Zamzam The Holy Water

Zamzam The Holy Water

Historically Hazrat Ibrahim Alaihis Salam was ordered to leave his wife Hazrat Hajirah Alaihis Salam and child Hazrat Ishmael Alaihis Salam in a valley without any vegetation or water at the site of his sacred house before the building of the Kabah promising to provide for them. As Hazrat Ishmael Alaihis Salam cried in thirst Hadhrath-e-Hazrat Hajirah Alaihis Salam ran from a small rise to another (safa and marwah) in the hope that a mirage of water was real. Allah then broke forth a spring at the feet of the crying baby now know as the well of Zamzam (The Holy Water).

Due to increased crowding around the well entrance near the tawaf area, the entrance was closed and was replaced by stairs leading to the bottom entrance of the Zamzam (The Holy Water) well. All Muslims around the world should drink Zamzam (The Holy Water) water because Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, drank it.

Abu Dhar Al-Ghafari, may Allah be pleased with him, heard Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say, “Zamzam (The Holy Water) water is blessed water because it is food for the hungry and cure for the sick” meaning if you drink it with a sincere intention to get full or cured, you will see its results. Ibn Al-Mubarak drank it and said, “O Lord! I am drinking Zamzam (The Holy Water) so that I do not become thirsty on the Day of Judgment.”

According to Arab historians, the Zamzam Well, except for a few periods when it became dry or was buried under sand, has been in use for around 4000 years. The well marks the site of a spring that, miraculously, had issued forth from a barren and desolate wadi (non perennial stream) where the Abraham, under Allah's command, had left his wife Hagar and their infant son Ishmael. Prophet Abraham settled his family there as part of God's mission for him.

Many traditions believe that the Zamzam well was to provide Hagar and Ishmael with water in the hot, dry valley they were in. In her desperate search for water, Hagar ran seven times back and forth in the scorching heat between the two hills of Safa and Marwa to provide for her baby who was dying of thirst. She was searching for it while watching at her son and would run whenever she could not see Ishmael.
According to Islamic religion, God then sent the Angel Gabriel, who scraped the ground, causing the spring to appear. On finding the spring, and fearing that it might run out of water, Hagar enclosed it in sand and stones. The name Zamzam originates from the phrase "zomë-zomë", meaning "stop flowing", a command repeated by Hagar during her attempt to contain the spring water. The area around the spring, which was later converted to a well, became a resting place for caravans, and eventually grew into the trading city of Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

The well of Zamzam retained its importance in later generations. The grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad, Abdul Muttalib, was honored with the responsibility of taking care of the well and the pilgrims to Mecca.