Hajar, Isma‘il, and the valley

Ibn ‘Abbas’s narration in Sahih al-Bukhari recounts Ibrahim leaving Hajar and the infant Isma‘il in a valley where there is no settled community or available water. Hajar asks whether Allah has commanded this, and accepts that Allah will not abandon them. Ibrahim’s supplication for his descendants in an uncultivated valley near the Sacred House is also preserved in Surah Ibrahim.

As the water runs out, Hajar searches from Safa to Marwah, repeatedly seeking help. The narration connects the discovery of Zamzam with relief for mother and child and the later arrival of the Jurhum community. Her search is remembered in the rites of sa‘i.

The sequence joins trust with determined action. Hajar is neither passive nor erased from the account. The story also explains a connection between family history, the development of Makkah, and worship. Modern map points can locate Makkah and the two hills; they cannot reconstruct every feature of the early valley.