An Interfaith Reading of Hajar عليه السلام

Written By Nazhath Faheema

As a woman who faces an unknown space with anxiety, standing between choices and compromises, and predicting the consequences that may follow, this was an overwhelming experience.

Reflecting the story of Hājar (𝘏𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦), who is the second wife of Prophet Ibrahim (𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴), renewed in me the faith, strength, confidence and courage I need.

A couple of days ago, I was there performing the 𝙎𝙖𝙚𝙚 - a ritual where Muslim pilgrims in Mecca walk to and fro the hills of Safa and Marwa, just as Hājar did when she was alone in the desert with a baby-looking for water. This worship symbolises the remembrance of her faith and strength over the struggle she endured.

I spent some time understanding the story through a Jewish-Muslim interfaith reading.

Muslims believe that God commanded Prophet Ibrahim to take Hājar and baby Ismail away. He left them in a barren land (which is present-day Mecca).

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟮𝟭:𝟭𝟮-𝟭𝟯, 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֗ם אַל־יֵרַ֤ע בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ עַל־הַנַּ֣עַר וְעַל־אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ כֹּל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֹּאמַ֥ר אֵלֶ֛יךָ שָׂרָ֖ה שְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹלָ֑הּ כִּ֣י בְיִצְחָ֔ק יִקָּרֵ֥א לְךָ֖ זָֽרַע׃
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦; 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
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וְגַ֥ם אֶת־בֶּן־הָאָמָ֖ה לְג֣וֹי אֲשִׂימֶ֑נּוּ כִּ֥י זַרְעֲךָ֖ הֽוּא׃
𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦-𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦.
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𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺, 𝗮𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝟭𝟰:𝟯𝟳, 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀:

رَّبَّنَآ إِنِّىٓ أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِى زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَٱجْعَلْ أَفْـِٔدَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ تَهْوِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ وَٱرْزُقْهُم مِّنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥! 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 ˹𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨˺ 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘭.
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𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗵 𝗔𝗹-𝗕𝘂𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺, Hajar said to Prophet Ibrahim, who was leaving them:

فَقالَتْ: يا إبْرَاهِيمُ، أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُ وتَتْرُكُنَا بهذا الوَادِي الَّذي ليسَ فيه إنْسٌ ولَا شَيءٌ؟ فَقالَتْ له ذلكَ مِرَارًا، وجَعَلَ لا يَلْتَفِتُ إلَيْهَا، فَقالَتْ له: آللَّهُ الَّذي أَمَرَكَ بهذا؟ قالَ: نَعَمْ، قالَتْ: إذَنْ لا يُضَيِّعُنَا
"𝘖 𝘐𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 (𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥)?" 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 (𝘩𝘪𝘮), 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 (𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥). 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮: "𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰?" 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: "𝘠𝘦𝘴." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 (𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵)."
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She remains strong and goes searching for water when baby Ismail becomes thirsty. She climbed up and between a pair of mountains called Safa and Marwa seven times as the baby cried. She hoped to find someone who could help, but there was no one in sight.
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𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟮𝟭:𝟭𝟳-𝟭𝟵, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁:


וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־ק֣וֹל הַנַּ֒עַר֒ וַיִּקְרָא֩ מַלְאַ֨ךְ אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֶל־הָגָר֙ מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לָ֖הּ מַה־לָּ֣ךְ הָגָ֑ר אַל־תִּ֣ירְאִ֔י כִּֽי־שָׁמַ֧ע אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־ק֥וֹל הַנַּ֖עַר בַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הוּא־שָֽׁם׃
𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘏𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳? 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴.

ק֚וּמִי שְׂאִ֣י אֶת־הַנַּ֔עַר וְהַחֲזִ֥יקִי אֶת־יָדֵ֖ךְ בּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִׂימֶֽנּוּ׃
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”

וַיִּפְקַ֤ח אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ וַתֵּ֖רֶא בְּאֵ֣ר מָ֑יִם וַתֵּ֜לֶךְ וַתְּמַלֵּ֤א אֶת־הַחֵ֙מֶת֙ מַ֔יִם וַתַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־הַנָּֽעַר׃
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬.
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Muslims believe that the Angel Gabriel came to Hājar for help. He hit the earth with his heel, and water gushed forth. Hājar drank and nurse Ismail. This water became known as Zam Zam. Muslim pilgrims to Makkah drink this water after the Saee and also bring it back for family and friends.

How pious, courageous and confident was Hājar to have endured this struggle and display strength? This pilgrimage reminds me of the woman Hājar was and the woman I need to be.

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PS: A similar story may also be found in the Rāmāyana, where Lord Rama leaves a pregnant Sita in the forest, who also displays faith and courage to endure the challenge. That's another interfaith discussion .

Nazhath Faheema

Nazhath Faheema, a Singaporean Muslim of Indian descent, actively promotes interfaith dialogue. She holds a full-time position at an NGO where she focuses on organizing interfaith charity events. Additionally, she plays an active role in community development, particularly in developing youth leadership to foster social harmony.

Furthermore, Nazhath serves as an external lecturer at ESSEC Asia Pacific in Singapore. She teaches students from Europe and Asia regions on "Race & Religion in Singapore" and "Islam in Singapore."

Nazhath earned her Master of Science in Asian Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She also holds a certificate in the Comparative Study of Religions in Plural Societies. Her research interests span various areas, including youth interfaith movements in Southeast Asia, Jewish-Muslim relations, interactions between Muslim-majority states and Israel, and interreligious dialogue in diplomacy.

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