Reflect over the trial of Abrahamas, when he was ordered to take his wife and child to a distant land away from Canaan. He took his family to the place where Mecca is now situated – a place where there was neither food nor drink.
Upon reaching this land he said:
“O Allah! I am leaving my offspring in a place where there is no food or drink.”
Sarahra wanted Ishmaelas to die somehow, for she was the one who told Abrahamas to leave them in such a land. Although Abrahamas took offence to this, God instructed him to do as Sarahra had said, but not because He preferred Sarahra. In fact, Sarahra had expelled Hagarra previously as well and at that time, an angel of God spoke to Hagarra.
Allah the Exalted speaks to those of His servants as well who are not Prophets. As such, God Almighty spoke to Hagarra twice. Therefore, Abraham, on whom be peace, did as he was commanded and with a scarce amount of water and dates, he set out with his wife and child, and left them in this land.
After a few days, when their small quantity of food and water was exhausted, Ishmaelas began to fall into the clutches of death. In that hour, the mother could not bear to see her child die, and so she ran here and there a few times in the hope of finding a passing caravan. She travelled a distance to climb a small hill and began to scream. This was a time when she only had one son and she was separated from her husband – as though she were a widow. There was no prospect of her bearing any children in the future. She cried for help.
It was then that an angel called out: “Hagar, Hagar.” She looked here and there but could see no one; but then she noticed that water had begun to flow around her child. It was as though life had been breathed into the dead. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
“If the water had not been contained, it would have become a spring that flowed out into the world.”
The purpose in narrating this story is to demonstrate that this is the manner in which God Almighty manifests the marvels of His power in places that are empty of even food and drink. As such, the first wonder of God was the water He provided.
This was also a foreshadowing that the grandeur of the water which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was destined to distribute could be described as follows:
اِعْلَمُوۡۤا اَنَّ اللهَ يُحْيِ الْاَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِھَا
“Know that Allah is now quickening the earth after its death.”
That is to say, the water given to Hagarra endowed life to Ishmaelas, but the water belonging to the Holy Prophetsa gave life to an entire world.
The intent is to elaborate that where no physical means existed, Allah the Almighty provided a means for their deliverance. Allah the Exalted states that the heaven and earth exist by His command.
Just reflect upon how God Almighty transformed an intensely hot wilderness, where there was no sign of human life. Now, tens of millions of people flock to this land from all over the world. The open plain upon which the people gather for the Hajj is precisely where at one time there was neither food nor drink.
(Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp. 264-265)
