Man reading Qur'an on Safa

Allah commanded Ibrahim (as) to take his son, Ismail (as) and Ismail's mother Hajar (ra) from Palestine to the Arid valley where the House of Adam used to be. Following Allahs command, he (as) left his wife (ra) and son (as) in the valleys of Makkah where there were no wells, population or trees. After their food and water had run out, Hajar (ra) feared for her and her baby's life. She climbed the nearast hillock, Safa, and searched for life from there. She could not find any, and rushed to another hillock, Marwa, and searched for life from there. She repeated her actions 7 times without finding anything or anyone. While standing on Marwa she heard something, but could not recognize it. When she returned to Ismail, she saw that the Archangel Jibril (Gabriel) had struck the ground with his heel, brining up water. This water is still flowing from here and is called Zamzam.

The second main rituals of the Umrah is to perform the sai. The pilgrim starts from Safa and must travel to Marwa, and repeat this action 7 times.