The Makkan Period, Part 2: The Ancestry of the Messenger of Allah, From Ibrāhīm to ʿAbdullāh
Section 2 of 14 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Makkan Period
Left in a Valley Without Cultivation
Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), his wife and son arrived in the valley, at the place where Zamzam is now. Obviously there wasn't a Zamzam at the time. Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) left his wife and his son Ismāʿīl. He left with them some water and a leather bag of dates, and he walked away. He just turned away and left.
Now, Hājar (peace be upon her) knew that Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was going to leave them, but she didn't expect to be left in such a place, in the middle of the desert. So she followed him and said: "Ibrāhīm, are you going to leave us in a place where there's no cultivation and no one living?" Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) did not answer back. She asked him again — no response. She asked him a third time, and he didn't answer back. And then Hājar (peace be upon her) said: "Did Allah tell you to do so?" Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) said: "Yes." She said: "Then Allah will take care of us." If this is a command from Allah, then she has trust in Allah that He will take care of them. Look at the faith of this woman, in the middle of nowhere: "But if this is the command of Allah, I have trust in Allah. Allah will take care of us. Allah will not neglect us. Allah will not waste us."
Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) left, and when he reached a place where they could not see him any more, he turned around and faced the Kaʿbah, or the place of the Kaʿbah, and he made duʿāʾ to Allah.
رَّبَّنَآ إِنِّىٓ أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِى زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَٱجْعَلْ أَفْـِٔدَةً مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ تَهْوِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ وَٱرْزُقْهُم مِّنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
“Our Lord, I have settled some of my children in a valley of no vegetation, close to Your sanctified House, so that, Our Lord, they may establish Salāh. So, make hearts of people yearn towards them, and provide them with fruits, so that they may be grateful.” (14:37)
Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) said: "O Allah, I am leaving my offspring in a land with no cultivation" — bi-wādin ghayri dhī zarʿ, a valley without vegetation — "next to Your sacred House." So the place was known to be sacred, even though a Kaʿbah hadn't been built. And then Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) made a duʿāʾ.