Rare
Pictures of Zam Zam Well
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 The water could be withdrawn rapidly with the help of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 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 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.
http://www.geocities.com/alislamiworld/miracles_of_zam_zam_water.htm
|