Come the Hajj season, and I am reminded of the wonders of Zam Zam water.

In 1971, an Egyptian doctor wrote to the European Press, a letter saying that Zam Zam water 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 Ka'aba was a shallow place (below sea level) and located in the centre of the city of Makkah, all the wastewater of the city collecting through the drains fell into well holding the water.

Fortunately, the news as a matter of routine was broken to late King Faisal. He got extremely upset and decided to disprove the Egyptian doctor's provocative statement. The king immediately ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources to investigate and send samples of Zam Zam water to European laboratories for testing the portability 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 sea water). 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 Ka'aba explaining the purpose of my 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 from all over the world 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. He took a shower and descended into the water and straightened his body. I witnessed 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 The water could be withdrawn rapidly with the help of a big transfer pump, which was installed at the well for the Zam Zam water storage tanks.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 we 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. 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 the samples of the water were sent to European laboratories for tests. Before I left the Ka'aba, I asked the authorities about other wells around Makkah. I was told that these wells were mostly dry. Upon reaching my office in Jeddah I reported my findings to my boss who listened with great interest but made a very irrational comment that the Zam Zam well could be internally connected to the Red Sea.

This surprised me as to how it may be 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 we analyzed in our own laboratory were found to be almost identical. The difference between Zam Zam water and other water (city water) was in the quantity of Calcium and Magnesium Salts. The content of these were slightly high in Zam Zam water. This may explain why the pilgrims feel so fresh upon using this 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.

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 God has bestowed as a gift on the faithful coming from far and wide to the desert land for pilgrimage.

This well has never dried up. On the contrary it has always fulfilled the demand for water. It has always maintained the same salt composition and taste ever since it came into existence. Its portability has always been universally recognized as pilgrims from all over the world visit Ka'aba every year for Hajj and Umrah, but have never complained about it.

Instead, they have always enjoyed the water that refreshes them. Ordinary water tastes different at different places.Zam Zam water's appeal has always been universal. 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 odor problems. But in the case of the Zam Zam water well there wasn't any sign of biological growth. Centuries ago Bibi Hajra searched desperately for water in the hills of Sufwa and Murwa to give to her newly born son Hazrat Ishmael. As she ran from one place to another in search of water, her child rubbed his feet against the sand. A pool of water surfaced, and by the grace of God shaped itself into a well that came to be called Zam Zam water.