Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
7. The Revolution of the Prophet
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with his wife and infant son. Soon the water in their
flask finished and Ishmael started thrashing with
his hands and feet because of his great thirst. It was
then that the spring of Zamzam gushed forth, a sign
that although God had indeed made them face a
stiff test, He would not leave them to face it alone:
they were engaged in God’s own work and He
would always be there at crucial moments to grant
them succour. When Ishmael grew into
adolescence, Abraham dreamt that he was
slaughtering his child. He interpreted it as God’s
commandment, and readied himself to carry it out.
Then, as he held the knife poised over Ishmael’s
throat, a voice came from heaven telling him to
stop, and sacrifice a lamb instead. This was sign
from God that Abraham would have to prepare
himself for enormous sacrifices: but he was not in
reality required to make them; it was the
will
to
sacrifice that was desired. Once he had shown that
he could pass this test, he would be spared the
actual deed. After all, God intended to use
Abraham and his family in the enactment of a great
scheme; far from letting them pointlessly lay down
their lives, He would protect them.
