I quote Anis Daud Matthews; A Guide for Hajj and Umra; Kazi Publications; Pakistan; 1979.

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"Prophet Ibraheem (as) then came the time when recognition of Allaah by the human intellect dawned upon mankind.

About 2000 BCE, prophet Ibraheem (as) was born. At that time the Babylonian Empire was on it’s zenith. The people had forgotten all about the Kaba’ and Allaah’s unity, and were worshipping their own man made idols, Prophet Ibraheem (as) started asking questions about the Deity. The eternal quest of the human intellect for the ultimate truth had begun; Qur'an 2:258-261 & 6:76-83.

As a consequence, he (as) deviated from the path of the idolaters and was guided by the straight path which led to Allaah alone. He was known as “musliman haniyfan” (surrendered one – deviated one). He was asked to migrate and came to Egypt. Here the king (pharoah) of Egypt gave his daughter Hagar (as) to be brought up and taught in the good family of Ibraheem (as). His wife Sara (as) took the girl and looked after here Sara had no children , so on her insistence, prophet Ibraheem (as) married Hagar (as) to have an offspring.

On supplication from Ibraheem (as), lady Hagar (as) gave birth to a son named Ishma’el (as). Also long after this time, Sara also gave birth to a child of her own, a son called Ishaaq (as). No one know what exactly went on, though some people blame the first wife’s (Sara) envy, but we know all acts of Ibraheem (as) were acts of faith. By the command of Allaah, prophet Ibraheem was guided to go to Mekka with his son Ishma’el and his wife Hagar and leave them there. As he left his son and mother in the arid lands, he offered a supplication for their safety, and then departed;

This was an act of great faith in his Creator, only He will be trusted, they all belong to Him.

After the departure of the father, mother and son were left alone in the arid land. Leaving the infant close to the heaped sign of the Holy House, the desperate mother went in search of water for him. She (as) ran to the top of the hill known as Safaa, beseeching and entreating Allaah’s mercy on them. From the top of this hill she thought she saw a lake in the valley. She ran towards it with restless steps. Only to find out it was a mirage. She then climbed to the top of a neighboring hill known as Marwa, to look around for water. But anxiety for her child brought her back to the valley. She ran between these two hills seven times, supplicating Allaah.

This is the origin of Sa’iy, or “the struggle”, reminding of a mothers struggle in search of Allaah’s mercy and bounty. Again this act of trust in Allaah , by a desperate lonely woman, is so loved by Allaah that it has to be revived by thousands of pilgrims every year, and what a revival.

The supplications of the mother were accepted, when she was looking around from the top of for the seventh time, she saw water oozing out of a hole in the ground near her child. Seeing the water escaping into the surrounding sand she cried: ”Zumi, yaa Mubaaraka !” Stop there, oh blessed water of the divine Providence. A pool formed as she approached it and this was the beginning of Zamzam. This indeed was to become "Mubaaraka”, the blessed water for all to come and drink it, and thus cause an arid land to be inhabited, and to bear fruits The supplication of a parent was answered with the beginning of the “Mubaaraka”, the Zamzam. Since then, wandering tribes seeing this water, settled and thrived, finding the answer to their own struggles. The pilgrims today from near and far drink from this blessed well of Zamzam, which has never ceased to flow from then to this day.

Another hadith variation, which is not tightly constrained, is the one where Jibra'el (as) is depicted as a white horse. This hadith begins in the same manner are described above, but when Hagar (as) looked from the top of Marwa, she seen a white horse with wings flying around Ishma'el (as) near the remnants of the Ka'ba. Before she could get down from the foothill, the horse had dug up the well by kicking the rocks with his hooves, thereby opening the spring. Ishma'el (as) was laughing and playing with the horse. As Hagar (as) neared the Ka'ba, the horse turned into a form we might normally recognize as Jibra'el, and then he began to talk. He (as) was saying that Allaah had hear her prayers and the crying of the baby Ishma'el (as) so He had sent Jibra'el to help them and inspire them with good news similar to 14:37 (written above). This water enabled the people to come the Bekka area, and from that came Mekka. The water made possible the organized worship by humans with a physical house, where as prior to that time only the Bait al-Ma'amoor in it's invisible form was operating. It's the al-Awwal 'ayn al-batin wa al-Akhir 'ayn az-zohar idea at work, where in the beginning it's batin, invisible; then as time passes the and physicality develops, until you reach the end times and there is an obvious physical manifestation, so much so that the original intentions of Awwal are not understood anymore.

The infant Ishma’el (as) grew into manhood, married and settled and was loved and cherished by his people. One day the father, prophet Ibraheem (as) came back and found that his prayers had been answered. But the reason he had come back was to fulfill the command of his Creator to build the House again. Only this time the ceremonies of worship will be taught never to be forgotten. The people will come, in the millennia to come: "from far and near and on lean animals", and perform these ceremonies taught in the guided manner.

Thus it was to be one of the obligations in surrendering man's will to Allaah's. Only He was to be worshipped. These ordained ceremonies were never to be confused. Every step was clearly taught. These ceremonies were repeated in the perfect manner of the guided ones by the Seal (khatim) of the prophets, Muhammad (sal), only fourteen centuries ago. Every detail of the etiquette of the worship was thus safeguarded with faith and truth.

As the Ka'ba was being built, the builder prohet Ibraheem (as) stood on a standing place (surveying), and he raised the foundations, helped by hi s son Ishma'el (as). This was a landmark not only of the standing place or the footprint of the builder, but a landmark time in history. From this point on, only Allaah's sovereignty will prevail. The place of Ibraheem (as) where he stood can still be seen near the Ka'ba, and is known as Maqaami Ibraheem. While the walls were being raised, so was the spirit of mankind, for there came the words in the supplication from the depth of the human soul, for the benefit of the human race. The son and the father prayer to their Creator:

Qur'an

This was granted in the time to come and fourteen centuries ago, as emerged these people, the "umma", the mother nation; who took the responsibility to maintain the reality, Allaah is the only ultimate Truth.

To maintain the equality of man, justice for all lives, and discernment between right and wrong; there came our prophet Muhammad (sal) who initiated this "umma". This nation is not a particular tribe or race, or racial creed, but are those people of any race or cultural persuasion from all over the surface of the earth who submit their will to Allaah alone, following His guidance. As clearly shown by the ayats given, Ibraheem (as) and Ishma'el (as) were clearly shown the ceremonies, or "manaasik" (order of events & reasons why).

Thus, through this passing of the manaasik from one generation to another, to the umma; the ceremonies that pilgrims perform today are the same as those taught and passed on by Allaah to all the prophets (as). This is an immense experience in faith and serenity.

The real test of Ibraheem's (as) faith was yet to come. The father, this time was asked to offer to Allaah a sacrifice of that he loved most. This was the test of submission, of the intellectual ('ilm - science) faith in human sovereignty, to the truth (haqqiq - will) of the Sovereignty of the Creator. Although Ibraheem (as) is reported to have had some human difficulties, fortunately he (as) did not fail. The "hanif", the deviated one, (departed from common domestic behaviors) knew it had to be his son (as).

And what a son (as) ! Ishma'el (as) surrendered to the divine will without a moments hesitation, as such was the perfection of his faith (as). He had the dignity of total submission to Allaah's will. He (as) was taken to Mina (where the Jamaarats are) to be offered as a human sacrifice.

It was there that the devil came to tempt, in the name of paternal love and pride, a temptation to Ibraheem (as) and Ishma'el (as) to disobey because of family love and attachment. This was set only to know, a proof, that man's love for his Creator was greater. It was at this stage of human submission to Allaahu ta'alaa that Ibraheem (as) took pebbles and cast them at the devil, saying the words:

This act of faith is a part of the ceremonies, where you choose between Allaah and shaytan, and is called the "Ramiy il-Jamaarat", the striving at the fire pit (crucible). Thus all those who visit the House of Allaah intend, then repeat these words and perform these acts of faith to commemorate (and emulate) the conquest of evil by the Truth & by the Name of Allaah.