Is This a Commandment From Allah?

In Fatḥ al-Bārī, the commentary of al-Bukhārī by Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, he says that when Ibrāhīm carried his young child and Hājar in their hijrah, Ismāʿīl was about two years of age.

Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) commanded his wife Hājar to accompany him on a long trip. So they started this long travelling: Ibrāhīm, and his wife Hājar, and their young child, Ismāʿīl. And then suddenly, in the middle of nowhere — desert; dry, barren, infertile desert; no settlement, no people, no houses, no villages, nothing — in the middle of nowhere, Ibrāhīm stopped. And he told his wife Hājar and her son to stay there. And he left with them a sack filled with dates, and he left with them some water.

Hājar couldn't believe what was happening. How could we be left over here, in the middle of nowhere? Desert. So she followed Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him). Are you going to leave us here? Who are you going to leave us with? There are no plants, there are no people, there's nothing. Who are you going to leave us with? And Ibrāhīm was not answering. And he's walking away; he didn't even look back.

And she repeated the question: who are you going to leave us with? He's walking away. She's following him. Ibrāhīm, how are you going to leave us here? There's nothing here; there are no people. And Ibrāhīm is completely ignoring her, and not even looking back. Then finally she asked him a question. She said: is this a commandment from Allah (swt)? Finally Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) responded, and said: yes. Sayyidatunā Hājar said: idhan, then Allah (swt) will not neglect us. That's it. She didn't talk with him further.

Allah told you to do this? Yes. Allah (swt) will take care of us; He will not neglect us. This is the īmān of this mother, Hājar, the mother of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)^*. This is her īmān. She's in the desert — dry desert; no one is there. She doesn't even have enough food. All she has is dates and water: something that we would complain about if we were told to live on it for one day, not to make a living off water and dates. And her husband is leaving her alone, a helpless mother.