Since we arrived in Madinah, we have been drinking lots of Zamzam water. I will briefly explain to you the history of this amazing water.
Zamzam is the name of the well that provides the water to billions of people, especially during the Hajj pilgrimage. It is linked to some of the most important personalities in world history, the Prophets Abraham & Ishmael (peace be upon them) and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him & his family), as well as Ishmael's mother Hajira (Hagar) (may Allah be pleased with her). The story of this well is vaguely mentioned in The Bible in the book of Genesis.
Zamzam well is located in Makkah, which is the heart of the Hajj pilgrimage for which we will be leaving on friday afternoon from Madinah inshallah. It is located only a few meters from the Kaaba. Inshallah I will write about this later when I go to Mecca next week but in the meantime would like to give a brief background of this amazing water whose existance in the middle of the desert city of Mecca is a living miracle in itself.
How did the Zamzam came into being?
According to history, God created the well to provide Hajira, the wife of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), and her baby Prophet Ishmael (peace be upon him) with water in the hot, dry valley they were in.
In her desperate search for water, Hajira ran seven times back and forth in the scorching heat between the two hills of Safa and Marwa to provide for her baby who was dying of thirst. Today, this same act is a necessary rite of Hajj called the Sayee which every muslim on Hajj has to perform as an act of remembrance of this incident in history. Without the performing of this act, either the Hajj or Umra (lesser Hajj) will not be complete.
Prophet Abraham settled his family there as part of God's mission for him. The first thing Hajira had to do then was to look for water in the area. She was searching for it while watching at her son and would run whenever she could not see Ishmael. Allah saw her effort and miraculously blessed the spot with a water spring.
The appearance of the Zamzam began the settlement of the Makkan valley & the city of Mecca came into existance, where the descendants of Prophet Ismail populated the area.
But as time passed, Prophet Abraham and Ishmael's monotheistic message, which once dominated the region, began taking a backseat to pagan, polytheistic beliefs. However, the well of Zamzam retained its importance in later generations. The grandfather of the Prophet, Abdul Muttalib, was honored with the responsibility of taking care of the well and the pilgrims to Makkah.
More recently, in the last few decades, scientists have collected samples of Zamzam water and they have found certain peculiarities that make the water healthier, like a higher level of calcium.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him & his family) said it was a healing from sickness. This is why pilgrims to Makkah to this day collect it in bottles to bring for relatives and friends back home who are ill.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him & his family) used to carry Zamzam water in pitchers and water skins back to Madinah. He used to sprinkle it over the sick and make them drink it. Even today, the Authorities have made efforts to transport the Zamzam water to Madinah for is 400 plus kms away from Mecca and it caters to the drinking requirements of the millions of people who visit this city every year.
Zamzam Water containers being transported to
During Hajj and Umra, pilgrims are recommended to drink Zamzam water to their fill to quench their thirst. They also continue the tradition of bringing it back for family and friends.
For example, despite tight quarantine laws everywhere, laws forbidding the import of foreign liquids and fruits, there is an exception made for pilgrims returning from Makkah, who bring water of the Zamzam home for their loved ones and its the most sought after item that people expect from returning Hajis.
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