The Revolution of the Prophet

instead. This was a sign from God that Abraham would have to prepare himself for enormous sacrifices: but he was not required to make them; it was the will to sacrifice that was desired. Once he had shown that he could pass this test, he would be spared the actual deed. After all, God intended to use Abraham and his family to enact a great scheme; far from letting them pointlessly lay down their lives, He would protect them. Ishmael grew up and married a girl of the Jurham tribe, which had settled in Makkah after the water of Zamzam had sprung up. Abraham was in Syria at the time. One day he came on horseback when Ishmael was not at home; only his wife was there, and she did not recognize her father-inlaw. “Where has Ishmael gone?” Abraham asked. “Hunting,” she replied. “How is life treating you?” Abraham went on, and Ishamel’s wife complained to him about the poverty and hardship they had to endure. Then, as he was leaving, Abraham told her to convey his greetings to Ishmael and ask him to “alter his threshold.” When Ishmael returned, she told him the whole story. Ishmael realized that the visitor had been his father, who had come to see how things were going. By “altering his threshold,” Ishmael knew what his father had meant: he was to marry a new wife, for this one was unsuitable for the creation of the progeny God had in mind. So he divorced that wife and married someone else. After some time, Abraham made another appearance on horseback. Again Ishmael was not at home. Abraham asked his new