RIYADH,
January 2, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The cool, refreshing and blessed
water of Zamzam welcomes the sea of pilgrims flocking to Saudi
Arabia for hajj, quenching both their spiritual and corporeal thirst.
"We
launched a three-pronged plan this hajj to provide Zamzam water to the
pilgrims through 950 workers in Makkah and Al-Madinah," Abdullah
Al-Deweri, the deputy head of the Zamzam United Office, told
IslamOnline.net on Monday, January 2.
He
said plastic 300mm bottles of Zamzam water are being distributed in
abundance among the faithful as they enter Makkah.
"We
also offer the blessed water to the pilgrims in their buses through
copper-made cups decorated with Islamic calligraphy and
paintings," he added.
"We
further knock on the doors of the pilgrims and give each a liter of
Zamzam on a daily basis.
Deweri
said as the pilgrims finish with the hajj rites and start packing,
everyone of them will get a 5.1-liter plastic container of Zamzam
water.
The
Zamzam United Office is expected to distribute up to four million
cubic liters among the pilgrims this hajj, which climaxes on January 9
when the faithful ascend the Mount `Arafat.
Hajj
consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the
essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials
of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Every
able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must
perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their
lifetime.
Mosques
 |
|
The
Zamzam United Office is expected to distribute up to four million
cubic liters among the pilgrims this hajj.
|
The
government body supervising the affairs of the two holy mosques in
Makkah and Madinah undertakes the mammoth task.
"We
have set up more than 8,000 container across Al-Masjid Al-Haram,"
Efian Bin Mohammad, the chief of the Zamzam Department in the mosque,
told IOL.
"All
in all there are 935 taps providing pure and cold Zamzam water round
the clock," he said, adding that three million cups of water
would be distributed daily.
"The
Prophet’s Mosque is further provided with an average of 664,000
cubic liters of Zamzam water every day," said the official.
The
pilgrims are expected to drink more than 1,641 cubic liters of water
everyday.
The
35-meter-deep Zamzam well is located in Makkah, standing only a few
meters east of the holy Ka`bah.
God
created the well to provide Hajir, the wife of Prophet Abraham (peace
be upon him), and her baby Prophet Ismail (peace be upon him) with
water in the hot, dry valley they were in.
In
her desperate search for water, Hajir 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.
Today,
this same act is a necessary rite of hajj all Muslims must complete.
God
saw her effort and miraculously blessed the spot with a water spring.
Zamzam
water's health benefits are commended.
Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) said it was a healing from sickness. This
is why pilgrims to this day collect it in bottles to take back home
for relatives and friends.
Also
read:
