ABSTRACT
the prophet muḤammad was a direct descendant of Ismāʿīl (2810 b.c. according to the traditional calendar), whose father, Abraham (Ibrāhīm, 2900 b.c.), was the patriarch of monotheism and the father of both the Jews and the Arabs. 4 The seed of Abraham, who had long been childless, was to be blessed through his two wives. Sarah gave birth to Isaac (Isḥāq in Arabic), and Hagar (Hājar in Arabic) to Ismāʿīl—or Ishmael, as he is known in the Bible. Ismāʿīl was the elder of the two. His mother was an Egyptian handmaid given to Abraham by Sarah when she was seventy-six years old and he was eighty-five. Bitterness ensued between the two wives and Hagar fled from the wrath of her mistress, Sarah, and besought God's help in her distress. An angel of God appeared to her and said: “Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction” (Gen 16:10–11). Thereupon Hagar returned to Abraham and Sarah and told them about her spiritual experience. In due course, the promised child was born and named Ismāʿīl or Ishmael, which means “God shall hear.”
