T he toll officer calculated the toll of all the goods and...

T he toll officer calculated the toll of all the goods and finally reached the casket. He ordered Ibrahim to open it in order that he may calculate the tax payable on its contents. Ibrahim told him to assume the contents in any way he liked for the purpose of calculating tax. However the toll officer insisted on opening the casket and did so forcibly. He saw Sarah in it and was dumbfounded by her beauty. “Who is this lady?” he asked.

“She is my sister”, replied Ibrahim wanting to say that she was his sister in faith. (She was his cousin sister hence Ibrahim was not lying when he said so). The agents carried the casket to the officer who tried to touch Sarah. Sarah prayed for Allah’s refuge from him and his hand became lifeless. The man pained by this exclaimed as to what calamity had befallen him. Sarah told him it was due to his evil intention.

He said now he had changed his intention therefore Sarah should pray that his hand be restored to normalcy. Sarah prayed to Allah to restore the man’s hand if he spoke the truth. The Almighty cured his hand. The officer had a slave-girl whom he gifted to Sarah. The slave-girl named Hajar was later to be the mother of Isma‘il. Ibrahim continued his journey with Sarah and Hajar and halted at a village that fell on their way. It was situated at the junction of roads leading to Yemen.

Ibrahim invited to Islam all those who passed from there. Ibrahim was already a well-known figure and the people knew that Nimrod had tried to burn him and failed. So when the people visited Ibrahim he entertained them at his residence. Ibrahim resided at a distance of seven parasang from the populated towns. These towns had flourishing agriculture and orchards. People who passed through these towns plucked and consumed some of the fruits.

The natives did not like this trend and were always thinking of a way to stop this. One day Satan came to them in the form of an old man and said that he can teach them an action that if they practiced it no traveler would ever dare to approach their town. “What is it?” asked the people. “Whenever a person happens to pass through your town” said Satan “You should have intercourse through his anus and confiscate his belongings.” Then a young handsome man appeared in the town.

People caught him and sodomised him. They enjoyed the evil act so much that they started having sexual relations amongst themselves.