ZAM-ZAM Water, Not fit for Human consumption? research by Tariq Hussain.
We came here again to perform the Omrah, and I am reminded of the
wonders of Zam-zam. 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 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 Zam-zam water to European laboratories
for testing the potability of the water. The ministry then instructed
the Jeddah Power and Desalination Plant 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 The water could be withdrawn rapidly with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 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 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
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 zam-zam 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.
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