technical info

Zamzam Studies and Research Centre
from Saudi Geological Survey

Zam zam well facts

Zamzam well is 30 meters deep. Depth to water is 3.23 meters. There are some springs contributing to the well at approximately 13 meters below 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 to recede. Water level recovered to 3.9 meters below surface just 11 minutes after pumping had stopped. The aquifer feeding the well seems to recharge from rock fractures in neighboring mountains around Mecca.

Removing the Black Clot

1500 years ago when the Prophet Muhammad--peace be upon him--was a young boy two men clothed in white came up to him in the desert, with a gold basin full of snow. Then they split open his breast bringing forth his heart. This likewise they split open and took from it a black clot which they cast away. Then they washed his heart and his breast with the snow." (pg. 25-26)

The Prophet said, "Satan toucheth every son of Adam the day his mother beareth him, save only Mary and her son."

Taken from Martin Lings' Muhammad his life based on the earliest sources

----

Angels are made from light. They are completely pure, they are sterile. Like a doctor when he is about to perform surgery. According to sources they used zam zam water to wash his heart. Zam zam water has electrolytes similar to a drink we all know: Gatorade. Electrolytes are needed to keep the heart moistened and hydrated. The snow kept the heart cool which is common to today's transplants. This is the perfect most simple heart surgery that took place 1500 years ago. Cool, huh?

Q&A on Zam Zam from Sunnipath.com

From a reliable online resource, I found a great website for those who wish to know the special features of zam zam water.

Below are listed the proper way to drink zam zam also from the website listed.

http://search.sunnipath.com/search.php?start=0&end=10&q=zamzam

To sum up, the etiquettes of drinking zamzam are:

1. To face the qibla (Ka'ba)
2. To mention Allah's name
3. To sip it in three breaths
4. To drink one's fill
5. To look at the Ka'ba every time you sip [if you're in Mecca]
6. To sprinkle a little water on your head, face, and chest
7. To say increased supplication
8. To drink it for whatever you need of this world or the hereafter
9. To say 'O Allah, it has reached me that your Messenger, peace be upon him, said: The water of zamzam is for that which it was drunk for. O Allah, I drink it for such and such.' Then name what you want from this world or the hereafter. Then say, 'O Allah, please do this out of your bounty.'
10. To say the du'a of Ibn Abbas, 'O Allah! Grant me beneficial knowledge, bountiful provision, and a healing from every disease.'
11. To praise Allah when finished

Also, my sister who already performed Hajj told me that one should kind of "chug" zam zam and stand up which is much different than the normal Muslim mannerisms when drinking anything.

It seems so simple, this well of zam zam, but the story of how it was discovered, rediscovered and used as a cleansing agent for the heart of our beloved Prophet Muhammad--peace and blessings be upon him--add a sense of spirituality and beautification to the tradition.

Hajj, Zem Zem, and Racism to Malcolm X

I can not put this book down! The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an amazing insight from the street life in Harlem all the way to the royal palaces of Saudi Arabia. It contains the words of one of the most important transformations that American Muslims could ever look up to. The humor, the sincerity, the beautiful heart that Malcolm X so bravely put forth in the search for truth. And the truth is, I haven't read the last 20 pages because they contain the sad truth of his end. I don't want to know how many times he got shot by the cowardice of men. His strength I can feel emanate from his words. He had a way with words.

His pilgrimage to Mecca really shows his complete submission to Allah. His observations are near to my heart: (Pg 346) "Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and the overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this Ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad, and all the other prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.

"I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca. I have made my seven circuits around the Ka'ba, led by a young Mutawaf named Muhammad. I drank water from the well of Zem Zem. I ran seven times back and forth between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al-Marwa. I have prayed in the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on Mt. Arafat.

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds, to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white."

---
The entire chapter on Mecca starting on page 325 simply enchants me because of his real life experiences with this religion.

This particular entry brings up a couple of points that I'd like to mention that have to do with the study of Anthropology:

• Anthropology of Religion--involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures...In the early 11th century, Abu Rayhan Biruni (973-1048), wrote detailed comparative studies on the anthropology of religions and cultures across the Middle East and Mediterranean and especially the Indian subcontinent. Biruni's anthropology of religion was only possible for a scholar deeply immersed in the lore of other nations. He carried out extensive, personal investigations of the peoples, customs, and religions of the Indian subcontinent, and was a pioneer in comparitive religion and the anthropology of religion. (Wikipedia: Anthropology of religion)
• Experimental Archaeology(Anthropology)/Applied Anthropology-- I spoke with Ifrah Atiqi, a UH alumni about her outlook on Anthropology, what her favorite sub-field was, and just some general advise via G-chat :)Ifrah: you want to major in anth?
  me:yeah
  InshAllah (God-willing)
  
  Ifrah: thats good
  its really interesting
  9:37 PM but unless you pursue a masters, it may not pay off career wise
  me: Yeah, I've heard that. Mostly to teach
  is that what you are doing with your masters?
  9:38 PM Ifrah: i'm actually going for international business
  9:40 PM me: oh cool. So you were you able to focus on linguistics during your undergrad?
  9:43 PM Ifrah: i wasnt
  but that was my favorite
  UH doesnt have the best anth dept
  but they are getting bigger
  i graduated over a year ago
  and towards the end of my 4 years they were expanding
  9:44 PM me: oh ok, cool well that's good to know

9:58 PM Ifrah: i like religion and anthropology a lot

its easy to relate on it

me: like what?

Ifrah: just rituals

9:59 PM like hajj

we like to enact what happened in abrahams time

its interesting

me: what can anthropology do to study hajj?

10:00 PM oh

Ifrah: random things about it

like zam zam water

10:01 PM we feel it heals our sickness

etc etc

• The issue of race in Cultural Anthropology which in this case would be an enthnography from Malcolm X's book. "America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem... I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man-and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their 'differences' in color... Despite my firm convictions, I have been always a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth.
  

Day 6: In the Month of Dhul Hijja

Over 2 million Muslims take part in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to fulfill the most arduous tenant of faith: Hajj. The other pillars of faith include but are not limited to: fasting during Ramadan, giving charity, believing the creed of God's Oneness, and praying 5 times a day.

They say that if you don't change your ways after performing Hajj then your Hajj wasn't accepted. Some people get a dream that their Hajj was approved--a sincere job well done, while others simply find themselves able to apply more of the religion in their daily lives.

This month of Dhul Hijja is well known to most Muslims because of it's relevance to the Prophet Muhammad's final sermon on Mount Arafat. The first ten days of Dhul Hijja are said to be the best in the whole year. One who fasts on the tenth day, also known as the Day of Arafat, is said to have all of his previous years of sin forgiven. As a result, many Muslims fast and some do so without knowing the significance.

When the pilgrims go back to their homeland, they are sure to bring back soveniers for their family and friends. Some gifts might include prayer beads, prayer rugs, scarves, skull-caps, and scents like ithaar. But almost surely they bring back a small tank- some times even in a large, emptied out Coke bottle - that is full of a special liquid substance. Inside is the blessed water of Zam Zam. The story goes that Prophet Abraham was ordered by God (Allah) to leave his wife Hagar and his infant son Ismael alone in the desert. While he was gone, the child became thirsty, Hagar ran back and forth seven times searching for water for her son. The baby cried and hit the ground with his foot (some versions of the story say that an angel scraped his foot or the tip of his wing along the ground), and water miraculously sprang forth. This source of water is today called the Well of Zamzam. (Wikipedia: Hajj)

This blog is going to expand on the stories of Zamzam and how it played into the medical world, the spiritual world, and historical figures.

Putting the Actions To A Tune

A music group of Muslims called Native Deen compiled the rituals of Hajj, added a reggae beat, and made a song about the details of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Made documentary style, it shows the real ground level view of occurrences at Hajj with the refrain being, "Labaik Allahuma Labaik", which means "Oh Allah, I am here at your service." I understand this to mean that Muslims on Hajj are completing one of the five pillars of Islam, and being at God's service is just a way to chant and keep focused on the ultimate goal, God's pleasure, as the journey throws spiritual, physical, and emotional strain at the pilgrim.