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.
Patriarchs (Bible)The patriarchs ( אבות Avot, singular אב Av) of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites. These three figures are referred to collectively as the patriarchs, and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal age. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam hold that the patriarchs, along with their primary wives, known as the matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah and Leah), are entombed at the Cave of the Patriarchs, a site held holy by the three religions.
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.
Zamzam WellThe Zamzam Well (بئر زمزم biʔru zam.zam) is a well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is located east of the Kaʿba, the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic narratives, the well is a miraculously generated source of water, which opened up thousands of years ago when the son of Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismaʿil (Ishmael), was left with his mother Hajar (Hagar) in the desert. It is claimed to have dried up during the settlement of the Jurhum in the area and to have been rediscovered in the 6th century by ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, grandfather of Muhammad.
VayeiraVayeira, Vayera, or ( — Hebrew for "and He appeared," the first word in the parashah) is the fourth weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes . The parashah tells the stories of Abraham's three visitors, Abraham's bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's two visitors, Lot's bargaining with the Sodomites, Lot's flight, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, how Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father, how Abraham once again passed off his wife Sarah as his sister, the birth of Isaac, the expulsion of Hagar, disputes over wells, and the binding of Isaac (, the Akedah).
Desert of ParanThe Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran (also sometimes spelled Pharan or Faran; מִדְבַּר פָּארָן, Midbar Pa'ran), is a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the places where the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus, and was also a home to Ishmael, and a place of refuge for David. In Islamic tradition, it has often been equated with an area of the Hejaz.
BeershebaBeersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva (Bəʾēr Ševaʿ, ˈbe(ʔ)eʁ ˈʃeva(ʕ); Biʾr as-Sabʿ), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of , and the second-largest city in the area (after Jerusalem), with a total area of 117,500 dunams (45 mi2 / 117.5 km2).
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".
IslamIslam (ˈɪslɑːm; ۘالِإسْلَام, al-ʾIslām ʔɪsˈlæːm, ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 2 billion globally and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets such as Adam (believed to be the first man), Ibrahim, Moses, and Isa (Jesus), among others.
Lot (biblical person)Lot (lɒt; לוֹט Lōṭ, lit. "veil" or "covering"; Λώτ Lṓt; لُوط Lūṭ; Syriac: ܠܘܛ Lōṭ) was a man in the biblical Book of Genesis, chapters 11–14 and 19. Notable events in his life include his journey with his uncle Abram (Abraham); his flight from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, during which Lot's wife became a pillar of salt; and him being intoxicated by his daughters so that they could have sexual intercourse with him and ensure their family would have descendants.
