Angeles, University of California Press, 1993).
718
AF
J:
zahir
See
batin
;
tafsir
.
zakat
See
almsgiving
.
Zamzam
A feature of many sacred places and pilgrimage
centers is the water source. Practically, it provides
water for the people and
animals
who reside in
or frequent the site. However, the water from
this source is also used in ritual activity, such as
performing
ablUtions
and other purification rites.
Often, its significance is woven into the mythol-
ogy and sacred history of the site. For Muslims
the most sacred water source is the well known
as Zamzam. It is situated within the courtyard
of the Sacred Mosque in m
ecca
, near the corner
of the k
aaba
, which contains the b
lack
s
tone
.
Pilgrims performing the
haJJ
and
umra
(the lesser
pilgrimage) customarily drink water from the
well, although this is not a required part of pil-
grimage rituals. Those who do that believe the
water is full of blessings (
baraka
) and has healing
power. Many take vials of Zamzam water home
with them, or they soak cloth in it that will be
used as burial shrouds. It is also mixed with
rosewater and used in the ritual cleansing of the
Kaaba twice each year, during r
amadan
and dur-
ing the hajj season.
The source of the water for Zamzam is subter-
ranean runoff from the sporadic rains that come
between October and March. Since Mecca is
located at the low point of a narrow valley, water
collects in the aquifer about 90 feet below the
surface that feeds the well through springs. With-
out this vital source, and other wells in the area,
the town would not have flourished through the
centuries as it has. Zamzam’s importance, how-
ever, is also recognized and magnified in Islamic
traditional literature. Although never mentioned
in the q
Uran
, other early Islamic lore, such as
Ibn Ishaq’s Sira, an early
biography
of m
Uhammad
(written in the eighth century), explains that the
well originated in the days of a
braham
, when he
left h
agar
and Ishmael, his wife and son, there.
(He would later return to join his son in build-
ing the Kaaba.) Ishmael, perhaps an infant at the
time, thirsted for water. Hagar left him and went
to search of it, praying and running in despera-
tion—an event commemorated whenever pilgrims
“run” between the hills of Safa and Marwa next to
the Sacred Mosque during the hajj and umra. At
last Hagar’s prayers were answered and the water
Z
came forth from the earth beneath her son. Some
accounts say that it was the
angel
g
abriel
who
actually opened the well head. In time, the well
fell into disuse and was forgotten. According to
Muslim accounts, Zamzam was rediscovered by
Muhammad’s grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, who
found precious golden objects and weapons in it.
These were removed and the well was reopened
for use by pilgrims. Providing water and food
to pilgrims, a prestigious service, remained the
monopoly of Muhammad’s family for generations
thereafter. In later centuries it became a lucrative
business for the Zamzamis, a class of water carri-
ers who served the needs of pilgrims.
Today Zamzam is no longer a well in the tra-
ditional meaning of the word. The government
of s
aUdi
a
rabia
has been engaged in significant
renovation and expansion projects through-
out the Haram area, including Zamzam. It has
installed pumps, filtering systems, and public
taps to make sure that Zamzam water is potable
and that it is readily available to the millions of
pilgrims who come to Mecca each year. Zamzam
water is bottled and distributed to pilgrims,
and there are even free Zamzam water dispens-
ers and public faucets at convenient locations
in and around the Sacred Mosque. To monitor
these efforts and help conserve the water sup-
ply, a Zamzam Studies and Research Center was
recently created under royal decree within the
Saudi Geological Survey.
Zamzam has also taken on modern commer-
cial and political significance. In 2002 an Iranian
soft drink company began to market a beverage
called Zamzam Cola. It became a popular drink
that year, especially among pilgrims in Mecca,
as an alternative to Pepsi and Coca-Cola. At the
time, many Muslims boycotted these drinks to
protest Israeli attacks against Palestinians and
the anticipated U.S. and British invasion of i
raq
,
which occurred in March 2003. In Saudi Arabia,
the government consulted with religious authori-
ties and decided to ban the import of the drink
because it felt that the commercial use of the
name zamzam was improper. The Iranian com-
pany continues to produce the beverage, how-
ever, and has distributed it as far away as Great
Britain.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
