~tasha~
Age: 124
Total Posts: 47628
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Location:
United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Research by Tariq Hussain
We came here again to perform the Omrah, and I am reminded of the wonders of
Zumzum. Well of Zumzum is the well that Allah caused to flow at Mekkah for
Prophet Ibrahim's wife Hajar and for his oldest son Ismael, peace be upon them
all). 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 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 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 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 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.
A servant of ALLAH
(Qaisar Mumtaz Sheikh)
