Mukhtasar Muslim

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) never told a lie except three times (these are called lies in terminology, in reality, they are not lies but a form of equivocation). Two of these lies were for the sake of Allah: one was his saying, "I am sick," and the other was, "The big idol must have broken these idols." The third lie was about Sayyidah Sarah (peace be upon her). Its story is that Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) reached the land of a tyrant king, and with him was his wife Sayyidah Sarah, who was very beautiful. He said to his wife, "If this tyrant king finds out that you are my wife, he will snatch you from me, so if he asks, say that I am his sister, and you are my sister in the bond of Islam." (This too was not really a lie) because in the whole world today, no one except you and me is known to be a Muslim. When Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was passing through his territory (his area), the agents of that tyrant king went to him and reported that a woman has come to your land who is worthy of none but you. He summoned Sayyidah Sarah. When she went, Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) stood up for prayer (began to pray to Allah to protect him from his evil). When Sayyidah Sarah reached that tyrant, he impulsively stretched out his hand towards her, but immediately his hand became paralyzed. He said, "Pray to Allah that my hand may be released; I will not harm you." She prayed, and that accursed man again stretched out his hand, and it became more paralyzed than before. He asked for prayer, so she prayed. Then that accursed man again tried to touch her, and his hand became even more paralyzed than the previous two times. Then he said, "Pray to Allah that my hand may be released; by Allah, I will not harm you now." Sayyidah Sarah prayed again, and his hand was released. Then he called the person who had brought Sayyidah Sarah and said to him, "You have brought a devil-woman to me; she is not a human being. Take her out of my land and hand over a slave-girl, Hajar, to her." Sayyidah Sarah returned with Hajar. When Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) saw her, he finished his prayers and asked, "What happened?" Sarah said, "Everything is fine; Allah Almighty protected me from the evil of that wicked man and also gave a slave-girl." Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then this slave-girl, that is, Hajar, is your mother, O children of the rain!