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son Ishmael under the guidance of the angel Gabriel. Whenever he passed by some settlement, Prophet Abraham would ask Gabriel: “Has God commanded me to settle here?” Gabriel would say, “No.” In this way, passing by many fertile lands, he reached the appointed place—present-day Makkah. At that time, it was not inhabited. It was all desert and dry, barren mountains. Finally, at the behest of Gabriel, Prophet Abraham settled his wife and child Ishmael there. (Akhbaru Makkah by Al-Azraqi, Vol. 1, p. 54) When Prophet Abraham was to leave what is now Makkah, leaving his family behind, Hajira asked him, “Where are you going, leaving us in this desert?” Hajira repeated this question several times, but Prophet Abraham did not answer. Finally, when Hajira said, “Has God commanded you to do so?” Prophet Abraham replied, “Yes.” Hearing this, Hajira said, “Then God will never let us perish.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3364) This event, which took place four thousand years ago in the Arabian desert, ushered in a new age of monotheism. This new age was one in which a community was to be prepared and should be free of the conditioning of shirk. This place, where Hajira was settled, was far from civilized cities. The only things in evidence there were the desert and the mountains by day and the moon and the stars by night—the environment of nature. With the passage of time, a