Zam Zam Water – This will instantly put you in a good mood.

Zam Zam Water – Introduction

Muslim has high admiration for zam zam water. They believe it to be the holiest. Muslims believe it to have medicinal property. It might be that every Muslim at least once in a lifetime have taken zam zam water.

The zam zam well is located two meters away from Mecca. Each year millions of pilgrims come to perform Haj and Umah. These pilgrims would seek out zam zam water. Muslims believe that zam zam has healing power.

Muslims staunchly believe that zam zam water is some kinds of holy water from Allah(God) which began some thousands of years ago.

Zamzam has been described in various holy books like in Tohra( old testament), the Bible and the Holy Quran. Zamzam is also known by multiple names like Zammam, Zumazim, Shuba, Hazmat- Al-Malik, Rakhdat Jibril.

A brief history of zam zam water

It is believed that zam zam water was revealed to Prophet Abraham. Prophet Abraham had left his wife and son in the middle of the desert. Prophet’s son Ishmael was an infant and started crying for water. His mother, Hajar, looked everywhere for water to give it to her son.

She ran seven times back ad forth between Safa and Marwa in search of water. Meanwhile, baby Ishmael began to scrap the heels in the place where he was left. After some time, water oozed out. Hajar rushed to stop the spring water from flowing crying out zome meaning ‘stop flowing.’ She tried to put stones around it to stop water from flowing. The term zam zam is derived from the word zome.

At first, a stone wall was built around it having two cisterns, one for drinking and one for abulation. During the reign of Abbasid, the caliph Al Mansur built a dome over it and tiled it with marble in 771 AD.

Zam zam well was renovated many times, like in 775 AD Al Mahdi covered the dome with mosaic and in 835 AD the dome was again covered with marble by Al Mutasim. In the year 1915, during the rule of the Ottoman empire, the well was again renovated.

And now the water is pumped to the eastern side of the Haram. The building housing the water was relocated. It is available to People of Mecca and pilgrims. It is illegal to sell zam zam water in UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Zamzam well-currently

Zam zam well is 30.5 m deep with a diameter of ranging from 1.08m to 2.66m. The well lies in Wadi (valley) Ibrahim which runs through the holy city of Mecca. Water is tapped from alluvium valley( to lesser extent) and fresh bedrock.

The zam zam well is now situated at the basement with glass panel for a view of the well. However, this place is out of bounds of the common man n pilgrims. It is only open for dignitaries. Zamzam is drawn by electric pumps and is supplied to the Tawaf area by fountains and taps.

Composition of Zamzam water

Researches on Zamzam water:

There have been various researches to understand the composition of zam zam water. The first research was conducted by Egyptian Commission in 1935, followed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Riyad (Saudi Arabia) in 1971. This paves the way for international publication by American Water Association in 1976. Abu Samn conducted a study in 1982 on 3 water from wells- Dawoodiya well, Zamzam well and Musfala Well. He found that total dissolved solids in the other two wells were a little higher than water Zamzam well.

The mineral profile:

Naeem and Alsanussi conducted a hydrochemical study. They used advanced technique for multi-elemental and hydrochemical and other methods. They also applied neutron activation and inductivity coupled plasma. These researches have revealed that Zamzam has the following minerals present in higher concentration than in ordinary water:

• calcium Ca
• magnesium Mg
• sodium Na
• chloride Cl

Elements present:

• antimony (Sb)
• beryllium (Be),
• bismuth (Bi),
• bromine (Br),
• beryllium (Be),
• bismuth (Bi),
• bromine (Br),
• cobalt (Co),
• iodine (I),
• molybdenum (Mo) was less than 0.01 ppm.

Only traces of

• chromium (Cr),
• manganese (Mn),
• titanium (Ti) were found.

Zamzam is healthier because of the higher concentration of calcium. Arsenic (As) was found well within the permissible level of 9.68 – 10.75 μg/L
Cations and ions in Zamzam water

The solute in Zamzam water is responsible for its health benefit. Calcium is a major divalent cation that is present in Zamzam water. It forms complex compounds with carbonates and bicarbonates. Essential cations and ions present are:

• magnesium bicarbonate,
• magnesium sulphate,
• sodium,
• potassium chloride.

The aquifer of Zamzam is of primary lava material(basalt); therefore, it has Ferro- magnesium minerals of calcium and magnesium. Calcium helps to quench thirst and suppresses hunger. Sodium and potassium helps nervous system.

Health benefits of zam zam water

Followers of Islam consider zam zam water pure and blessed. It has been proved by scientific research that zam zam water does have a specific composition which makes it healthier.

• Zamzam was considered to be the best water by Prophet Mohammad (SAW). It can quench thirst and hunger alike. There have been many instances where men have drunk zam zam to beat hunger. It is believed to cure illness.
• Zamzam can enhance energy levels in cells. In a study by a Dr.Knut Pfeiffer in Munich, Germany zam zam water increased the energy level in cell system significantly.
• Zam-zam water is free from contaminants. Zam-zam water has been extensively studied by Dr Yahya koshak. He found that zam zam water does not have bacteria and germs because it is treated by ultraviolet rays naturally.
• Zamzam is the purest form of water. It has bicarbonates in adequate amount. It is 366gm /l higher than French Alps water which has 357mg/l.
• Zamzam has calcium and magnesium. It has been proved scientifically that zam zam water has Ca and Mg in abundance because of which it has healing properties. As it has fluorides, it also has germicidal properties.
• Zamzam water increases the formation of blood platelets. It has been found after years of research that zam zam fasting improves blood platelets count, enhances RBC and WBC in blood, and improves overall immunity in the body, which helps to produce antigen and fights diseases.

• Regular intake of zam zam improves body weight. It also reduces the impact of hunger, helping those who want to reduce weight.
• Zam-zam water, when applied to eyes helps it to cure many eyes related disorder. It also helps to sharpen up our eyesight.
• Zamzam, water helps in acidity and heartburn. Zamzam water is alkaline with a pH balance of 7.5 – 7.7

Last Word

Zamzam water has not been depleted despite Saudi Arabia being a dry region. It is so because it has a renewable source of groundwater. Mecca is located in the mountainous region n rain percolates through the soil and porous rocks renewing water table.

Moreover, Zamzam is mostly used for drinking and is not used for watering farm or industrial purpose.