Ishmael

Ismail was born of the union of Ibrahim and his Egyptian servant Hajar. By Allah's command, Ibrahim left Hajar and the infant Ismail in the valley of Mecca — then a barren desert with no water or vegetation. Hajar, seeing the provisions run out, ran seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa searching for water for her child, who was dying of thirst. It was her endurance and faith that gave rise to the miracle of Zamzam. The angel Jibril struck the ground with his heel or wing, and water gushed forth at Ismail's feet. Hajar cried out: "Zam zam!" — stop! — fearing the water would spill away. This blessed water still flows today, millennia later. The Bani Jurhum, an Arab tribe, settled near the spring. Ismail grew up among them, learned Arabic — the language that would become that of the Quran — and distinguished himself by his integrity.