Old photo of the Well of Zamzam.

Unique for the holy city of Makkah and the center of Islam symbolized by the Holy Kaaba, Saudi Arabia also has a unique source of water; the well of Zamzam. During Haj and Umrah, thousands of pilgrims refresh themselves with Zamzam water, which is attributed with special qualities, and take containers back home.

The story of Zamzam water begins nearly 4000 years ago, when, according to the Holy Qur’an, Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to bring his wife, Hajera (Hajar) and their child Ismail to Makkah from (Bilad Al-Sham) the Levant.

Allah told Prophet Ibrahim to leave them with some supplies of food and water and return to (Bilad Al-Sham). Their supplies quickly ran out and within a few days, Hajera and Ismail were suffering from both hunger and dehydration.

In desperation, Hajera ran up and down, back and forth for seven times in the heat between the two hills called Safa and Marwa seeking water and trying to find help — consequently, pilgrims have to walk seven times between these two hills after what Hajar did. Eventually, Hajar collapsed and prayed to Allah for deliverance.

Allah sent his Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) for their help. He struck the ground with his foot and a spring of water gushed forth from the earth and the two were saved.

The name Zamzam originates from the phrase “zomë-zomë” which means “stop flowing” a command repeated by Hajera during her attempt to contain the spring water. One of the companions of the Prophet said that before Islam, the water was called “Shabba” or satisfying. It was filling and helped them nourish their families.

With this divinely provided secure water supply they were able to trade water with passing merchants and nomads for food and supplies.

After a while, Prophet Ibrahim returned from the Levant (Bilad Al-Sham) he was amazed to see them running a profitable well.

According to the Muslim collection of Hadith, Abu Tharr Al-Ghifari, a companion, noted that when he first arrived in Makkah during the early days of Islam, he survived only on Zamzam water for a whole month. Not only did he satisfy his hunger and thirst, he became obese.

Several studies proved that the water of Zamzam well is the finest and healthiest mineral water on earth. Scientific studies were made to analyze the Zamzam water and found that this water include higher levels of calcium, fluoride and magnesium which refreshes and strengthens those who drink it.

Biological growth and vegetation can never exist in Zamzam well unlike other wells. As a result, this water has never been chemically treated or chlorinated.

Zamzam also heals sicknesses, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated long ago before modern studies. “The best water on the face of the earth is the water of Zamzam; it is a kind of food and a healing from sickness.”

Zamzam well is located few meters east of the Kaaba, and is 30 meters deep. When chemical Engr. Mueen Al-Deen Ahmed, a former employee of the then Ministry of Agriculture and Water, collected some samples of its water, he was surprised to see that a six by four meter pond can supply water that has quenched the thirst of millions of people since the time of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him).