The author of the “Târikh-uz-zamân” has narrated that when the Lord Ebrahim was delivered from the fire of Nimrud a number of the inhabitants of Babel, such as Lôt, the son of Harân, Sûil, the son of Bajûr, and Sarah, the daughter of Ebrahim’s uncle, u. w. b., etc., had believed in his words, a disturbance arose in the kingdom of Nimrud, the number of Musalmâns increased, and the tenets of Ebrahim, having found their way among the people, gradually settled in their hearts. Nimrud therefore called Ebrahim secretly, and said to him: ‘By means of thy mission this religion which thou hast introduced has brought confusion into the affairs of my government, and excited the imaginations of my subjects. Arise, therefore, and leave this country with thy companions and adherents; because thy Nourisher, having undertaken to protect thee, and pledged himself to further thy prosperity, will be a help and defence to thee.’ Ebrahim obeyed this injunction, and departed from the country of Babel to Syria; some, however, assert that he did so without Nimrud’s knowledge, and by an inspiration from heaven.
Ebn Jûzi states that Ebrahim’s flight took place after Nimrud’s death, and herein the two traditions differ. When Ebrahim resolved to travel he started with his cousin Lôt, the son of Harân, with his female cousin Sarah, who was one of the most intelligent women of that period, whose father’s name was likewise Harân, and with other company from his native country. After travelling for some time he arrived in the district of Harân, where he remained for several days, and married Sarah; thence he travelled with her to Egypt for fear of the King of Harân, who was an idolater. On that occasion the prophet Lôt separated from his cousin, on account of a revelation which he had received from the Eternal Sovereign, and on account of Ebrahim’s advice. He went towards the Mutafakât,* and this story will—if it pleaseth Allah—be narrated by-and-by.
After Ebrahim had stayed several days in Egypt the following rumour about him was spread: A foreigner has arrived in this city,* and has a beautiful wife, the like of whom has not been seen. These words having found their way to the ears of Sanân, the son of A’vân, Governor of Egypt, he called Ebrahim, and asked him how the woman he had brought was related to him. Ebrahim feared that in case he acknowledged her to be his wife the king might either kill or order him to divorce her. Therefore he said: ‘She is my sister,’* meaning in the Faith. The Governor of Egypt sent a confidential person with Ebrahim, who conveyed her into the assembly, where she was asked what Ebrahim was to her; but by his advice she replied: ‘He is my brother.’ Hereupon that accursed one lost the reins of self-possession, and intended to stretch out his hand to her; but Sarah prayed that both of them might become immovable. [This request having been granted,] he said: ‘O woman, what hast thou done to me so that my hands are withered?’ Sarah answered: ‘This is a sign of the power of God.’ Hereon the king began to implore her to beseech the Almighty—w. n. b. e.—again to bring back his hands to their former state, promising that he would not touch her. Sarah accordingly lifted her hands in prayer to the mansion of Omnipotence, and her request was granted. He could, however, after all, not restrain himself, and extended his hands thrice after Sarah, and thrice they were made immovable; but at the request of the king, and by the intercession of Sarah, they were again restored to their former state by the Lord of Glory. At last the king presented Sarah with a female slave, saying: ‘This is thy reward’;* wherefore this slave was called Hâjar [Hagar]. Then he sent Sarah back to Ebrahim, in company of one of his officers, and ordered Ebrahim to leave his country. When Sarah met her husband she narrated the whole affair to him; but he was already acquainted therewith, because the Lord of Magnificence had removed all the veils [of secrecy] from before him, and he had been enabled to see everything. Then he necessarily departed from Egypt and journeyed to the country of Filisteen, which is situated in the province of Damascus, in a place where there was neither water nor cultivation. He accordingly dug a well there, the water of which flowed up to the surface of the soil; but as he had spent all the food he had brought, and there was a great distance between him and any inhabited locality, he took a bag in order to go out in search of wheat, went away, and left his companions alone. Neither had he any money wherewith to purchase food; therefore he became much perplexed in the desert, and knew not what to do. At last he bethought himself, and filled his bag with gravel and sand, thinking that Sarah and Hâjar would be pacified on beholding a full bag. When he had returned home he fell asleep for shame, whereon Sarah and Hâjar examined the bag, which they found to be full of wheat; then they ground some of it in a handmill and baked bread. When Ebrahim awoke they called him to eat. He asked what he was to eat, and Sarah apprised him that they had baked bread of the wheat he had brought. He was astonished at this news, praised the Benefactor, preserved some of the wheat for consumption, and sowed the remainder in a field. This story is also narrated in a different way; but as the substance of both traditions is the same, the second has not been inserted here.
When the Gracious Bestower of favours, whose government extends over all beings, had caused the water to flow plentifully from the [above-mentioned] well for the benefit of Ebrahim, many thirsty Arabs heard the news, so that a great multitude of them assembled around the well from the surrounding country, and founded a city, which is to this day called Ebrahimabâd. Some time afterwards, however, the inhabitants of that region extricated their necks from under the dominion of Ebrahim, and resisted him. Therefore he was grieved in his mind, and going out from their midst, settled in a place named Qasat, which is situated between Ramlah and Amliah. After Ebrahim had departed, the water in the well decreased, his antagonists repented of what they had done, followed, met, and requested him pressingly to return to the country, but he refused. After they had been thus disappointed they informed him of the scarcity of water in the well, whereon he gave them seven arrows to place over it, in order to cause the water to flow out as usual. He also warned them that a woman who had her courses upon her should not take water from the well with her own hands. The people returned, acted according to his advice, and the water began to flow as before, continuing to do so for a long time, until a menstruous female acted contrary to the injunction, and immersed her hands into the water, which immediately became stationary, and no longer ascended to the surface, so that people were obliged to make use of a rope for drawing it. After Ebrahim had settled in Qasat he never changed his habitation until he walked into the gardens of eternity.
Let it not remain unknown that what has been narrated concerning the departure of Ebrahim is mostly according to the words of Muhammad Bin Jarir Tabari; but Qitby, in his ‘Ma’arif,’ narrates it as follows: When Ebrahim started with his adherents on the journey to Harân he travelled towards the Ardan,* after crossing which he arrived in a town, the capital of a tyrant named Sarûg, whose superabundance of folly and meanness induced him to make attempts on Sarah’s chastity. The latter was, however, protected by her guardian angel, and as a reparation for his boldness, the tyrant presented Sarah with a Coptic girl of the name of Hâjar. Ebrahim departed from that place, and travelled to Egypt, but as his world-adorning mind could not habituate itself to dwell there, he again returned to Syria and passed through the same town. Meanwhile, however, the Omnipotent Accommodator had removed Sarûg from the dignity of reigning over that country, the government of which thereon fell into the hands of Ebrahim, who became extremely rich in all sorts of property; one half of which he gave to his cousin Lôt, u. w. b., etc., and the other he kept for the use of himself and of his family. By divine command Lôt went to the country of the Mutafakât; Ebrahim—u. w. b., etc.—then selected the place called the ‘field of Harân,’ at present known by the name of ‘Qasat Halil,’ for his habitation, and dwelt there.