Prophet Ismail and his Mother

When Ismail (alayhis salam) was still a small baby, his father Ibrahim (alayhis salam) took him and his mother, Hajra, to the site of the Ka’ba. He gave them some dates and a goat skin full of water and left them there. At that time no one lived at the Ka’ba, and there was no water nearby. As Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was walking away, Ismail’s (alayhis salam) mother followed him, asking why she and her son were being left in such a desolate place. She asked several times but he would not answer her. Finally, she asked if Allah had ordered him to do this and he replied that it was so. Upon hearing this, she accepted Allah’s will and returned to the site where Ibrahim (alayhis salam) had left her.

As soon as Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was out of sight, he turned and prayed to Allah to protect and provide for his family which he had left out in the wilderness:
“O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Thy Sacred House; In order, O our Lord that they may establish regular prayer; So fill the hearts of some among men with love towards them, and feed them with fruits; So that they may give thanks.” (al-Qur’an 14:37)

Ismail (alayhis salam) and his mother lived for some time on the supply of water and dates, but finally the water began to give out, and Ismail’s (alayhis salam) mother could no longer produce sufficient milk to nurse her baby. The baby became agitated and near to death because of his thirst. The mother could not bear to see her child suffering, so she ran to the top of nearby Mt. Safa to see if she could find someone to help her. When she could see no one, she ran down the mountain and across the valley to Mt. Marwa. Seven times she ran from one mountain to the other, looking in vain for assistance. After the seventh time she heard a voice and she called out to it for help. When she looked she saw an angel digging the earth with his heel until water flowed forth. That place was the site of Zam-zam. She carefully made a depression around the place where the water was flowing, and filled her waterbag with her hands. Then she was able to drink water and nurse her baby. The angel told her not to be afraid, that she and her son would be provided for.

Ismail (alayhis salam) and his mother continued to live at the Ka’ba all by themselves for some time. One day some people of the Jurhum tribe were passing through the valley. They didn’t intend to stop, because they knew that there had never been any water in that valley. But they saw a kind of bird which was known to frequent wet spots, so they followed it to the spring of Zam-zam. There they found Ismail’s mother sitting by the water.

Ismail’s (alayhis salam) mother was a very sociable person who loved the company of others, so she readily agreed to their request to stop there for a while, provided that they did not claim possession of the water. Some of the people of Jurhum decided to settle permanently by Zam-zam and sent for their families. Ismail (alayhis salam) grew up with these people and learned to speak Arabic from them. When he grew up, they urged him to marry one of their women.

You can read about Ismail and his mother in Sahih al-Bukhari IV:582-584.

15 Comments

  • Jazak’ALLAH khair Nice Article .. thanks for sharing .. ALLAH will give your reward for this effort ..

  • ReadQuranOnline

    Jazak’ALLAH, Thank for sharing this article .. May Allah bless you ..

  • iamnottellingyoumyname

    nice

  • iamnottellingyoumyname

    good

  • Asalaamu alaikum,
    Thank you for the story. As a convert, I know the biblical version of Abraham’s (pbuh) sons very well. I know bits and pieces of Ishmaels (pbuh) story from the Quran, but this put it all together nicely. Thank you.
    Salaams,
    Umm Sarah

  • Sandy

    The story contradicts the old testemant. Ismail was 12 years old when he went with his mother to a place near Bir sheba and he was not a baby.
    Ibrahim and his family never went to Arabia or near Kaaba.
    Please explain from where did you get the story. Do you have ahistorical evidence.

    • Xeixei

      The story of Ishmael And Hajar is in the Qur-an.

    • Zahirah motala

      The story is from the quran and its the ritual which we follow in haj thought to us by our prophet Mohamed pbuh. The Bible you read is false there are so many versions but only one quran which is protected in the hearts of millions of muslims.

    • Kanzah Khan

      Reply to Sandy: Ahmed is correct and what you are saying is not the true story.

  • afreena khan

    JAZAKALLAHKHAIR……..

  • ahmed

    Reply to Sandy’s comment: That’s probably because Bible has been altered again and again in each era. It is not in its original form, the form in which it was originally sent by Allah. Quran on the other hand cannot be altered. It is in its original form even today, because Allah has Himself taken the responsibility of safeguarding it against alterations. Not even a single word of Quran can be changed unlike all previous Revelations.

  • taha

    Alhamdulilah completeky agree with mr ahmed…..may allah bless our ppl to b strong so dat no othr religion may distract our purest religion

  • Syed Nadeem

    This is a very nice article.Amazing Masha Allah and may Allah give you a reward for your

  • taj

    Jazakhalla khair thenx for this article sharing …give more information

  • Azly

    Jazakallah for such a wonderful work!

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