KaabaThe Kaaba (ٱلْكَعْبَة, al.ˈkaʕ.ba), also spelled Ka'ba, Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Ka'ba al-Musharrafa (ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, al.ˈkaʕ.ba‿l.mu.ˈʃar.ra.fa), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allah (بَيْت ٱللَّٰه) and is the qibla (قِبْلَة, direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world. The current structure was built after the original building was damaged by fire during the siege of Mecca by Umayyads in 683.
IshmaelitesThe Ishmaelites ( Yīšməʿēʾlīm, بَنِي إِسْمَاعِيل Banī Ismā'īl; "sons of Ishmael") were a collection of various Arabian tribes, confederations and small kingdoms described in Islamic tradition as being descended from and named after Ishmael, a prophet according to the Quran, the first son of Abraham and the Egyptian Hagar. According to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, Ishmael had one daughter and twelve sons, the "twelve princes" mentioned in Genesis 17:20.
HagarAccording to the Book of Genesis, Hagar was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as Sarai), whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) as a wife to bear him a child. Abraham's firstborn son, through Hagar, Ishmael, became the progenitor of the Ishmaelites, generally taken to be the Arabs. Various commentators have connected her to the Hagrites (sons of Agar), perhaps claiming her as their eponymous ancestor. Hagar is alluded to, although not named, in the Quran, and Islam considers her Abraham's second wife.
QahtaniteThe terms Qahtanite and Qahtani (قَحْطَانِي; transliterated: Qaḥṭānī) refer to Arabs who originate from South Arabia. The term "Qahtan" is mentioned in multiple ancient Arabian inscriptions found in Yemen. Arab traditions believe that they are the original Arabs. According to Arab tradition, the Qahtanites are from South Arabia, unlike the Adnanites who are from the north of Arabia descended from Ishmael through Adnan. Arab tradition maintains that a semi-legendary ancestral figure named Qahtan and his 24 sons are the progenitors of Yemen who controlled the Arabian Peninsula known as Qahtani.
IshmaelIshmael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, through his second wife, the Egyptian slave Hagar (). According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137 (). Within Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and the ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Arabs) and patriarch of Qaydār. The name "Yishma'el" exists in various Semitic cultures It is a theophoric name translated literally as "God (El) has hearkened", suggesting that "a child so named was regarded as the fulfillment of a divine promise".
