Zamzam Well

The Well of Zamzam (or the Zamzam Well, or just Zamzam; Arabic: زمزم) is a well located within the Masjid al Haram in Mecca, 20 meters east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic tradition it was a miraculously-generated source of water from angel Jibril (Gabriel), which began thousands of years ago when Abraham's infant son was thirsty. Millions of pilgrims visit the Well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink its water. By Saudi law, the water cannot be sold outside of the kingdom, but because of strong demand there is a thriving market in fake Zamzam water in other countries.

Muslims' Belief of how Zamzam was found

Islamic history states that Zamzam Well was revealed to Hajar, the wife of Abraham (Ibrahim) and mother of Ishmael, [cite journal|url=http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/blstone.htm|title=The Black Stone - the Omphalos of the Goddess|author=Bob Trubshaw|journal=Mercian Mysteries|date=February 1993|issue=No. 14|format=Dead link|date=July 2008 – ^{[http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=intitle%3AThe+Black+Stone+-+the+Omphalos+of+the+Goddess&as_publication=Mercian+Mysteries&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=Search Scholar search]} ] around the year 2000 BC. According to Islamic tradition, she was desperately seeking water for her infant son, but could find none, as Mecca is located in a hot dry valley with few other sources of water. Muslim traditions say that Hajar ran seven times back and forth in the scorching heat between the two hills of Safa and Marwah, looking for water. God then sent the angel Jibril (Gabriel) who dug a hole in the ground and caused the spring to appear. On finding the spring, Hajar confined the pool of water with sand and stones. Other versions of the story say that the water just suddenly appeared at the feet of Ishmael, or that the angel Jibril scraped the ground with his heel or brushed it with the tip of his wing and the Zamzam appeared.cite web | title=The Well of Zam zam | work=IslamOnline | author=Shil, Mahmoud Isma`il & `Abdul-Wahid, `Abdur-Rahman |url=http://www.islamonline.net/English/hajj/Landmarks/1425/08.shtml| accessdate=2005-06-06]

The name of the well comes from the phrase "Zomë Zomë", meaning ‘stop flowing’, a command repeated by Hajar during her attempt to contain the spring water.cite web | title=Zamzam Studies and Research Centre | work=Saudi Geological Survey | url=http://www.sgs.org.sa/index.cfm?sec=311&page= | accessdate=2005-06-05]

According to Islamic tradition, Abraham rebuilt the "Bait-ul-Allah" (House of Allah) at the site of the well, a building which had been originally constructed by Adam, and today is called the Kaaba, a building towards which all Muslims around the world face in prayer, five times each day. The Zamzam well is located approximately 20 meters east of the Kaaba. Muslim tradition says that the well eventually disappeared because of the sins of the tribe of Jurhum, a controlling tribe of Mecca, who had perhaps filled in the Well when they were driven out of Mecca. The well was then rediscovered by Muhammad's grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, who experienced a dream where the position of the well was revealed to him. ["The Disappearance and Rediscovery of Zamzam"]

History

According to "Islam Online", the well originally had two cisterns in the first era, one for drinking and one for ablution. [cite web | author = Mahmoud Isma'il Shil and 'Abdur-Rahman 'Abdul-Wahid | title = Historic Places: The Well of Zamzam | url = http://www.islamonline.net/English/hajj/2002/01/stories/article4.shtml | accessdate = 2008-08-06 ] At that time, it was a simple well surrounded by a fence of stones. Then in the era of the Abbasid caliph Abu Ja`far Al-Mansur (771 AD / 149 AH) a dome was built above the well, and it was tiled with marble. In 775 AD (153 AH), Al-Mahdi rebuilt the well again during his caliphate, and built a dome of teak which was covered with mosaic. One small dome covered the Well, and a larger dome covered the room for the pilgrims. In 835 AD / 213 AH there was further restoration, and the dome was covered with marble during the caliphate of Al-Mu`tasim.

In 1417 (795 AH), during the time of the Mamluks, the Mosque was damaged by fire, and required restoration. Further restoration occurred in 1430 (808 AH), and again in 1499 (877 AH) during the time of Sultan Qaitbai, when the marble was replaced.

In modern times, the most extensive restoration took place to the dome during the era of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1915 (1333 AH). To facilitate crowd control, the building housing the Zamzam was moved away from its original location, to get it out of the way of the "Tawaf", when millions of pilgrims would circumambulate the Kaaba. The water of the well is now pumped to the eastern part of the Mosque, where it was made available in separate locations for men and women.

Technical information

The Zamzam well was excavated by hand, and is about 30 meters deep and 1.08 to 2.66 meters in diameter. It taps groundwater from the wadi alluvium and some from the bedrock. Originally water from the well was drawn via ropes and buckets, but today the well itself is in a basement room where it can be seen behind glass panels (visitors are not allowed to enter). Electric pumps draw the water, which is available throughout the mosque via water fountains and dispensing containers near the Tawaf area.

Hydrogeologically, the well is in the "Wadi Ibrahim" (Valley of Abraham). The upper half of the well is in the sandy alluvium of the valley, lined with stone masonry except for the top meter which has a concrete "collar". The lower half is in the bedrock. Between the alluvium and the bedrock is a half-meter section of permeable weathered rock, lined with stone, and it is this section that provides the main water entry into the well. Water in the well comes from absorbed rainfall in the Wadi Ibrahim, as well as runoff from the local hills. Since the area has become more and more settled, water from absorbed rainfall on the Wadi Ibrahim has decreased.

The Saudi Geological Survey has a "Zamzam Studies and Research Centre" which analyzes the technical properties of the well in detail. Water levels were monitored by hydrograph, which in more recent times has changed to a digital monitoring system that tracks the water level, electric conductivity, pH, Eh, and temperature. All of this information is made continuously available via the Internet. Other wells throughout the valley have also been established, some with digital recorders, to monitor the response of the local aquifer system.

The water level is 3.23 meters (about 10.59 ft) below the surface. A pumping test at 8000 liters/second for more than a 24 hour period showed a drop in water level from 3.23 meters below surface to 12.72 meters and then to 13.39 meters, after which the water level stopped receding. When pumping stopped, the water level recovered to 3.9 meters below surface only 11 minutes later. This data shows that the aquifer feeding the well seems to recharge from rock fractures in neighboring mountains around Mecca.Fact|date=September 2007

Zamzam today

The story of Hajar and the divine origin of the Zamzam Well is commemorated in the Islamic rites of pilgrimage, the Umrah and the Hajj. Like Hajar, male pilgrims are required to run or jog (women walk) between the hills of Safa and Marwa seven times, and then drink from the water of Zamzam.

Some Muslims believe that the water of the Zamzam Well is divinely blessed. It is believed to satisfy both hunger and thirst, and to cure illness. Pilgrims make every effort to drink of this water during their pilgrimage. The water is served to the public through coolers stationed throughout the Masjid al Haram in Mecca and the Masjid al Nabawi in Medina. Pilgrims also fill water canisters from special taps, to take home as gifts for relatives and friends, and some of them also dip their pilgrimage clothes, ihram, in the water. The ihram are then preserved to serve as burial clothes when the pilgrim dies; thus he or she will go to the grave touched by the Zamzam water.

As the Muslim population of the world has grown, and air travel has made the Hajj more accessible to them, the Hajj has become increasingly crowded. There can be up to two million pilgrims performing the Hajj. Even though it is believed that the Zamzam well will never run dry, the Saudi Geological Survey has set up a Zamzam Studies and Research Centre, which is charged with keeping the Zamzam water both hygienic and plentiful.

There have been some attempts to scientifically validate Muslim beliefs regarding the special nature of Zamzam water. The water contains high concentration of high levels of some minerals: calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, nitrate, sodium and potassium but low or untraceable fluoride. [Bahruddin Saad, Fen Wei Pok, Amat Ngilmi Ahmad Sujari, Muhammad Idiris Saleh, Analysis of anions and cations in drinking water samples by Capillary Ion Analysis, Food ChemistryVolume 61, Issues 1-2, , January 1998, Pages 249-254.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T6R-409VHTX-1C/1/8b0dbe752084d21cf07221c9449dec70)]

The underground aquifer that supplies water to the well only has an area of 60 square kilometres, and during extended periods of dry weather, the water levels drop. In order to ensure that there is enough Zamzam water for the more than two million pilgrims during the Hajj period, the water is pumped out from the well and stored in storage tanks at the basement level during off-peak seasons. During the pilgrimage season, the stored water together with additional water drawn from the subterranean water table around the Zamzam well are pumped into water dispensers for the benefit of the pilgrims. [http://www.sgs.org.sa/index.cfm?sec=311&sub=325&page=]

Commercial sale of Zamzam

The Saudi government, which controls the Hijaz and Mecca, has prohibited the commercial export of Zamzam from the kingdom. However, there is a strong commercial demand for Zamzam which resulted in commercial distribution of fake Zamzam along with alleged Zamzam in many countries.

Notes

References

*

External links

* Careem, S. H. A. cite web | title=The Miracle of Zamzam | work=Sunday Observer | url=http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2005/01/30/fea36.html | accessdate = 2005-06-05 Provides a brief history of the well and some information on the health benefits of Zamzam water.