The first lady to use a girdle was the mother of Ishmael. She used a girdle so that she might hide her
tracks from Sarah. Abraham brought her and her son Ishmael while she was suckling him, to a place
near the Ka`ba under a tree on the spot of Zamzam, at the highest place in the mosque. During those
days there was nobody in Mecca, nor was there any water So he made them sit over there and placed
near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set
out homeward. Ishmael's mother followed him saying, "O Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us
in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to
enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her Then she asked him,
"Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, "Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us," and
returned while Abraham proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where they could not see
him, he faced the Ka`ba, and raising both hands, invoked Allah saying the following prayers:
'O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Your Sacred
House (Ka`ba at Mecca) in order, O our Lord, that they may offer prayer perfectly. So fill some hearts
among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits, so that they may give
thanks.' (14.37) Ishmael's mother went on suckling Ishmael and drinking from the water (she had).
When the water in the water-skin had all been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became
thirsty. She started looking at him (i.e. Ishmael) tossing in agony; She left him, for she could not
endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that
land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she
could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up
her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and
reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she
could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "This is the source of the tradition of the walking of people between them (i.e. Safa
and Marwa). When she reached the Marwa (for the last time) she heard a voice and she asked herself
to be quiet and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said, 'O, (whoever you may be)!
You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?" And behold! She saw an
angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that
place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started
filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped
some of it."
The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ishmael's mother! Had she let the Zamzam (flow
without trying to control it) (or had she not scooped from that water) (to fill her water-skin), Zamzam
would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth." The Prophet (ﷺ) further added, "Then she
drank (water) and suckled her child. The angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this
is the House of Allah which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His
people.' The House (i.e. Ka`ba) at that time was on a high place resembling a hillock, and when
torrents came, they flowed to its right and left. She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of
Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e. the Jurhum people) were
coming through the way of Kada'. They landed in the lower part of Mecca where they saw a bird that
had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it. They said, 'This bird must be flying around
water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who
discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards
the water)." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Ishmael's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you
allow us to stay with you?" She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They
agreed to that." The Prophet (ﷺ) further said, "Ishmael's mother was pleased with the whole situation as
she used to love to enjoy the company of the people. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for
their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents
there. The child (i.e. Ishmael) grew up and learnt Arabic from them and (his virtues) caused them to
love and admire him as he grew up, and when he reached the age of puberty they made him marry a
woman from amongst them.
After Ishmael's mother had died, Abraham came after Ishmael's marriage in order to see his family
that he had left before, but he did not find Ishmael there. When he asked Ishmael's wife about him, she
replied, 'He has gone in search of our livelihood.' Then he asked her about their way of living and their
condition, and she replied, 'We are living in misery; we are living in hardship and destitution,'
complaining to him. He said, 'When your husband returns, convey my salutation to him and tell him to
change the threshold of the gate (of his house).' When Ishmael came, he seemed to have felt
something unusual, so he asked his wife, 'Has anyone visited you?' She replied, 'Yes, an old man of
so-and-so description came and asked me about you and I informed him, and he asked about our state
of living, and I told him that we were living in a hardship and poverty.' On that Ishmael said, 'Did he
advise you anything?' She replied, 'Yes, he told me to convey his salutation to you and to tell you to
change the threshold of your gate.' Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and he has ordered me to divorce
you. Go back to your family.' So, Ishmael divorced her and married another woman from amongst
them (i.e. Jurhum).
Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished and called on them again
but did not find Ishmael. So he came to Ishmael's wife and asked her about Ishmael. She said, 'He has
gone in search of our livelihood.' Abraham asked her, 'How are you getting on?' asking her about their
sustenance and living. She replied, 'We are prosperous and well-off (i.e. we have everything in
abundance).' Then she thanked Allah' Abraham said, 'What kind of food do you eat?' She said. 'Meat.'
He said, 'What do you drink?' She said, 'Water." He said, "O Allah! Bless their meat and water." The
Prophet added, "At that time they did not have grain, and if they had grain, he would have also
invoked Allah to bless it." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "If somebody has only these two things as his
sustenance, his health and disposition will be badly affected, unless he lives in Mecca." The Prophet (ﷺ)
added," Then Abraham said Ishmael's wife, "When your husband comes, give my regards to him and
tell him that he should keep firm the threshold of his gate.' When Ishmael came back, he asked his
wife, 'Did anyone call on you?' She replied, 'Yes, a good-looking old man came to me,' so she praised
him and added. 'He asked about you, and I informed him, and he asked about our livelihood and I told
him that we were in a good condition.' Ishmael asked her, 'Did he give you any piece of advice?' She
said, 'Yes, he told me to give his regards to you and ordered that you should keep firm the threshold of
your gate.' On that Ishmael said, 'It was my father, and you are the threshold (of the gate). He has
ordered me to keep you with me.'
Then Abraham stayed away from them for a period as long as Allah wished, and called on them
afterwards. He saw Ishmael under a tree near Zamzam, sharpening his arrows. When he saw
Abraham, he rose up to welcome him (and they greeted each other as a father does with his son or a
son does with his father). Abraham said, 'O Ishmael! Allah has given me an order.' Ishmael said, 'Do
what your Lord has ordered you to do.' Abraham asked, 'Will you help me?' Ishmael said, 'I will help
you.' Abraham said, Allah has ordered me to build a house here,' pointing to a hillock higher than the
land surrounding it." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Then they raised the foundations of the House (i.e. the
Ka`ba). Ishmael brought the stones and Abraham was building, and when the walls became high,
Ishmael brought this stone and put it for Abraham who stood over it and carried on building, while
Ishmael was handing him the stones, and both of them were saying, 'O our Lord! Accept (this service)
from us, Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.' The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "Then both of them
went on building and going round the Ka`ba saying: O our Lord ! Accept (this service) from us,
Verily, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." (2.127)
Sahih al-Bukhari Book 60, Hadith 38
“I was ill and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) passed by me while I was saying: ‘O Allah, if my term has come, then give me relief, and if it is coming later, then make my life more bountiful, and if it is a trial then make me patient (Allāhumma, in kāna ajalī qad ḥaḍara fa ariḥnī, wa in kāna muta’akh-khiran fa arfighnī, wa in kāna balā’an fa ṣabbirnī).’ So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘What did you say?’” He said: “So he repeated to him what he said.” He (one of the narrators) said: So he struck him with his foot and said: “O Allah, grant him health (Allāhumma `āfihi)” – or – “heal him (ishfihi).” – Shu`ba is the one who doubted. He said: “So I did not suffer from my ailment again.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi Book 48, Hadith 195