Written by:- Huda Khattab

 The story of Abraham is well known to Jews and Christians as well as to Muslims. In Islam he is remembered as one of
 the great Prophets, and as the father of the Prophet Ishmael, who was the ancestor of Prophet Muhammad himself.

Long, long ago, a child was born to the Prophet Abraham and his second wife, Hagar. The baby's name was Ishmael and,
when he was born, he was Abraham's only son. In those days, it was not unusual for a man to have two wives. Abraham's first
wife was named Sarah. She had no children, and this made her sad.

But God told Abraham that one day, Sarah too would have a son. He would be named Isaac. Ishmael and Isaac were to be
the ancestors of two great nations and three great religions. The nations were the Arabs and the Jews.

The religions would be Islam, the Jewish religion, and Christianity. God told Abraham to take Hagar and Ishmael to a new land,
far from their home in Palestine. They were to travel through the desert, to a place that God would show them. Abraham knew
that the journey would be long and dangerous -- but he also knew that he should trust God, who would look after them and
provide them with everything they needed. They set out across the desert, and traveled for many days. At last, they came to a
desolate valley. It was the place where long ago, Adam had built the first place for the worship of the one God. But there was
nothing there now but hot sand and bare hills. It was a frightening and lonely place -- and yet, it seemed to Abraham that this
was the place where God wanted him to leave Hagar and her child. Abraham gave them a little food and water, and prepared
to leave. Hagar watched him, afraid of what might happen.

"How can you leave us here?" she cried. "We will soon have nothing to eat or drink!"

Abraham was too sad to answer. "Is this God's will, or your own decision?" asked Hagar.

"It is God's command," replied Abraham. "In that case, He will take care of us," replied Hagar.

But at first, it almost seemed as if this was not so. Abraham left, praying, as he did, so that his family would be safe. It was not
long before the food and water were finished. The hot sun beat down on the mother and child. The desert was lonely and silent.
Hagar looked up at the two hills that enclosed the valley. There was not a tree nor a blade of grass, or any living thing in sight.
Nothing moved. There was not even a bird in the sky. The baby began to cry, and the sound tore at Hagar's heart. She knew
she must find water. She ran up one of the hills and scanned the country around for signs of an oasis. She saw nothing. She
tried the other hill -- but still found nothing. All the time, Hagar could hear the child crying, and she could not bear it. She ran
back to comfort him. He lay on the ground, kicking the sand with his feet. As as he did so, quite suddenly, water began to gush
from the ground. It tumbled quickly over the stones, cutting through the desert sand in a cool, clear stream. At once, Hagar
gave thanks to God, and then gave little Ishmael some water to drink. He stopped crying, and slept peacefully in her arms.
Hagar looked up again at the sky, and saw that flocks of birds were making their way toward the well. They settled on the side
of the stream to drink.

Far away, desert travelers saw the birds, and knew they were heading for water. They followed the birds, and they too came
to the valley and the stream. They saw what a peaceful place it was, and settled there. This was the beginning of the great city
of Makkah. The waters of Zamzam still flow today for the pilgrims as they make the holy journey to Makkah. Pilgrims
remember the story of Hagar and her baby as they run between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, the hills that Hagar herself ran
over in her desperate search. As they run, they pray that God will provide for them too, as He provided for Hagar and Ishmael