The Well of Nabi Ibrahim (AS) marks the place in Bir al-Saba where tradition holds that the Prophet (AS) dug a well in southern Palestine. Known in Arabic as…
The Well of Nabi Ibrahim (AS) marks the place in Bir al-Saba where tradition holds that the Prophet (AS) dug a well in southern Palestine. Known in Arabic as Bi’r Ibrahim (بئر إبراهيم), the well stands beside Wadi al-Saba, near the old centre of the city. Water gave Bir al-Saba its enduring place on the routes linking al-Khalil, Gaza, the Naqab and Egypt. Nabi Ibrahim in the blessed land Nabi Ibrahim (AS) called his people in Iraq away from idol worship and towards the worship of Allah alone. After Allah saved him from the fire, Nabi Ibrahim (AS) migrated with Nabi Lut (AS) towards al-Sham, travelling through Harran and Egypt before settling in the lands of Palestine. “Then We delivered him, along with Lot, to the land We had showered with blessings for all people.” Surah al-Anbiya 21:71 In Palestine, Allah granted Nabi Ibrahim (AS) Nabi Ishaq (AS), and the family of Prophets continued through Nabi Ishaq (AS) and Nabi Yaqub (AS). The well at Bir al-Saba belongs to this Palestinian chapter of Nabi Ibrahim’s (AS) life, when water sources defined settlement and movement across the dry southern country. The well and the city of Bir al-Saba The Palestinian historian Arif al-Arif placed Nabi Ibrahim (AS) at the beginning of his history of Bir al-Saba. The well was also recorded by the traveller Edward Robinson during his journey through Palestine in 1838. In 1897, a local sheikh built a house above it. The Ottoman government established the modern town of Bir al-Saba nearby at the beginning of the twentieth century, making it an administrative centre for the Naqab and its Bedouin tribes. The historic well now forms part of the Abraham’s Well visitor centre, opened in 2013 on the edge of the Ottoman-era old city.