Hagar in the Wilderness

After Sarah demanded the expulsion of Hagar and her son Ishmael, Abraham reluctantly sent them away with bread and water. When their supplies ran out in the wilderness of Beersheba, Hagar placed Ishmael under a bush, unable to watch him die.

God heard the boy’s cries and an angel called to Hagar, promising Ishmael would become a great nation. God opened her eyes to see a well of water, saving them both. In Islamic tradition, Hagar’s desperate search for water between the hills of Safa and Marwa is commemorated in the Hajj ritual of sa’i, and the well that appeared became Zamzam.