The Hills of Safa and Marwa

Photo by Vincent M.A. Janssen

One of the stories that inspired Muezza's adventure is very old--almost 4,000 years old, in fact.

There once lived a little baby named Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. Now, some people spell their names Ismail and Hajar, but the story's the same either way. 

One day, Hagar and Ishmael got lost in the desert. It was very hot, and before long, their food and water ran out. Baby Ishmael began crying with thirst. 

Hagar knew she had to find water. She set her son in a shady spot under a bush and climbed the nearest hill, named Safa. From here she could watch her baby and look for water at the same time. 

But she couldn't spot any water from the top of Safra, so she ran down into the valley and up the next hill, named Marwa. Still she saw no water! She ran back and forth between the hills seven times, each time hoping that she would see the glimmer of water, somewhere in the desert. 

Hagar began to cry. 

The angel Gabriel appeared. He told her to go back down to the bush and pick up Ishmael. She did, and found that where her baby had kicked the ground, there was a spring! The water had nourished the bush, and now it nourished them. 

Many thirsty people stopped by Hagar's well to drink its water, and the lonely spot in the desert became a caravan's oasis and then a city. 

According to the story, the spring is named the Zamzam well, and the city, Mecca. 

Do you know which part of Muezza's adventures was inspired by the story of Hagar and Ishmael?