The water of Zamzam
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: "The
best water on the surface of the earth is that of Zamzam. In it
there is a food for the hungry and a cure for the ill."
He also said, "The water of Zamzam is for the purpose for which it
is drunk."
Explanation of the Hadith
Jibril/Angel (peace be upon him) made Zamzam flow by the Command of
Allah, the Almighty as an honour to Ismail and his mother after
Prophet Ibrahim had left them in a deserted valley near the present
day site of the Holy Ka’ba. She panicked because of the desolation
of the place and asked her husband, "To whom are you going to leave
us?" He said, "To Allah, the Almighty." She said, "In Him I trust.
Did He order you to do that?" He replied, "Yes."
As he left, he prayed to Allah, the Almighty to provide them with
company and means of subsistence. The mother of Ismail said, "Then,
Allah would never desert us."
In return for her deep faith, Allah caused the Well of Zamzam to
flow.
It is remarkable that Zamzam flows amidst such solid, igneous
crystallised, nonporous rocks and that the flow has continued for
more than 3000 years, in spite of all the digging and burying that
has taken place in and around it on several occasions. The daily
flow is between 11 and 18.5 litres per second. The source of water
was not known until tunnels were dug around Makkah. This verifies
the hadith of the Prophet that states, "Zamzam is the strong strike
of Jibril and the water from Allah to Ismail."
Thus, Zamzam is a tangible miracle that highlights the dignified
status of Prophet Ibrahim, who is the father of the prophets, and
Ismail who helped him build the Ka’ba, as well has his truthful
mother Hajar.
It is narrated that Aishah, the mother of the believers, used to
bring Zamzam water with her to Madinah whenever she visited Makkah
and so did the Prophet to give to the ill so as to pour it over
their bodies and thus become cured by Allah’s Will.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in his book "Zad Almad’ad", that he, along with
others, "had amazing experiences from the water of Zamzam. We drank
it to be cured from several illnesses and we were cured. I also saw
people surviving by only drinking Zamzam for 15 days and more and
they did not feel hunger." All of this verifies the hadith of the
Prophet.
In his book "Nayl al-Awtar" ash-Shawkani says that "the hadith of
the Prophet indicates that the water of Zamzam will be of benefit in
both this world and the Hereafter."
Scientific research has proven that Zamzam is unique in its natural
characteristics as it is hard carbonated water, which is rich in
beneficial natural elements that range are around 2000 mg per litre,
while the same percentage in other kinds of well water does not
exceed 260 mg per litre.
The chemical elements in Zamzam can be divided into firstly,
positive ions like that of sodium (250 mg per litre), calcium (200
mg per litre), potassium (20 mg per litre), and magnesium (50 mg per
litre). Secondly, negative ions like sulphur (372 mg per litre),
bicarbonates (366 mg per litre) nitrates (273 mg per litre),
phosphates (0.25 mg per litre) and ammonia (6 mg per litre).
Each of these ingredients play a major role in the vital functions
of the cells of the human body. It is a well-known fact that there
is a direct relationship between the imbalance of the chemicals in
the human body and various illnesses. Mineral drinkable and
undrinkable water has been used for many centuries to cure many
diseases like rheumatism, to activate blood circulation, and is used
to replace some elements that may be lacking in the body. Mineral
drinkable water plays a role in curing many diseases like acidity of
the stomach, indigestion, heart disease and others. On the other
hand, mineral undrinkable water is beneficial in curing other
diseases like rheumatism, arthritis and dermatological ailments.
Moreover, it has been proven that there are no microbes whatsoever
in the water of Zamzam and the surrounding rocks. Even those
microbes present in all kinds of soils are absent in the case of
Zamzam.
All Praise be to Allah, the Almighty who ordered Jibril to make
Zamzam flow and made the water flow to Zamzam from very fine cracks
far away from the well, thus granting us the blessed water of Zamzam
that has been mentioned in several Ahadith of the Prophet (peace be
upon him). |
