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"The dismissal of Hagar", 1612 by Pieter Pietersz Lastman
Hagar (Hebrew הָגָר "Stranger", Standard Hebrew Hagar, Tiberian Hebrew Hāḡār; Arabic هاجر; Hagar), according to the Abrahamic faiths, was an Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah, wife of Abraham. Her story is reported in the Book of Genesis in Judeo-Christian tradition. In Islam, her story is mentioned in the Quran. She is regarded as the mother of Abraham\'s son, Ishmael, who is regarded as the the patriarch of the Northern Arabs.
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The story of Hagar is found in the Bible in the book of Genesis, chapters 16 and 21. The narrative states that Hagar was an Egyptian servant belonging to Sarah, who, being barren, gave Hagar to her husband Abraham as a concubine, so that he might still have children. She gave birth to a son, whom she named Ishmael.
Fourteen years after this, following Sarah\'s repentance to God for her sins, God allowed Sarah to give birth to Isaac. According to Judaic teachings, God commanded Abraham to obey his wife\'s wishes and expel Hagar and Ishmael into the desert alone. It is believed that Sarah was motivated by Ishmael\'s sexually frivolous ways ("making merry"; a crude trans. of the Heb. \'Mitzachek\', Gen. 21:9) at a party, which has been translated as a reference to idolatry, sexual immorality or even murder; some rabbinic sources claim that Sarah worried that Ishmael would negatively influence Isaac, or that he would demand Isaac\'s inheritance on the grounds of being the firstborn.
Abraham is reluctant to send his son away, but God promised to make a great nation out of Ishmael, because he was Abraham\'s seed. Rising early in the morning, therefore, Abraham took bread and a container of water and sent his former consort, Hagar and his son, Ishmael away.
Hagar intended to return to Egypt, but lost her way, and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. The water in her container failing, she placed Ishmael under one of the trees in the wilderness to cry as she went in search of water a small distance away from him. God ended up rescuing them by showing Hagar a well. Hagar eventually settled in the Desert of Paran.
According to Qisas Al-Anbiya, an Islamic collection of tales about the prophets, Hagar was the daughter of the King of Maghreb, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Salih. Her father was killed by Pharoah Dhu l-\'arsh and she was captured and taken as slave. Later, because of her royal blood, she was made mistress of the female slaves and given access to all of Pharoah\'s wealth. Upon conversion to Abraham\'s faith, the Pharoah gave Hagar to Sarah who gave her to Abraham. Thus, the word "Hagar" (called Hajar in Arabic) comes from Ha ajruka (Arabic for "here is your recompense").
According to Islamic tradition, Hagar was the maiden of Sarah, the wife of the founder of the Abrahamic religions, Ibrahim (Arabic word for Abraham), and the daughter of the Egyptian king, who gifted her to Abraham as a wife, thinking Sarah was his sister.\'Aishah \'Abd al-Rahman, Anthony Calderbank (1999). "Islam and the New Woman/ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻡ ﻭﺍﻟﻤﺮﺃﺓ ﺍﻟﺠﺪﻳﺪﺓ". Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics (19): 200. Ishmael\'s birth to Hagar caused strife between her and Sarah, who was still barren. Abraham brings Hagar and their son to Mecca, where angel Gabriel shows him the Ka\'aba. The objective of this journey was to "resettle" rather than "expel" Hagar.
The journey begins in Syria, when Ishmael is still a suckling. Angel Gabriel personally guides them on the journey, and part of the journey happens on a winged steed Al-Buraq. Finally, upon reaching the site of the Kaaba, Abraham left Hagar and son Ishmael under a tree and provided them with water. Hagar, learning that God had ordered Abraham to leave her in the desert, respected his decision. Muslims believe that God ordered Abraham to leave Hagar in order to test his obedience to God\'s commands.Schussman, Aviva (1998). "The Legitimacy and Nature of Mawid al-Nabī: (Analysis of a Fatwā)". Islamic Law and Society 5 (2): 218.
However, soon Hagar ran out of water, and baby Ishmael began to die. Hagar, according to Islamic tradition, panicked and climbed two nearby mountains repeatedly in search for water. After her seventh climb, Ishmael scratched the ground, and water gushed forth from a spring.Firestone, Reuven (1992). "Abraham\'s Journey to Mecca in Islamic Exegesis: A Form-Critical Study of a Tradition". Studia Islamica (76): 15-18.
Like many other significant figures in the Quran, Hagar is never mentioned by name in the text. The reader never hears her talking to Abraham. However, the reader lives Hagar\'s predicament indirectly through the eyes of Abraham. Fatani, Afnan H. (2006), "Hajar", in Leaman, Oliver, The Qur\'an: an encyclopedia, Great Britain: Routeledge, pp. 234-236
Hagar\'s repeated attempts to find water for her son, by running between the hills Safa and Marwa has become a Muslim rite (known as the sa`i, Arabic: سَعِي). During the two Muslim pilgrimages (the Hajj and Umra), pilgrims are required to walk between the two hills seven times in memory of Hagar\'s quest for water. The rite symbolizes the celebration of motherhood in Islam, as well as leadership of the women.
To complete the rite, Muslims drink from the well of Zamzam. According to Islamic tradition the well was God\'s answer to Hagar\'s quest for water. Often Muslims will bring back the water, regarding it as sacred, in memory of Hagar. Delaney, Carol (August, 1990). "The "hajj": Sacred and Secular". American Ethnologist 17 (3): 515.
The story of Hagar\'s expulsion to the desert has acquired some political connotations in modern Israel, being taken up as a symbol of the massive expulsion and exodus of Palestinians during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, being depicted as such by some Israeli writers and artists.
It was also the subject of a famous debate on the floor of the Knesset between two women parliamentarians - Shulamit Aloni, founder of Meretz (Civil Rights Movement) and Geulah Cohen of Tehiya (National Awakening Party) - who argued about the right interpretation which the Bible in general and Hagar\'s story in particular should be given in curriculum of Israeli schools.
Since the 1970\'s the custom has arisen of giving the name "Hagar" to newborn female babies. The giving of this name is often taken as a controversial political act, marking the parents as being left-leaning and supporters of reconciliation with the Palestinians and Arab World, and is frowned upon by many, including nationalists and the religious.
The Israeli Women in Black movement has unofficially renamed Jerusalem\'s Paris Square, where the movement has been holding anti-occupation vigils every Friday since 1988, as "Hagar Square". The name commorates the late Hagar Rublev, a prominent Israeli feminist and peace activist, who was among the founders of these Friday vigils.
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