The
Jamarat

You know, when Ibrahim and Ismail left Makkah

with the intention that Ibrahim would sacrifice Ismail,

they walked into the nearby hills to find a place where they thought it should be done.

But something happened along the way.

For as they walked, Shaitan the Devil appeared to Ibrahim

and tried to tempt him away from what he understood to be the Will of Allah.

It was not hard for the Devil to find ways to tempt Ibrahim, when he had waited so long for a son,

and if he had to kill him now it seemed that God was being really unfair.

That is the way that Shaitan works,

telling you that something you want for yourself

is better than what God wants for you.

But even though Ibrahim was extremely sad that he would be losing Ismail after such a few short years,

he knew that God is never unfair

and God knows the outcome of our deeds

better than we do ourselves.

So Ibrahim picked up some stones from the ground

and threw them at Shaitan,

and the Devil went away.

But a little further along the path

Shaitan appeared again

suggesting that Ibrahim didn't have to do this terrible thing,

as Allah surely would not mind

if Ibrahim disobeyed God just once.

But again Ibrahim picked up stones

and threw them until Shaitan went away.

Finally, a third time the Devil came

to try to persuade Ibrahim

that if he just forgot about the sacrifice of Ismail

it would be for the best,

but again Ibrahim refused to listen

and threw stones until the Devil went away.

And this time

he didn't come back.

So during Hajj, pilgrims gather stones

at Mina where Ibrahim and Ismail walked together

and then they throw them at three stone pillars

now built into walls,

known as the Jamarat.

And when they do, they remember the story of Ibrahim and Ismail,

and how they threw stones at the Devil when they were tempted,

and they hope that they too will be able to stay constant in their worship of Allah

despite Shaitan's tempations.