BEER SHEBA AS A MUSLIM SEES IT
The Kuds El Scharif, the Arabic journal of Jerusalem, in an article on Beer Sheba, has the following:
"It is situated southwest of Jerusalem and Hebron and northeast of Gaza. It stands in the plain of Beer Sheba, which is about 250 meters above the level of the sea. It is the central meeting place of many Bedouin tribes.
"The town of Beer Sheba is considered sacred by the Mussulman law and history, and it should, therefore, be the dwelling place of many Mussulmans.
"Beer Sheba is distinctly mentioned in the Hebrew Torah, and many Islam commentators have found references in the chapters of the Prophets that mention its importance. It is referred to in the Koran, in the chapter that speaks about the wanderings of our father Abraham, when he by the divine command, abandoned the towns of Arabia and immigrated to this fertile and blessed country. Our great and learned writer, Bedawi, has said that our father Abraham, of blessed memory, chose the town of Beer Sheba as his residence when he wandered from the country El Arak to Palestine.
"Here he spent his strength in acquiring sanctity, and here God endowed him with prophecy. 'We therefore see,' continues Bedawi, 'that Beer Sheba had been favored by Allah Himself.' The holy commentators further tell us that between the place where our father Abraham dwelt and where Lot lived was a distance of one day and one night, and this spot could have been no other than Beer Sheba.
"Abdallah Omar Ali, unto whom be peace, narrates in his history as a tradition from the prophet himself, saying:
"Those believers who make a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, should also visit the spot where Abraham our father dwelt,' and as it is well known that Beer Sheba is that place,
therefore the Muslim who visits or settles in it fulfills the wishes of the Prophet, of peaceful memory, according to the above tradition.
"Abu Isaac, the Islam historian, has the following in his work:
"At first Abraham dwelt in Chaldee and by divine command he, Lot and everything they possessed removed to Egypt, but were ultimately compelled to leave Egypt and seek a place where they could worship God without hindrance or interference. So they journeyed to El Arial and thence to Beer Sheba. Abraham liked the place so much that he settled in it together with his wives, Sarah and Hagar, and his sons Ismael and Isaac, unto all of whom be peace."
“Onas EI Galeel, in his history of Abraham, says the following:
"When Abraham came to Beer Sheba he found it inhabited by a strong people, with whom he made a treaty of peace. He preached to them the knowledge of the one God, and at the same time acquired much wealth, and his name spread far and wide, so that all the people called him 'The Righteous Old Man.' But in his hoary age the people of the land became jealous of his greatness and compelled him to abandon their country. They said unto him: 'You came here in your youth and all your wealth and riches really belong to us, for you have acquired them among us,' to which Abraham our father retorted: 'It is all very true, but when I came here I was young and full of strength, whilst now I am old and feeble and my strength has been lost with you. Return me mine, and I shall return you yours. Some say that Beer Sheba was called so from an oath which Abraham took near one of its wells, and others that it took this name from seven wells which it contained.'"