Thus Hajar—may Allah be pleased with her—when Abraham said to her, “Allah has commanded me to do this,” replied, “Then He will never forsake us.” She remained there with her infant in that place where no human being lived. She ate dates, drank water, and her milk flowed for the child, who nursed until both the dates and the water were finished and the mother grew hungry. It is well known that when a nursing mother is hungry, her milk dries up, and the child began to cry and wail.

By the inspiration Allah granted her, she searched for the nearest elevation she could climb in hope of hearing a voice or seeing someone. The nearest place was al-Ṣafā—and even today the hill closest to the Kaʿba is al-Ṣafā. She climbed it and listened but found no one. She descended and said, “I will go to the other side.” The nearest hill on that side was al-Marwa. She climbed al-Marwa and listened, but again found no one.

Between al-Ṣafā and al-Marwa lay a ravine—a wadi, the course of seasonal floods—which, as is known, sits lower than the surrounding ground. Whenever she came down into the wadi she would run hard, hurrying so she could still hear the child, glancing back at him to keep him in sight. She did this seven times. When she had completed the seventh circuit she heard a sound. She cried, “Help me, if you have any help to give!” She listened and heard a rustle; it was Gabriel, whom Allah had commanded to descend to earth and strike the spot of Zamzam with his heel or with his wing—and he struck it.