So That They May Establish Prayer

Now let me go back. When Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) left Hājar and her son in that spot, Ibrāhīm walked away until he got to al-Thaniyyah, and he made duʿāʾ for them. It's not easy for a father, very old, to leave his only son and his wife in the middle of nowhere. It's not easy. We do not feel safe leaving our families alone in settled, established, secure areas. It wasn't easy for Ibrāhīm to leave.

So he stopped and made duʿāʾ to Allah, because that is who we seek help from: iyyāka naʿbudu wa iyyāka nastaʿīn. We seek help from no one but Allah. And he made a duʿāʾ. What was the duʿāʾ of Ibrāhīm? He said:

Rabbanā innī askantu min dhurriyyatī bi-wādin ghayri dhī zarʿin ʿinda baytika al-muḥarram, rabbanā li-yuqīmū al-ṣalāh. O Allah, I have left my descendant, my family, in a valley that is barren and dry, infertile; no rain; no trees can grow in that place. Why? Li-yuqīmū al-ṣalāh: so that they may establish prayer. In that moment of difficulty — in that moment in which we would naturally think about the safety, and the food, and the drink of my child and my wife — Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) is thinking about ṣalāh.