Come the haj season, and I am reminded of the wonders of Aab-e-Zamzam. Let me go back to how
it all started.

In 1971, an Egyptian doctor wrote to the European Press, a letter saying that Aab-e-Zamzam
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 Khaan-e-Ka'aba was a shallow place (below sea level) and located in the center of
the city of Makkah, all the wastewater of the city collecting through the drains fell into
well holding the water.

Fortunately, the news came to Shah 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 Aab-e-Zamzam to
European laboratories for testing the potability of the water. The ministry then instructed
the Jeddah Power and Desalination Plants to carry out this task. It was here that I was
employed as a desalting engineer (chemical engineer to produce drinking water from
seawater). 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 Khaan-i-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, 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be withdrawn rapidly with the help of a big transfer pump which was installed at the well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 Aab-e-Zamzam 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 Khaan-i-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 Zumzum well could be internally
connected to the Red Sea. How was it possible when Makkah is about 75 kilometers away
from the sea and the wells located before the city usually remain dry?

The results of the water samples tested by the European laboratories and the one we analyzed
in our own laboratory were found to be almost identical. The difference between Aab-e-Zamzam
and other water (city water) was in the quantity of calcium and magnesium salts. The
content of these was slightly higher in Aab-e-Zamzam. 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 Shah 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 God bestowed as a gift on the
faithfuls coming from far and wide to the desert land for pilgrimage.

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Let me sum up some of the features of Aab-e-Zamzam.
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*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 recognized as pilgrims from all over the world
visit Khaan-i-Ka'aba every year for hajj and umrah, but have never complained about it.
Instead, they have always enjoyed the water that refreshes them. Water tastes different at
different places. Aab-e-Zamzam's appeal has always been universal.

*This water has never been chemically treated or chlorinated as is the case with water
pumped into the cities.

*Biological growth and vegetation usually takes place in most wells. This makes the water
unpalatable owing to the growth of algae causing taste and odor problems. But in the case of
the Aab-e-Zamzam well there wasn't any sign of biological growth.

*Centuries ago, Bibi Hajra searched desperately for water in the hills of Sufwa and Murwa to
give to her newly born son Hazrat Ismail. As she ran from one place to another in search of
water, her child rubbed his feet against the sand. A pool of water surfaced, and by the
grace of God, shaped itself into a well which came to be called Aab-e-Zamzam.