He said to her, “When your husband comes, convey my greetings to him and tell him to keep the threshold of his door firmly in place.”

When Ishmael returned he asked, “Has anyone visited you?”
She replied, “Yes. An elderly man of pleasant appearance came”—and she praised him—“he inquired about you and I told him; he asked about our life, and I informed him that we are well.”
He said, “Did he leave you any counsel?”
She answered, “Yes. He conveys his greetings to you and instructs you to keep the threshold of your door firmly fixed.”
He said, “That was my father, and he has ordered me to keep you.”

Abraham then stayed away for as long as Allah willed. After that he came again while Ishmael was sharpening his arrows beneath a large tree near Zamzam. When Ishmael saw him he rose to greet him, and they embraced as a son embraces his father and a father his son.

Abraham said, “O Ishmael! Allah has commanded me to do something.”
Ishmael replied, “Do what your Lord has commanded you.”
Abraham asked, “Will you help me?”
He answered, “I will help you.”
Abraham said, “Allah has ordered me to build a House here,” and he pointed to a mound that rose slightly above what surrounded it.

At that, they raised the foundations of the House: Ishmael brought the stones while Abraham built. When the structure grew high, Ishmael brought the Stone and placed it for him; Abraham stood upon it as he built and Ishmael handed him the stones, both of them saying:
“Our Lord, accept this from us; You are indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (al-Baqarah 2:127)

They continued building, moving around the House, all the while repeating:
“Our Lord, accept this from us; You are indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (al-Baqarah 2:127)

He then said:
“ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad related to us; Abū ʿĀmir ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAmr related to us; Ibrāhīm ibn Nāfiʿ related to us, from Kathīr ibn Kathīr, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
‘When what befell Abraham and his family occurred, he set out with Ishmael and Ishmael’s mother, carrying with them a water-skin …’ and he recounted the rest with wording similar to what has already been mentioned.”

This narration is from the words of Ibn ʿAbbās, some of which is raised to the Prophet while other parts are not. It contains unusual elements and appears to include what Ibn ʿAbbās had received from the Isra’iliyyāt. In it, Ishmael is described as an infant at the time.

According to the people of the Torah, Allah commanded Abraham to circumcise his son Ishmael and everyone in his household, slaves and others alike, so he circumcised them. That took place after ninety-nine years of Abraham’s life had passed, making Ishmael thirteen years old on that day. This was obedience to Allah’s command concerning his family and indicates that he regarded it as obligatory; hence the correct opinion among the scholars is that circumcision is obligatory for males, as established elsewhere.

It is also authentically reported in the ḥadīth recorded by al-Bukhārī (4):
“Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Mughīrah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qurashī related to us, from Abū al-Zinād, from al-Aʿraj, from Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—who said:
The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The Prophet Abraham was circumcised…’”