Zamzam Facts

Dear readers:

Before going out to get a sample of Zamazam water analyzed by a lab, I decided to see what is already there on the Web, and here it is:

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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.[citation needed]

Zamzam water has no color or smell, but it has a distinct taste, and its pH is 7.9–8.0, indicating that it is alkaline to some extent, like seawater.

Alkaline in nature, the ZamZam water can neutralise excess hydrochloric acid formed in the stomach and reduces heartburn.

Iodide, sulphate and nitrate contents are also much higher in the ZamZam water. Supply of iodide through ZamZam may sufficiently fulfil the requirement of iodide for the thyroid organ of a body.

It was revealed that contents of macro-nutrients like magnesium, sodium and potassium were manifold higher in ZamZam water than in tap and solar pump water.

The scientists said all the data indicated that ZamZam water had much more nutritive values than ordinary underground water.

The hardness of ZamZam water is four times that of tap and solar pump water but it is within the acceptable limit set by the WHO, the researchers found.

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Chemical analyses show that Zamzam Water is pure water, without color or smell, has a distinct taste, and its hydrogen exponent is 7.5, indicating that it is alkaline to some extent.

A study conducted in American laboratories showed that traces of thirty elements were identified in Zamzam water by means of energizing neutrons. Some of these elements scored less than 0.01.

After matching up the chemical analysis to international specifications, especially to the specifications of the World Health Organization (WHO), results proved the portability of Zamzam water as well as its beneficial effect on the body health. Additionally, sodium is very high in Zamzam water and the international specifications do not put a limit to the measurement of its composition.

Minerals & Percentages

Calcium
 I98

Magnesium
 43.7

Chloride
 335

Sulfur
 37o

Iron
 o.I5

Manganese
 o.I5

Copper
 o.I2

This is an analysis of a study conducted in the laboratory of the Department of Water and Waste Water Treatment, the Western Province, Saudi Arabia (I400 A.H.)

Zamzam water has also been treated by ultraviolet rays, and microbes have no place to survive in it, which means that Zamzam water preserves its taste and is not a congenial environment for bacteria.

According to various chemical analyses, dry weather make: Zamzam more saline through evaporation, which is, with Allaah's might, good for the human body.

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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 analysed in our own laboratory were found to be almost identical.

CALCUIM & MAGNESUIM IN ZAM ZAM WATER:
The difference between Zamzam water and other water (city water) was in the quantity of calcium and magnesium salts. The content of these was slightly higher in Zamzam water. This may be why this water refreshes tired hajis.

FLOURIDE IN ZAMZAM WATER:
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 King 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 Allah Ta'ala bestowed as a gift on the faithful coming from far and wide to the desert land for pilgrimage.

Let us sum up some of the features of Zamzam water:

1) Never Dried Up: This well has never dried up. On the contrary it has always fulfilled the demand for water.

2) Same Salt composition: It has always maintained the same salt composition and taste ever since it came into existence.

3) Portability: Its portability has always been universally recognised as pilgrims from all  over the world  visit Ka'aba every year for Hajj and umrah, but  have never omplained about it. Instead, they  have always enjoyed the water that refreshes them.

4) Universal taste: Water tastes different at different places. Zamzam water's appeal has always been universal.

5) No Biological Growth: 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 odour problems. But in the case of the Zamzam water well, there wasn't any sign of  biological growth.