once, and at that very moment water welled up. She began to surround it, banking earth and stones around it, for she feared it might spread across the ground and be lost. She drank from the water and discovered that it sufficed in place of both food and drink—though it was nothing but water. She kept drinking from it and nursing the child, and Allah relieved her distress.

There were people living in the wider area, members of the Arab tribe of Jurhum, though they were some distance away. They noticed birds swooping down toward that spot—the place of Zamzam where the water was—and birds can be seen from far off. They said, “We have never known of any water there for birds to descend upon, yet birds will only alight where there is water.” So they followed the birds until they reached the location and found a spring gushing forth. They settled around the woman, and she felt at ease in their company. Ishmael grew up and married from among them.

After some time Abraham (peace be upon him) came. He entered the household of Ishmael and Hajar and asked Ishmael’s wife, “How are you faring?” She complained about their condition and voiced her displeasure. He said to her, “When your husband returns, give him my greetings and tell him that he should change the threshold of his doorway.”

When Ishmael came back she related what had happened. He asked, “Did anyone visit you?” She replied, “Yes, an old man of such-and-such appearance came. He conveyed greetings of peace to you and said, ‘Give him my greetings and tell him to change the threshold of his door.’”

What did Abraham mean by this remark? He intended that Ishmael should divorce her, for she was a habitual complainer who had grumbled about her husband, implying that their life was nothing but hardship.