since it is only required once in a life time if one can afford it.
Unfortunately, the churches with all their different denominations and not specifically the Catholic Church hide these facts and do not speak about Ishmael’s side. The story ends that him and his mother were sent away; it will be hard to believe that Abraham sent his wife and a child into wilderness without accompanying them as the Quran mentions.
To complete the story, Abraham left them in the wilderness as a command from God. Angel Gabriel dug the ground to uncover the well. An Arabian tribe came and settled with them due to the presence of water. Abraham returned to the valley when Ishmael was a married man. They completed the building of the Kaaba structure together.
In Islam, hiding the truth is as bad as a lie, so Brother Alex has all the right to be upset since the church has purposely hidden the truth about the above story. There are many indications in the Old Testament that this story is well known.
It is hard to swallow that Jews and Christians do not know the life details of one of the most important prophets in the three major religions, Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), or have they chosen to ignore that portion of his life which has to do with Islam.
I hope this helps address your concerns.
Salam and please keep in touch.