Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“The best water on the surface of the earth is that of Zamzam. In it there is a food for the hungry and a cure for the ill”.
He (pbuh) also said:
“The water of Zamzam is for the purpose for which it is drunk”.
Explanation of the Hadith
Jibril
(peace be upon him) made Zamzam flow by the Command of Allah , the
Almighty as an honor to Isma'il and his mother after Prophet Ibrahim had
left them in a deserted valley near the present day site of the Holy
Ka'ba . She panicked because of the desolation of the place and asked
her husband: "To whom are you going to leave us?"
He said: "To Allah, the Almighty."
She said: "In Him I trust. Did He order you to do that? " .
He replied:" Yes".
As
he left, he prayed to Allah, the Almighty to provide them with company
and means of subsistence. The mother of Isma'il said: "Then, Allah would
never desert us."
In return for her deep faith, Allah caused the Well of Zamzam to flow.
It
is remarkable that Zamzam flows amidst such solid, igneous crystallized
, nonporous rocks and that the flow has continued for more than 3000
years , in spite of all the digging and burying that has taken place in
and around it on several occasions . The daily flow is between 11 and
18.5 liters per second. The source of water was not known until tunnels
were dug around Makkah. Workers noticed that water gushed through fine
cracks that extended for long distances in all directions around Makkah.
This verifies the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) that states, "Zamzam is the strong strike of Jibril and the water from Allah to Isma'il."
Thus,
Zamzam is a tangible miracle that highlights the dignified status of
Prophet Ibrahim, who is the father of the Prophets, and Isma'il who
helped him build the Ka'ba, as well as his truthful mother Hajar.
It
is narrated that 'A'ishah , the mother of the believers (A.S.), used to
bring Zamzam water with her to Madinah whenever she visited Makkah and
so did the Prophet (PBUH) to give it to the ill so as to pour it over their bodies and thus become cured by Allah's Will.
Ibn
al-Qayyim said in his book "Zad Alma'ad", that he, along with others,
"had amazing experiences with the water of Zamzam. We drank it to be
cured from several illnesses and we were cured. I also saw people
surviving by only drinking Zamzam for 15 days and more and they did not
feel hunger." All of this verifies the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH).
In his book "Nayl al-Awtar"
ash-Shawkani says that the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) indicates that
the water of Zamzam will be of benefit in both this world and the
Hereafter.
Scientific
research has proven that Zamzam is unique in its natural
characteristics as it is hard carbonated water , which is rich in
beneficial natural elements that range are around 2000 mg. per liter ,
while the same percentage in other kinds of well water does not exceed
260 mg per liter .
The
chemical elements in Zamzam can be divided into firstly, positive ions
like that of sodium (250 mg per liter), calcium (200 mg per liter),
potassium (20 mg per liter), and magnesium (50 mg per liter). Secondly,
negative ions like sulphur (372 mg per liter), bicarbonates (366 mg per
liter) nitrates (273 mg per liter), phosphates (0.25 mg per liter) and
ammonia (6 mg. per liter).
Each
of these ingredients plays a major role in the vital functions of the
cells of the human body. It is a well-known fact that there is a direct
relationship between the imbalance of the chemicals in the human body
and various illnesses. Mineral drinkable and undrinkable water has been
used for many centuries to cure many diseases like rheumatism, to
activate blood circulation, and is used to replace some elements that
may be lacking in the body. Mineral drinkable water plays a role in
curing many diseases like acidity of the stomach, indigestion, heart
disease and others. On the other hand, mineral undrinkable water is
beneficial in curing other diseases like rheumatism, arthritis and
dermatological ailments.
Moreover,
it has been proven that there are no microbes whatsoever in the water
of Zamzam and the surrounding rocks. Even those microbes present in all
kinds of soils are absent in the case of Zamzam.
All
Praise be to Allah, the Almighty who ordered Jibril (peace be upon him)
to made Zamzam flow and made the water flow to Zamzam from very fine
cracks far away from the well, thus granting us the blessed water of
Zamzam that has been mentioned in several Ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
