Within Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and the ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Adnanites) and patriarch of Qaydār.

The name "Yishma'el" existed in various ancient Semitic cultures,[3] including early Babylonian and Minæan.

[11] At the time of the covenant, God informed Abraham that his wife Sarah would give birth to a son, whom he was instructed to name Isaac.

God told Abraham that He would establish his covenant through Isaac, and when Abraham inquired as to Ishmael's role, God answered that Ishmael has been blessed and that he "will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation.

(Genesis 21:14–21) After roaming the wilderness for some time, Ishmael and his mother settled in the Desert of Paran, where he became an expert in archery.

[18] They had twelve sons each of whom became a tribal chief in one of the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt).

Rabbinic sources say that Ishmael prayed to idols when he believed to be alone[28][failed verification], although there is no indication of this behavior from the biblical narrative.

According to the Book of Genesis, in the Hebrew Bible, Isaac rather than Ishmael was the true heir of the Abrahamic tradition and covenant, while at the same time being blessed by God with a great nation.

According to other Jewish commentators, Ishmael's mother Hagar is identified with Keturah, the woman Abraham sought out and married after Sarah's death.

[33][34][35] This interpretation is discussed in the Midrash[36] and is supported by Rashi, Gur Aryeh, Keli Yakar, and Obadiah of Bertinoro.

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Itzhaki) argues that "Keturah" was a name given to Hagar because her deeds were as beautiful as incense (Hebrew, ketoret), and that she remained chaste (literally "tied her opening", with the verb tied in Aramaic being k-t-r) from the time she was separated from Abraham.

It is also said that Sarah was motivated by Ishmael's sexually frivolous ways because of the reference to his "making merry" (Gen. 21:9), a translation of the Hebrew word "Mitzachek".

"[37] Others take a more positive view, emphasizing Hagar's piety, noting that she was "the one who had sat by the well and besought him who is the life of the worlds, saying 'look upon my misery'".

9 (see Hagar) is interpreted by some rabbis as meaning that Ishmael had been idolatrous; by others, that he had turned his bow against Isaac.

Abraham was obliged to put him on Hagar's shoulders, because he fell sick under the spell of the evil eye cast upon him by Sarah (Gen. R. liii.

Ishmael, left under a shrub by his despairing mother, prayed to God to take his soul and not permit him to suffer the torments of a slow death (comp.

God then commanded the angel to show Hagar the well which was created on Friday in the week of Creation, in the twilight (comp.

Afterward Abraham went to see Ishmael, and, according to his promise to Sarah, stopped at his son's tent without alighting from his camel.

[41] Some Pre-Islamic poetry mentions Ishmael, his father Abraham, and a sacrifice story, such as the Pre-Islamic poet "Umayyah Ibn Abi As-Salt", who said in one of his poems: بكره لم يكن ليصبر عنه أو يراه في معشر أقتال ([The sacrifice] of his first-born of whose separation he [Abraham] could not bear neither could he see him surrounded in foes).

[45][46][better source needed] Ishmael (Arabic: إسماعيل Ismāʿīl) is recognized as an important prophet of Islam.

Like Christians and Jews, Muslims believe that Ishmael was the firstborn of Abraham, born to him from his wife's maidservant Hagar.

[58] The commentaries on the Quran and the numerous collections of Stories of the Prophets flesh out the Islamic perspective of Ishmael and detail what they describe as his integral part in setting up the Kaaba.

Muslim exegesis states that Sarah asked Abraham to marry her Egyptian handmaiden Hagar because she herself was barren.

He did so, taking them to the location of the Kaaba's foundations (which now was in ruins) and as he turned away from Hagar and started to walk away she called out to him and asked "Why are you leaving us here?

Hagar, not finding any sources of water and fearing the death of her baby, sat down and cried asking for God's help.

God sent angel Gabriel to her informing her to lift up her baby and when she did, she noticed that his feet had scratched the ground allowing a spring of water to bubble up to the surface.

From her actions, the city of Mecca (originally Becca or Baca in Hebrew)[citation needed] grew, and attracted settlers who stayed and provided protection for her and Ishmael as well as being sources of various goods brought in and exchanged with visiting caravans.

Abraham decided to leave before seeing his son, but based upon the complaints Ishmael's wife made in response to his questions, he gave her a message to give to her husband when he returned home, which was "change his threshold."

Abraham talked with Ishmael's new wife and found her answers indicated faith in God and contentment with her husband.

In the genealogical trees that the early scholars drew,[62] Ishmael was considered the ancestor of the Northern Arabs and Muhammad was linked to him through the lineage of Adnan.