Hagar in Islam
Hājar, known as Hagar in the Hebrew Bible, was the wife of the patriarch and Islamic prophet Ibrahim and the mother of Ismā'īl. She is a revered woman in the Islamic faith. According to Muslim belief, she was a maid of the king of Egypt who gifted her to Ibrahim's wife Sarah. Although not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, she is referenced and alluded to via the story of her husband. She eventually settled in the Desert of Paran, seen as the Hejaz in the Islamic view, with her son Ishmael. Hajar is honoured as an especially important matriarch of monotheism, as Ishmael was the ancestor of Muhammad.
Narrative
Abraham was childless. He was a prophet of God and, having left his native land, he was concerned about who would take the prophetic office after him, and whether he would be a father one day. His wife's servant Haajara, who was gifted to her, was given to Abraham as a wife to bear a child. According to modern scholars, Haajara was not a concubine, but rather a princess, the daughter of the king of Egypt. Haajara subsequently bore a child who would grow to be righteous and ready to suffer and endure. Hagar named him Ismail, meaning "God has heard".Islamic scholar Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman states the following using the Arabic name Haajar for Haajara; Allah revealed to Ibrahim that he should take Haajar and the infant Ismaa’eel and take them to Makkah. So he took them and left Haajar and her child Ismaa’eel in a bleak, isolated place in which there was no water, then he left them and went back to Canaan. Haajar said to him, 'For whom are you leaving us in this forsaken valley?' But Ibrahim went and left her, and she said, 'Has Allah commanded you to do this?” He said, 'Yes.' She said, 'Then Allah will not cause us to be lost.'"
Abraham submitted to the command of his Lord and patiently bore the separation from his wife and child. The Qur'an contains several verses regarding the origin of the Sacred House, known as the Kaaba, in which Haajara and her son lived. It states that the Kaaba was the first House of Worship for mankind, and that it was rebuilt by Ibrahim and Ismail on Allah's instruction. A few years after he first left, Ibrahim returned and turned towards where they were at the Sacred House and prayed for them in the following words : 'O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivatable valley by Your Sacred House in order, O our Lord, that they may perform As-Ṣalāt. So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks' Qur'an, Ibraaheem 14:37
Because of the scarcity of water in the desert, it was not long before both mother and son suffered immense thirst. Thus, Haajara ran between the Safa and Marwa hills in search of water for her son. After the seventh run between the two hills, the angel Jibril appeared before her. He told her that God had heard Ishmael's crying and would provide them with water. At that moment, God caused a spring to burst forth from the ground under Ishmael's heel, and thereafter Mecca became known for its excellence and abundance of water. The well was subsequently named Zamzam, and became a holy source of water.