Page 51 - Demo

47dispute the just claim of Ishmael (pbuh) to birthright?Now let us discuss this question of the birthright as briefly as we can. We know that Abraham (pbuh) was a nomad chief as well as an Apostle of God and that he used to live in a tent and had large flocks of cattle and great wealth. Now the nomad tribesmen do not inherit lands and pastures, but the prince assigns to each of his sons certain clans or tribes as his subjects and dependents. As a rule the youngest inherits the hearth or the tent of his parents, whereas the elder -unless unfit- succeeds him to his throne. The great Mongol Conqueror Jenghiz Khan was succeeded by Oghtai, his eldest son, who reigned in Pekin as Kháqán, but his youngest son remained in his father’s hearth at Qáráqōrum in Mongolia. It was exactly the same with Abraham’s two sons. Isaac (pbuh) , who was the younger of the two, inherited the tent of his father and became, like him, a nomad living in tents. But Ishmael (pbuh) was sent to Hijaz to guard the House of Allah which he, together with Abraham (pbuh) , had built (Quran, 2:127).[1] Here he settled and became Prophet and Prince among the Arab tribes who believed in him. It was at Makkah, or Becca, that the Ka’ba became the centre of the pilgrimage called alhajj. Ishmael (pbuh) founded the religion of one true Allah and instituted the Circumcision. His offspring soon increased and was multiplied like the stars of the sky. From the days of Ishmael (pbuh) to the advent of Muhammad (pbuh) , the Arabs of Hijaz, Yemen and others have been independent and masters of their own countries. The Roman and Persian Empires were powerless to subdue the people of Ishmael (pbuh) although idolatry was[1] Quran, 2:127. “And remember Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (With this prayer): Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the All-Hearing, theAll-knowing”.(Editors)