The story in short
- Arabic name
- إسماعيل
- English name
- Ishmael
- Named in the Quran
- 12 times
- Sent to
- The people who settled in Makkah, the tribe of Jurhum and his descendants
- Main surahs
- As-Saffat, Al-Baqarah, Ibrahim
- In the list of 25
- 8 of 25
In short: Ismail was left as a baby with his mother Hajar in the barren valley of Makkah, where Allah brought out Zamzam for them. When he was a boy, his father saw in a dream that he was sacrificing him, and Ismail said: "O my father, do as you are commanded." Allah ransomed him with a great sacrifice. Later he and Ibrahim raised the Kaaba. The Quran calls him "true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet" (19:54).
The story of Ismail
A baby in the valley
Ibrahim had prayed for a righteous son and was given "a forbearing boy" (37:100-101). He took Hajar and the baby to Makkah, then an empty valley, and left them by a tree near where the Kaaba would stand. Hajar trusted that Allah would not abandon them. When the water ran out she ran between Safa and Marwah seven times, and Zamzam burst from the ground. A tribe called Jurhum later asked to settle with them by the water. Ismail grew up among them, learned Arabic from them and married from them.1
The dream and the sacrifice
When Ismail was old enough to walk and work with his father, Ibrahim told him about the dream. His reply is one of the most beautiful in the Quran: "O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast" (37:102). When both had submitted, Allah called out: "You have fulfilled the vision", and ransomed the boy "with a great sacrifice" (37:105-107). The sacrifice of Eid al-Adha follows this.
Ibrahim's visits and the Kaaba
In the long hadith of Ibn Abbas, Ibrahim came to visit while Ismail was out. His wife complained of their hardship, and Ibrahim left a message: "Tell him to change the threshold of his door." Ismail understood it as advice to part from her. On a later visit his new wife was grateful, and Ibrahim told him to keep his threshold. On another visit father and son built the Kaaba together, Ismail bringing the stones and Ibrahim building, both saying: "Our Lord, accept this from us" (2:127).1
His character and his descendants
Allah praises him: "Indeed, he was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet. And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and zakah and was to his Lord pleasing" (19:54-55). The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah chose Kinanah from the descendants of Ismail, then Quraysh from Kinanah, then Banu Hashim from Quraysh, and chose him from Banu Hashim.2 Seeing some men practise archery, he said: "Shoot, children of Ismail, for your father was an archer".3
Key verses
فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ مَعَهُ ٱلسَّعْىَ قَالَ يَٰبُنَىَّ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰ فِى ٱلْمَنَامِ أَنِّىٓ أَذْبَحُكَ فَٱنظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ ۚ قَالَ يَٰٓأَبَتِ ٱفْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ ﴿١٠٢﴾
Falamma balagha ma'a hus sa'ya qaala yaa buniya inneee araa fil manaami anneee azbahuka fanzur maazaa taraa; qaala yaaa abatif 'al maa tu'maru satajidunee in shaaa'allaahu minas saabireen
And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, "O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think." He said, "O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast."
Quran 37:102 · Sahih International · Read in Surah As-Saffat
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِۦمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ﴿١٢٧﴾
Wa iz yarfa'u Ibraaheemul qawaa'ida minal Baitiwa Ismaa'eelu Rabbanaa taqabbal minnaa innaka Antas Samee'ul Aleem
And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], "Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.
Quran 2:127 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Baqarah
وَٱذْكُرْ فِى ٱلْكِتَٰبِ إِسْمَٰعِيلَ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ صَادِقَ ٱلْوَعْدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولًۭا نَّبِيًّۭا ﴿٥٤﴾ وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُۥ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ وَكَانَ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦ مَرْضِيًّۭا ﴿٥٥﴾
Wazkur fil Kitaabi ismaa'eel; innahoo kaana saadiqal wa'di wa kaana Rasoolan Nabiyyaa Wa kaana yaamuru ahlahoo bis Salaati waz zakaati wa kaana 'inda Rabbihee mardiyyaa
(54) And mention in the Book, Ishmael. Indeed, he was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet. (55) And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and zakah and was to his Lord pleasing.
Quran 19:54-55 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Maryam
Lessons from the story
- Obedience to Allah can be learned young. Ismail's answer came from a boy.
- Keeping promises is a prophetic quality the Quran singles out in him.
- A home is built on prayer: he enjoined prayer and zakah on his own family first.
- Good advice from parents about marriage and character is a blessing.
Where it is in the Quran
The main passages about Ismail, with links to read and listen to each surah:
- Surah As-Saffat 37:99-113
- Surah Al-Baqarah 2:125-129
- Surah Ibrahim 14:35-41
- Surah Maryam 19:54-55
- Surah Al-Anbiya 21:85-86
What is authentic, and what is not
The Quran does not name the son in the sacrifice passage. Most scholars, and Ibn Kathir, held that it was Ismail. Some early scholars said Ishaq. Reports that Ismail was the first to speak clear Arabic are found in some collections with chains that scholars discuss. The location of his grave in the Hijr of the Kaaba is a report, not something established by a sahih hadith.
We follow Ibn Kathir's Qasas al-Anbiya only where it rests on the Quran and sound hadith. Isra'iliyyat are reports taken from earlier scriptures and storytellers. Scholars allow mentioning them only when they do not contradict the Quran and Sunnah, and they are never treated as certain.
Questions
Who was Ismail's mother?
Hajar. Her story of running between Safa and Marwah and finding Zamzam is in Sahih al-Bukhari (3364).
Was Ismail the son who was to be sacrificed?
Most scholars say yes, though the Quran does not name him in 37:102. Ishaq's birth is announced after the story (37:112).
Is the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ a descendant of Ismail?
Yes. He said Allah chose Kinanah from the descendants of Ismail, and Quraysh and Banu Hashim from them (Muslim 2276).
How is Ismail connected to Hajj?
Zamzam, the sai between Safa and Marwah and the Eid sacrifice all come from his story, and he helped build the Kaaba (2:127).
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3364, from Ibn Abbas.
- Sahih Muslim 2276.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2899.
- Ibn Kathir, Qasas al-Anbiya, chapter on Ismail.
- Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English by Sahih International. In quotations within the text, the prophets' names are given in their Arabic form (Musa for Moses, Ibrahim for Abraham).
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.