What's cooled, refreshing and will quench your
thirst in the hot, Arabian desert? If you answered (fill in
the name of the latest fad soft drink), you're wrong.
Zamzam is the name of the well that provides the water to
billions of people, have thirstily drunk from throughout
history, especially during the Hajj pilgrimage.
It is linked to some of the most important personalities in
world history: the Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon
them) and Muhammad
, as well as Ismail's mother Hajira (may Allah be pleased
with her).
The Zamzam well is located in Makkah, which is the heart of
the Hajj pilgrimage. Standing only a few meters east of the
Ka'bah, the well is 35 metres deep and topped by an elegant
dome.
The History of Zam-Zam
All traditions agree that Allah created the well to provide
Hajira, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (Alayhis salam) , and her
baby Prophet Ismail (peace be upon him) with water in the
hot, dry valley they were in.
In her desperate search for water, Hajira ran seven times
back and forth in the scorching heat between the two hills of
Safa and Marwa to provide for her baby who was dying of
thirst. Today, this same act is a necessary rite of Hajj all
Muslims, mothers and fathers, must complete.
Prophet Ibrahim settled his family there as part of God's
mission for him. The first thing Hajira had to do then was to
look for water in the area. She was searching for it while
watching at her son and would run whenever she could not see
Ismail. Allah saw her effort and miraculously blessed the
spot with a water spring.
The appearance of the Zamzam began the settlement of the
Makkan valley, where the descendants of Prophet Ismail
populated the area.
But as time passed, Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail's monotheistic
message, which once dominated the region, began taking a
backseat to pagan, polytheistic beliefs.
Nonetheless, the well of Zamzam retained its importance in
later generations. The grandfather of the Prophet, Abdul
Muttalib, was honored with the responsibility of taking care
of the well and the pilgrims to Makkah.
Zam-Zam, the Power drink
One of the miracles of Zamzam water is its ability to satisfy
both thirst and hunger. One of the Companions of the Prophet
said that before Islam, the water was called "Shabba'ah" or
satisfying. It was filling and helped them nourish their
families.
After Islam, this powerful ability to quench thirst and fill
stomachs remained. The Prophet said: "The best water on the
face of the earth is the water of Zamzam; it is a kind of
food and a healing from sickness."
According to the Muslim collection of Hadith, Abu Dharr
Ghifari, a Companion, noted that when he first arrived in
Makkah during the early days of Islam, he survived only on
Zamzam water for a whole month. Not only did he satisfy his
hunger and thirst, he became obese.
More recently, in the last few decades, scientists have
collected samples of Zamzam water and they have found certain
peculiarities that make the water healthier, like a higher
level of calcium.
Apart from its ability to serve as satisfying food and drink,
Zamzam water's health benefits are also commended. The
Prophet
said it was a healing from sickness. This is why pilgrims to
Makkah to this day collect it in bottles to bring for
relatives and friends back home who are ill. The Prophet
used to carry Zamzam water in pitchers and water skins back
to Madinah. He used to sprinkle it over the sick and make
them drink it.
Wahab ibn Munabbah, who was from the second generation of
Muslims, said 'I swear by Him in whose possession my life is,
Allah Ta`ala will relieve the person of all illnesses who
drinks Zamzam to his fill and will also grant him good
health.'
Zum Zum Water - Research by Tariq Hussain
We came here again to perform
the Omrah, and I am reminded of the wonders of Zumzum.Let me go
back to how it all started. In 1971, an Egyptian doctor wrote
to the European Press, a letter saying that Zumzum water was
not fit for drinking purposes. I immediately thought that this
was just a form of prejudice against the Muslims and that since
his statement was based on the assumption that since the Ka'aba
was a shallow place (below sea level)and located in the center
of the city of Makkah, the wastewater of the city collecting
through the drains fell into well holding the water.
Fortunately, the news came to
King Faisal's ears who got extremely angry and decided to
disprove the Egyptian doctor's provocative statement. He
immediately ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Water
Resources to investigate and send samples of Zumzum water to
European laboratories for testing the potability of the water.
The ministry then instructed the Jeddah Power and Desalination
Plants to carry out this task.
It was here that I was
employed as a desalting engineer (chemical engineer to produce
drinking water from sea water). I was chosen to carry out this
assignment. At this stage, I remember that I had no idea what
the well holding the water looked like. I went to Makkah and
reported to the authorities at the Ka'aba explaining my purpose
of visit. They deputed a man to give me whatever help was
required. When we reached the well, it was hard for me to
believe that a pool of water, more like a small pond, about 18
by 14 feet, was the well that supplied millions of gallons of
water every year to hajis ever since it came into existence at
the time of Hazrat Ibrahim A.S., many, many centuries ago.
I started my investigations
and took the dimensions of the well.I asked the man to show me
the depth of the well. First he took a shower and descended
into the water. Then he straightened his body. I saw that the
water level came up to just above his shoulders. His height was
around five feet, eight inches. He then started moving from one
corner to the other in the well (standing all the while since
he was not allowed to dip his head into the water) in search of
any inlet or pipeline inside the well to see from where the
water came in. However, the man reported that he could not find
any inlet or pipeline inside the well.I thought of another
idea. The water could be withdrawn rapidly with the help of a
big transfer pump which was installed at the well for the
Zumzum water storage tanks. In this way, the water level would
drop enabling us to locate the int of entry of the water.
Surprisingly, nothing was
observed during the pumping period, but I knew that this was
the only method by which you could find the entrance of the
water to the well. So I decided to repeat the process. But this
time I structed the man to stand still at one place and
carefully observe any unusual thing happening inside the well.
After a while, he suddenly raised his hands and shouted,
"Alhamdollillah! I have found
it. The sand is dancing beneath my feet as the water oozes out
of the bed of the well."
Then he moved around the well
during the pumping period and noticed the same phenomenon
everywhere in the well. Actually the flow of water into the
well through the bed was equal at every point, thus keeping the
level of the water steady. After I finished my observations I
took the samples of the water for European laboratories to
test. Before I left the Ka'aba,I asked the authorities about
the other wells around Makkah. I was told that these wells were
mostly dry.When I reached my office in Jeddah I reported my
findings to my boss who listened with great interest but made a
very irrational comment that the Zumzum well could be
internally connected to the Red Sea. How was it possible when
Makkah is about 75 kilometres away from the sea and the wells
located before the city usually remains dry? The results of the
water samples tested by the European laboratories and the one
We analysed in our own laboratory were found to be almost
identical.
The difference between Zumzum
water and other water (city water)was in the quantity of
calcium and magnesium salts. The content of these was slightly
higher in Zumzum water. This may be why this water refreshes
tired hajis, but more significantly, the water contains
fluorides that have an effective ermicidal action. Moreover,
the remarks of the European laboratories showed that the water
was fit for drinking.
Hence the statement made by
the Egyptian doctor was proved false.When this was reported to
King Faisal he was extremely pleased and ordered the
contradiction of the report in the European Press. In a way, it
was a blessing that this study was undertaken to show the
chemical composition of the water. In fact, the more you
explore, the more wonders surface and you find yourself
believing implicitly in the miracles of this water that Allah
bestowed as a gift on the faithful coming from far and wide to
the desert land for pilgrimage. Let me sum up some of the
features of Zumzum water.
This well has never dried up.
On the contrary it has always fulfilled the demand for water.
It has always maintained the same salt composition and taste
ever since it came into existence. Its potability has always
been universally recognised as pilgrims from all over the world
visit Ka'aba every year for Hajj and umrah, but have never
complained about it.
Instead, they have always
enjoyed the water that refreshes them. Water tastes different
at different places.
Zumzum water's appeal has
always been universal. This water has never been chemically
treated or chlorinated as is the case with water pumped into
the cities. Biological growth and vegetation usually takes
place in most wells. This makes the water unpalatable owing to
the growth of algae causing taste and odour problems.
But in the case of the Zumzum
water well, there wasn't any sign of biological growth.
Centuries ago, Bibi Hajra A.S. searched desperately for water
in the hills of Sufwa and Murwa to give to her newly born son
Hazrat Ismail A.S. As she ran from one place to another in
search of water, her child rubbed his feet against the sand. A
pool of water surfaced,and by the grace of Allah, shaped itself
into a well which came to be called Zum Zum water.
Please
pass this on to everyone to know the facts of great wonders of
Zumzum.