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Let me go back to how it all started. In 1971, an
Egyptian doctor wrote to the European
Press, a letter saying that Zam Zam 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 Centre of the city of Makkah, the waste water
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 Zam Zam 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 The water could be withdrawn rapidly with the help of a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 Zam Zam 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 trance 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 Zam Zam 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 Zam Zam water and other water (city water) was in the quantity of
calcium and magnesium salts. The content
of these was slightly higher in Zam Zam water.
This may be why this water refreshes tired hajis, but more significantly,
the water
contains 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 Zam Zam water. This well has never dried up. On
the contrary it has
always fulfilled the demand for water. It has always 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. Zam Zam
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 Zam Zam 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
Zam Zam water.
Please pass this on to everyone you know. Jazak Allah-o-Khairun
Who
took their religion for a sport and pastime, and whom the life of the world beguiled.
So this day We have forgotten them
even as they forget the meeting of this their Day and
as they used to deny Our tokens. Verily We have brought them a Scripture
which We expound
with knowledge, a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe - The Noble Quran 7:51,52
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