Hagar
Hagar (Arabic هاجر; Hajar; Hebrew הָגָר "Stranger", Standard Hebrew Hagar, Tiberian Hebrew Hāḡār) is an Egyptian-born handmaiden of Sarah, wife of Abraham. Her history is narrated in the Book of Genesis in the Torah (Hebrew Bible).
Hagar in the Hebrew Bible
The story of Hagar is found in Genesis 16 and 21. The narrative states that Hagar was an Egyptian servant belonging to Sarah, who, being barren, gave Hagar to her husband Abraham as a concubine, so that he might still have children. Because Sarah treated her poorly, Hagar fled from the dwelling of Abraham, but an angel of the Lord, finding her in the wilderness, commanded her to return. She obeyed this voice and submitted to Sarah, and was delivered of a son, whom she named Ishmael. Fourteen years after this, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. When the child was weaned, Sarah observed Ishmael, who was then seventeen years of age, teasing Isaac; consequently, she urged Abraham to expel Hagar and her son. This proposal upset Abraham; but God commanded him to comply with Sarah's request. Rising early in the morning, therefore, Abraham took bread and a bottle of water and sent away Hagar and Ishmael. Hagar intended to return to Egypt, but lost her way, and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. The water in her bottle failing, she left Ishmael under one of the trees in the wilderness to cry a small distance away from him. God ended up rescuing them by showing Hagar a well. She eventually settled in Desert of Paran.
Hagar in Jewish mysticism
According to Rabbinic lore (midrash) Hagar was a "stranger" whose real name was Keturah as stipulated in the Talmud. By this a pun on Hagar with Hageir meaning "the stranger" is implied, both being spelled the same way in plain Hebrew. Hagar is sometimes identified in Jewish mysticism with the succubi Lilith and Naˤmā.
Hagar in the New Testament
Hagar, according to Paul, may symbolize the synagogue, which produces only slaves - the offspring always following the condition of the mother (Galatians 4:24)
Inhumane Treatment
Many readers may feel sorry for Hagar and her infant son when reading the story in Genesis. How could Abraham accept sending them to an unknown and waterless place? Was it a homicide? The later issues between Jews and Arabs cannot be projected back to such an early time (when all were one family). Ishmael was Abraham's son as much as Isaac. Both attended the burial of their father according to Genesis - no one fought the other. Later struggles may have projected the (pre-exilic) troubles with the Arab nomads to the time of Abraham and his sons. Ammon, Esau, Moab, and Canaan are just few examples when later issues gave birth to supposedly old stories.
Hagar and Arabic Origins
The Arabs origins and genealogy is traced back to Noah's son Shem. The Quran mentions a powerful ancient Arabic kingdom of a tribe called "'Ad", existed in old-days Oman and the empty quarter in present-day Saudi Arabia that returns to the days of the Islamic messenger Hud (Arabic: هودHud) believed to be (Hebrew:Eber).The Quran also mentions another tribe called Thamud. The ancient Arabs inhabited all the Arabian Peninsula to the borders of Iraq and Syria.Other ancient Arabic tribes include: Tasm, Gadeth, 'Aemlak, Umayem, Jorhom, Hador, Wabar, Gasem, 'Abel, and Hadramawt. Those are believed to be all extinct nowadays and there are very scarce details of their history, however, some remains of their very old kingdoms in Hadramawt and Sheba (the lands of present day Yemen,Oman,Eritrea and Ethiopia) still exists. Recent archaeological discoveries revealed the capital city of ‘Ad (E'rum) buried under the sand in the empty qurter of saudi arabia . Their tribes used to navigate the lands in continuous nomadic activities and it was the tribe of "Jorhom the second" from Yemen that first located Hagar and settled around her and Ishmael. Hagar (Hajar) founded the community that once lived in the same place that is now called Mecca (Makkah). Ishmael - as the son of Abraham - was from Aram, however, through mixing breeds with Arab tribes an Arabic bread called "The Arabized Arabs/Adnani Arabs or the Ishmaelites" of north Arabia were established and are traced to Adnan, believed to be a descendant of Ishmael through his son Kedar. Those are different from another breed of Arabs existed in south Arabia, "The Arabian Arabs/Qahtani Arabs" traced to Joktan (Arabic: قحطان Qahtan,Standard Hebrew: יָקְטָן Yoqtan "little",Tiberian Hebrew Yoqṭān), the second of the two sons of Eber (Arabic: هود Hud, Standard Hebrew ʿÉver, Tiberian Hebrew ʿĒḇer,עֵבֶר) who is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 10:25; 1 Chr. 1:19) as a great-grandson of Noah's son Shem and the ancestor of Hazarmaveth (Hadramawt) and Sheba, and also an old messenger (Hud) in Islam. The community that was developed in Mecca in the days of Hagar was influenced by the religion of Abraham as it is believed that Abraham frequently visited Hagar and her son. However, as time went by the religion was lost through many misconceptions and they started to worship Idols as intermediariies with the God of Abraham. This community would serve as the earliest foundation of Islam, believed to be a restoration to the religion of Abraham - pure monotheism. According to Islamic traditions, Ishmael was a fully legitimate son of Abraham and inherited equally from his father the legacy of prophethood and religion of God (Arabic:Allah). From Ishmael descended the Prophet Muhammad, 600 years after the end of the last Israelite mission of Prophets with the "messenger" Jesus. Muhammad is traced to Adnan, believed to be a descendant of Ishmael through his son Kedar.
Hagar in Islamic traditions
Narrated Abu Huraira: "....Abraham and Sarah (his wife) were going (on a journey) they passed by (the territory of) a tyrant. Someone said to the tyrant, "This man (i.e. Abraham) is accompanied by a very charming lady." So, he sent for Abraham and asked him about Sarah saying, "Who is this lady?" Abraham said, "She is my sister." Abraham went to Sarah and said, "O Sarah! There are no believers on the surface of the earth except you and I. This man asked me about you and I have told him that you are my sister, so don't contradict my statement." The tyrant then called Sarah and when she went to him, he tried to take hold of her with his hand, but (his hand got stiff and) he was confounded. He asked Sarah. "Pray to Allah for me, and I shall not harm you." So Sarah asked Allah to cure him and he got cured. He tried to take hold of her for the second time, but (his hand got as stiff as or stiffer than before and) was more confounded. He again requested Sarah, "Pray to Allah for me, and I will not harm you." Sarah asked Allah again and he became alright. He then called one of his guards (who had brought her) and said, "You have not brought me a human being but have brought me a devil." The tyrant then gave Hajar as a girl-servant to Sarah. Sarah came back (to Abraham) while he was praying. Abraham, gesturing with his hand, asked, "What has happened?" She replied, "Allah has spoiled the evil plot of the infidel (or immoral person) and gave me Hajar for service." (Abu Huraira then addressed his listeners saying, "That (Hajar) was your mother, O Bani Ma-is-Sama (i.e. the Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael, Hajar's son)." (Sahih Bukhari 4.578, also Sahih Bukhari 4.577 and Sahih Bukhari 7.21) Some sources refers to Hagar as being an Ethiopian. The infant Ishmael (Arabic:Ismā'īl) filled Abraham (Arabic:Ibrahim) with joy. Sara, however, may have got jealous. She may have regretted making Hajar wife to Abraham, so she asked her husband to send her with the infant away. Abraham, by God's command, accepted Sara's request. He took Hagar and Ishmael with him and began journeying until, under the guidance of God, they entered the land of Mecca. Ibrahim brought Hajar to a high hill called al-Marwa, made her and her baby sit under a tree, placed a bag of dates and some water near her, and set out homeward. Hajar ran after him and said: "Are you going to leave us in this desert where there is no one to keep us company?" She repeated this many times but he would not look back at her. She asked: "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said yes. "Then He will not neglect us." She said. He left them there and returned to Sara knowing that God would take care of them. The Quran narrates Abraham had prayed to God saying, "Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a barren valley near your sacred house, so that they could be steadfast in prayer. Lord, fill the hearts of the people with love for them and produce fruits for their sustenance, so that they may give thanks". Hagar, that helpless woman with her suckling baby, was left alone in that waterless and bare desert far from any city or town. But Hagar had learned the way of trust in and reliance on God from Abraham, so with faith in God, she followed the path of patience and tolerance. She lived on the provisions that she had until they were used up and hunger and thirst overcame her. Her milk dried up, leaving her baby hungry and thirsty. Hoping to find water to save her baby's life, Hagar began to search in the desert but found nothing. Hopelessly, she returned to Ishmael and found him crying. Seeing her baby in this condition broke her heart. She, too, began weeping; she didn't know what to do. The baby was overcome with weakness; it seemed that he was passing the last moments of life. Hagar ran seven times back and forth in the scorching heat between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, trying to mount a higher ground to spot any water in the area, until, completely disappointed and with tear-filled eyes, she returned to her baby. The agony of Hagar in her search for water is remembered by Muslims by imposing an act of ritual walking (sa`i, Arabic: سَعِي) that would signify her journey between the two hills in their pilgrimage at Mecca. Standing beside her baby, weeping and wailing, Hagar was watching that heartbreaking scene. God then sent the Angel Gabriel, who scraped the ground. From that spot, a clear spring gushed out from the ground and began to flow under Ishmael's feet. Hagar was delighted. But she was also anxious about the water flowing away. Hence, she confined the pool of water with sand and stones, remarking at the same time: Zam Zam ("Stop, Stop"). She then sat on the ground next to her baby, wet his lips and poured some of the water into his parched mouth, refreshing him. The danger to his life was over. Hagar also drank some water, recovered her strength, and praised God.(Other versions of the story say Ishmael scraped the ground with his heel and the ZamZam appeared.) Little by little, birds came to use the water of the spring. The tribe of Jorhom, who dwelt in the area, discovered the spring because of the birds flying overhead and the tribe then settled beside it. They asked her permission to use the spring and she agreed.Hagar became acquainted with them, and her fear and loneliness were removed.In this way, the prayer of Abraham was answered. From time to time, Abraham would go to see Hagar and his child. Visiting them made him happy and reinvigorated him. The spring that burst forth when Gabriel struck the ground on the orders of God still exists today and is called the Zamzam Well زمزم.
Hagar in popular culture
The Scottish artist James Eckford Lauder (1811-1869) painted a large canvas of Hagar. "All Aunt Hagar's children" is a book by Edward P. Jones, containing several stories, all featuring Afro American characters. The book clearly addresses matters concerning slavery and oppression in general. A character named Hagar is prominently featured in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon, which features numerous Biblical themes and allusions. W. C. Handy's song "Aunt Hagar's Blues" immortalizes Hagar as the "mother" of the African Americans:
- Just hear Aunt Hagar's children harmonizin' to that old mournful tune!
- It's like choir from on high broke loose!
- If the devil brought it, the good Lord sent it right down to me,
- Let the congregation join while I sing those lovin' Aunt Hagar's Blues!
William Shakespeare - Merchant of Venice Act II Scene 4 line 40
- Shylock. What says that fool of Hagar’s offspring, ha?
The comic strip Viking Hagar the Horrible simply uses the name. Hagar is not a Viking name. In Scandinavian translations, he is called Hårek or Hagbard. The novel "The Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence has a protagonist named Hagar whose life story loosely imitates that of the biblical Hagar.
Hagar in contemporary Israel
The story of Hagar's expulsion to the desert has acquired some political connotations in modern Israel, being taken up as a symbol of the massive expulsion and exodus of Palestinians during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, being depicted as such by some Israeli writers and artists. It was also the subject of a famous debate on the floor of the Knesset between two women parliamentarians - Shulamit Aloni, founder of Meretz (Civil Rights Movement) and Geulah Cohen of Tehiya (National Awakening Party) - who argued about the right interpretation which the Bible in general and Hagar's story in particular should be given in curriculum of Israeli schools. Since the 1970's the custom has arisen of giving the name "Hagar" to newborn female babies. The giving of this name is often taken as a controversial political act, marking the parents as being left-leaning and supporters of reconciliation with the Palestinians and Arab World, and is frowned upon by many, including nationalists and the religious. The Israeli Women in Black movement has unofficially renamed Jerusalem's Paris Square, where the movement has been holding anti-occupation vigils every Friday since 1988, as "Hagar Square". The name commorates the late Hagar Rublev, a prominent Israeli feminist and peace activist, who was among the founders of these Friday vigils.
A figure for contemporary times
Contemporary readings often discuss the tension between women that is induced by linking women's status to the male heirs they produce. Hagar is often used as example of the silently victimized, since her only recorded statement is a plea for death. Later Liberation and Womanist traditions find identity with Hagar for these reasons. The conflict between Sarah and Hagar is often shown as a classic example of conflicts between women under patriarchal systems.
See also
- Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World, a book discussing the origins of Islam.
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