إسماعيل
Isma'il (AS)
Isma'il (Ishmael)
Also known as: Ismail, Ishmael
Dates unknown · step 9 of 28 in traditional order
Prophets Named in the Quran
Son of Ibrahim and Hajar, who raised the Ka'bah with his father. Ancestor of the Arabs and of Muhammad ﷺ.
Isma'il was the elder son of Ibrahim, born to Hajar. As an infant he was left with his mother in the barren valley of Makkah, where the spring of Zamzam burst forth for them. Her running between Safa and Marwah in search of water is re-enacted in every Hajj and 'Umrah. He grew up among the tribe of Jurhum, who settled by the water, and learned Arabic from them.
When Ibrahim saw in a dream that he was to sacrifice his son, the boy replied: 'O my father, do as you are commanded' (37:102). Allah ransomed him with a great sacrifice; most scholars hold that this son was Isma'il. Father and son then raised the foundations of the Ka'bah together. The Quran praises him as true to his promise, a messenger and a prophet.
Life journey
- Associated Makkah مكةLeft as an infant with his mother Hajar in the valley of Makkah; later raised the Ka'bah with his father.
In the Quran
Places in their life
Photo: Adli Wahid (minor modifications by Basile Morin), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
- The Quran (al-Baqarah 2:125–129; Ibrahim 14:37; Maryam 19:54–55; al-Saffat 37:100–107)
- Sahih al-Bukhari (Book of the Prophets, on Hajar and Isma'il)
- Ibn Kathir, Qasas al-Anbiya'