The Miracle of Zam Zam Water
Research by Tariq Hussain and Moin Uddin Ahmed
Come the Hajj season, and I am reminded of
the wonders of Zumzum water. 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be withdrawn rapidly with the help of a big transfer pump which was installed at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 point 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 instructed 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
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 contained fluorides that have an effective germicidal
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 God 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, Hagar (raa) searched desperately for water in the hills of Safa and Marwa to give to her newly born son Ismail (pbuh) 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 God, shaped itself into a well which came to be called Zumzum water.
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