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The Miracle
of Zam Zam Water
(A Research article 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 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 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 portability has always been universally recognized
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.