About 4,000 years ago today, Ibrahim (A.S.) exiled his beloved wife Hazrat Hajera (A.S.) and infant son Ismail (A.S.) to a sandy desert at the foot of the Faran Mountains in Mecca at God’s command. The helpless wife repeatedly asked in a moaning voice from behind, ‘Where are you going to leave us alone in this desolate desert?’ Ibrahim (A.S.) was impassive. No answers. To Muslims, the Zamzam water is very blessed and sacred. The hadith mentions the infinite welfare and blessings of this water.
The Prophet (S.A.W.) said, “The best and most beneficial water on earth is the water of Zamzam. This water is food for the hungry and healing for the sick.”(Ibn Majah) During the Farewell Hajj, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) drank a lot of Zamzam water, poured it over his eyes and poured it on his head. While staying at Hudaybiyah in the sixth Hijri, the Prophet (peace be upon him) brought the water of Zamzam from Makkah and drank it and brought it with him to Medina.
Aisha (R.A.) said, “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to take the Zamzam water with him whenever he went somewhere and sprinkle it on the sick.” Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (R.A.): ” The Companions used to drink the water of Zamzam with great relish and bring it home with them.”
Extensive research has been and is being done on Zamzam water. The Geological Survey of Saudi Arabia has a research center called the ‘Zamzam Studies and Research Center’.
Laboratory tests have shown that Zamzam water contains more calcium and magnesium salts than ordinary water, which plays a major role in relieving fatigue. The ingredients in Zamzam water are human food, nutrition and disease healing. The study was conducted at the initiative of the Department of Food and Nutrition by University of Nottingham. The study proved that Zamzam water is an excellent tonic for health. An Egyptian doctor who studied Zamzam water reported that the water contained magnesium, sodium, chloride, calcium carbonate, potassium nitrite and hydrogen. In 1986, a team from Tripoli, Libya, conducted a study of Zamzam water, which contained Total Dissolved Solid 1820, Chloril 234, Calcium Carbonate 365, Sulphate 190, Calcium + V-E, Magnesium + V-E, Iron, Sulfur V-E, Nitro.
Recently, a Japanese researcher, Masru Amoto, studied the water of Zamzam and said that the drop of water in Zamzam has its own mineral properties that no other water in the world has. He added that if one drop of Zamzam water is mixed with 1,000 drops of ordinary water, then that mixture is as pure as Zamzam water. Because pure water like Zamzam water cannot be found anywhere else in the world. In fact, the water of Zamzam is a living miracle of God’s might. As much research will be done on this water, it will be very inadequate.
Besides, there are several virtues of drinking Zamzam water in the light of Qur’an and Hadith. Hazrat Abu Jarr (R.A.) narrates that the Prophet (S.A.W.) said, “The water of Zamzam is blessed, the food of the seeker of taste.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2473)
Imam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Zamzam water is the best and noblest of all waters, the highest in status, the dearest to people, the most precious and valuable to them. It was dug by Jibril and is the water with which Allah quenched the thirst of Isma’il.”
It was reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to Abu Dharr, who had stayed near the Ka’bah and its coverings for forty days and nights with no food or drink other than (Zamzam), “How long have you been here?” Abu Dharr said, “I have been here for thirty days and nights.” The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “Who has been feeding you?” He said, “I have had nothing but Zamzam water, and I have gotten so fat that I have folds of fat on my stomach. I do not feel any of the tiredness or weakness of hunger and I have not become thin.” The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “Verily, it is blessed, it is food that nourishes.” [Narrated by Imam Muslim, 2473]
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Myself and others tried seeking healing with Zamzam water and saw wondrous things. I sought healing with it from a number of illnesses, and I was healed by the permission of Allah. I saw someone who nourished himself with it for a number of days, half a month or more, and he did not feel hunger; he performed tawaf along with the other people just as they did. And he told me that he consumed nothing but Zamzam water for forty days and he had the strength to have intercourse with his wife, to fast and to perform tawaf numerous times.” [Zad al-Ma’ad, 4/319, 320]
Shaykh ibn al-‘Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy upon him, said, “So you should have the intention of what you want to gain by drinking this water. He should drink his fill, i.e., fill his stomach with it until it is filled to the ribs, because this water is good. A hadith has been narrated concerning this: the difference between the believers and the hypocrites is drinking one’s fill of Zamzam water.” [Narrated by Ibn Majah in al-Manasik, 1017; al-Hakim, 1/472]
Al-Busayri said, “This is a sahih isnad; its men are mawthuqun [trustworthy]. This is because Zamzam water is not sweet; it is somewhat salty, and the believer only drinks this somewhat salty water out of faith, believing that there is barakah (blessing) in it. So when he drinks his fill of it, this is a sign of faith.” [Sharh al-Mumti’, 7/377, 378, 379]
Perhaps Allah did not make it sweet so that people would not forget that the meaning of drinking it is an act of worship. Whatever the case, its taste is fine and there is nothing wrong with it. We ask Allah to quench our thirst from the Cistern (al-Hawd) of His Prophet on the Day of the greatest thirst.
“So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?” [Quran, 13:55].
Religiously, Zamzam water holds a significant place for Muslims. Muslims drink this holy water, based in Mecca, and millions of pilgrims take it to their home countries as it is a cure to many diseases. One of the miracles of Zamzam water is that it doesn’t dry up in the hot and dry desert of Mecca.
Allah Says (what means): “{Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-‘Alameen (the mankind and jinn). In it are manifest signs (for example), the Maqaam (place) of Ibraaheem (Abraham); whosoever enters it, he attains security}.” (Quran 3:96-97)
“{O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka’bah at Makkah) in order, O our Lord, that they may perform Salah (prayer). So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks.}” (Quran 14:37).
Allah further says:
“May Allah bestow His Mercy upon her (Hagar, the mother of Ismaa’eel), had she let go (of the water of Zamzam) it would have become a spring (rather than a well) whose water shall never dry.” (Ahmad)
Healing Properties of Zamzam Water
The natural qualities of Zamzam are distinctive because in nature they are “hard carbonated type water.” The microbial proliferation in the water from the well Zamzam has been demonstrated. Next is the potential healing characteristics of Zamzam water.
Purity of Zamzam Water:
Even when it passes through a lot of chemicals and attempts to alter its composition, the quality and purity of Zamzam water cannot be modified. Therefore, the pureness of Zamzam water is not only very healthy for the body, but also a miracle.
Zamzam Water and Aquaporin (AQP) Stimulation:
Zamzam water can activate AQPs, these are water channels that grow across the membrane and have a key role to play in managing cell water content (Sheng et al., 2006). The canals throughout all kingdoms of life, microbes, plants and animals are widely spread (Agre, 2006). They have certain linkages with membrane proteins in the main intrinsic protein (MIP) family and generate pores in biological cell membranes (Ali et al., 2009).
Zamzam Water and Dental Caries:
Al-Zuhair and Khounganian conducted a research study comparing water from Zamzam and other sources of water on the occurrence and severity of dental caries in schoolgirls. Clinical testing has shown that there are no statistically significant changes in the mixed dentition group, although in all children consuming Zamzam water the average score of decaying, missing, filled teat (DMFT) in the permanent dentition group was the lowest. The likely reason is the greater fluoride level in Zamzam water. Fluoride has a very strong impact in the prevention of tooth decay.
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