This, then, is God’s own account in the Torah: Ishmael grew up and made his home in the wilderness of Paran after he had nearly died of thirst, and God gave him water to drink from a well. It is likewise established—by continuous transmission and by the consensus of nations—that Ishmael was raised in Mecca, and that he and his father Abraham built the Sacred House. Hence it is clear that the land of Mecca is none other than Paran.