The Lawgiver
Islamic traditions tell us that Adam was the first Rasool of Allah who throughout his life lived in the surroundings of Kaaba at Mecca and died there. After him, the most important Rasool was Noah who also spent most of his time in Arabia and southern Iraq. After Noah another great Rasool was Hud who remained in Yemen in the areas near Hazremaut. Swaleh was a great prominent Rasool after Hud who lived at Midian-e-Swaleh in Arabia. Abraham also belonged to North Arabia or Southern Iraq from where he shifted to Canaan. It may be noted that according to Islamic traditions Ibrahim had been the greatest Prophet and Rasool of Allah since Adam up to Jesus. Lot was another Rasool of Allah who was assigned the areas of Jordan valley. He went there solely with the purpose of preaching the Word of God to them. The Biblical story attributing the separation between Abraham and Lot due to some quarrel between their servants taking care of their animals and paucity of the grazing pastures has no mention in the Qur’an or other Islamic traditions. Anyhow, after Abraham and Lot, Ishmael was the Rasool of Allah who spent his whole life standing before the house of the Lord at Kaaba, as a prophet priest after Abraham there. The Islamic traditions call Ishaq (Issac) as a ‘Nabi’ and not a Rasool, like Abraham, Noah, and Moosa, etc. while the Quran mentions Lot and Ishamael as Rasools of Allah. This shows that after Abraham and Lot, the specter of authority (i.e. the Rasalat or Nabowat) was inherited by Ishmael from his father Abraham. As against the priesthood of Ishmael, Isaasc, though a Nabi of Allah, remained domesticated in the southern Canaan at Beersheba and Hebron promoting the mission of his father there. After Ishmael, however, the scepter (prophet hood) shifted to Yaqoob (Jacob) and his descendants.
The Prophet of Islam Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) in whom God finalized His ineffable and everlasting revelation was born at Makkah, started his mission as a Prophet there. He had received the final message from the Lord to worship one and the only Lord God of universe, and to obey all His commandments in the steps of all the foregoing prophets of the Lord. Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), as such, was the most befitting answer to the prayer made by Abraham at Makkah in the following words:
رَّبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
O our Lord! surely I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House, our Lord! that they may keep up prayer; therefore make the hearts of some people yearn towards them and provide them with fruits; haply they may be grateful: (14:37)
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ العَزِيزُ الحَكِيمُ
Our Lord! and raise up in them a Messenger from among them who shall recite to them Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise. (2: 129)
Incidentally, we note that the verse Al-Qur’an 14:37, quoted above, refers to an uncultivable or unproductive area which is essentially a wilderness, where Abraham dedicated his first born son Ishmael to stay before the ancient house of the Lord there. The second verse i.e. 2:129, contains the prayer of Abraham, which is self explanatory. God accepted the prayer graciously, and sent the promised Prophet there as foretold by Jacob, Moses, and Jesus; as we shall discuss in detail subsequently.