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The Islamic Bulletin

The story of Ibrahim (AS) is well known to Jews and Chris-

tians as well as to Muslims. In Islam he is remembered as one

of the great Prophets, and as the father of the Prophet Isma’il

(AS), who was the ancestor of Mohammed (SAW) himself.

Centuries ago, Hagar searched desperately for water in the

hills of Safa and Marwa to give to her newly born son Is-

mail (AS). 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 which came to be called Zamzam water.

Let me go back to how it all started. 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 as-

sumption that since the Ka’aba was a shallow place (below

sea level) and located in the center of the city of Makkah, all

the wastewater of the city collecting through the drains fell

into the well holding the water.

Fortunately, the news came to King Faisal’s ears who got ex-

tremely angry and decided to disprove the Egyptian doctor’s

provocative statement. He immediately ordered the Min-

istry of Agriculture and Water Resources to investigate and

send samples of Zamzam water to European laboratories for

testing the potability of the water.

The ministry then instructed the Jeddah Power and Desali-

nation 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) and 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 report-

ed to the authorities at the Ka’aba explaining the purpose

of my visit. They assigned 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 pilgrims ever since it came into

existence at the time of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), 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.

First he took a shower and descended into the water. Then

he straightened his body. I saw that the water level came up

to just above his shoulders. His height was around 5 feet, 8

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 pipe-

line 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 in-

stalled at the well for the Zamzam 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 ob-

served during the pumping period, but I knew that this was

the only method by which you 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 shout-

ed, “Alhamdulillah! I have found it. The sand is dancing be-

neath 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 I took the samples of

the water for European laboratories to test. Before I left the

Ka’aba, I asked the authorities about the other wells around

Makkah. I was told that these wells were mostly dry.

When I reached my office in Jeddah I reported my findings

to my boss who listened with great interest but made a very

irrational comment that the Zamzam well could be inter-

nally connected to the Red Sea. How was it possible when

Makkah is about 50 miles away from the sea and the wells

located before the city usually remains dry?

The results of the samples tested by the European labs and

the one we analyzed in our lab were found to be almost

identical. The difference between Zamzam water and other

water (city water) was in the quantity of calcium and magne-

sium salts. The content of these was slightly higher in Zam-

zam water. This may be why Zamzam water refreshes tired

pilgrims, but more significantly, the water contains fluorides

that have an effective germicidal action.

Moreover, the remarks of the European labs 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 chemi-

cal composition of the water. In fact, the more you explore,

the more wonders surface and you find yourself believing

implicitly in the miracles of Zamzam water that God be-

stowed as a gift on the faithful coming from far and wide to

the desert land for pilgrimage.

Let me sum up some of the features of Zamzam water. This

well has never dried up. On the contrary it has always ful-

filled the demand for water. It has always maintained the

same salt composition and taste ever since it came into ex-

istence. Its potability 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. Zamzam 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.

Are you ready to meet the woman who can get by without her looks?

It is late in the afternoon at the University of British Columbia and I

have been cooped up in this library for hours, trying to compose a

thesis for my American Literature term paper. Deciding that a break

would help clear my thoughts, I leave the confines of the library to sit

outside, only to hear a female voice come up from behind me to ask:

“Just how is it that you can live with yourself from day to day wearing

that THINGon your head and letting THEMcontrol your life?”Granted,

it is an original line, a creative way to break the ice, yet why the code

words? Only because I’ve been yelled at in public before for reasons

connected to my appearance do I know what this woman means.

Code word #1: “head thing”= 30inch X 30inch yellow and maroon

flower patterned polyester blend, a piece of cloth I happen to be

wearing to cover my head and neck.

Code word #2: “them”= all Muslim men who, sinister-like with

their dark beards, heavy accents, and hidden Uzi’s get a rush out

of making women their life-long slaves.

Having deciphered all this quickly, I turn to face the stranger- a

cross looking thing. I smile politely and signal to the empty chair

beside me: “Would you like to have a seat?”

HIJAB, the head to ankle covering that leaves only the face, hands,

and feet visible in public, has made me a very patient Muslim

woman. The brave individuals who have mustered the courage

to verbally express their opinions about my scarf haven’t been the

most trying. There are many who can’t formulate words coherent

enough to communicate their disapproval, and so, rely on simple

gestures and sign language.

Walking through downtown Vancouver, Canada, I’ve been fingered,

spat on, scowled, and cursed at. Stepping into an elevator, I once

traumatized a man who could do nothing but shuffle into the corner

of the empty lift and mutter “What the --? WHAT THE --?!?!?!?!”

I have to take the agitation, the horror, and even the hatred in a

stride. But never will I be silent about it.

I can ignore the flagrant distortions no more than I can deny the fact

that I am a Muslim living in Canada. Who I am and what popular

culture thinks I am, has become a tug-of-war-competition of who can

explain the status of theMuslimhijab-wearer convincingly. Themedia

tells the public that I am a weak freak of nature who has been forced

to subject herself to the tyranny of Muslim fundamentalists. Catherine

Meckes assesses that wearing hijab is “some kind of twisted logic”

because it entraps women like animals in a cage.

The Muslim dress code, she argues, is a form of hiding from society

so that I don’t have to deal with the realities of my “natural habitat.”

Ms. Meckes seems to be familiar enough with theWestern culture to

know that women are constantly objectified, used as commodities,

tools to sell beer and boost sales for the next football season. Sadly

enough, though, she views women who wish to distance themselves

from this commercial degradation with fear.

She finds women who cover “disturbing” and wished that she didn’t

have to confront them on their “home turf.” Pardonmy feeble-mind-

edness, I’ve pinned my scarf on too tight and squeezed reason out of

my brain....just WHO is running away from the truth? I have chosen

way of ridicule by a society that demands women to conform to certain

ideals. I have refused to hide in the crowded university hallways and

malls by looking the way Cindy, Cosmo, or Calvin Klein think I should

- all because I’m a spineless caged rodent?!?!

I have rejected the hip-hugging jeans, the breast-enhancing halter

tops, the poofy hair and made-up face, and accepted hijab so that

I can be appreciated for my intellect and personality rather than

my figure or fashion sense.

When I face a classmate or colleague I can be confident that my

body is not being scrutinized, my bra-strap or pantyline visible. I

have repudiated the perverted values of our society by choosing

to assert myself only through my mind. I understand my “natural

habitat” very well thank you!

I fully comprehend the distorted image of the “ideal woman,” but the dif-

ference betweenme and the CatherineMeckes’s of the world is that I am

NOT afraid to defy those standards. Islam liberatedme fromTHAT prison.

Perhaps hijab is so misunderstood because it is prescribed by a

religion that makes a bold and shocking statement: Women are

precious creatures who have the right to be valued for who they

are, and not what they can juggle.

When I decided to start wearing hijab, my mother pulled me aside and

posedthisquestion:“Ifyoufoundadiamondthatwasexquisiteineveryway,

would you show it to all your friends, let themgawk at its dazzle, caress it, or

would you covet the stone andprotect it by preserving its natural splendor?”

Once youbear something for all to see, the second youdisplay something

for its beauty, you objectify it and diminish its value. Because its worth is

built on its ability to attract, when it no longer elicits awe from onlookers

it becomes worthless. Is it a wonder that neck lines keep plunging every

year? - more cleavagemeans women won’t bore oglers, the commercial

industries, and the rest of society for awhile. But when will those skirts

quit shortening?? For how long will women remain sex objects??

Islam tells us that every woman is a jewel and when she respects herself

enough to preserve her beauty for herself and her loved ones, she rejects

being objectified by a society which does NOT value her.Only the dearest

people in my life knowme without hijab because they love me enough to

value ALL of me. John and Jane Doe don’t love me or care for me, so why

must Imeet theirnotionsof an“idealwoman” if theyaremeaningless tome?

It is the desire to please popular culture that makes 15 year old girls

want to fit into Kate Moss’s jeans by sticking their fingers down their

throats and wretching (throwing up) three times a day. It is the unat-

tainable Perfect-Body society has conjured, that make “fat”, “ugly” girls

splatter themselves on sidewalks because they just are “not thin and

pretty enough”. AND THEY TELL ME ISLAMOPPRESSES WOMEN??

I amthankful that I amnot suicidal or psychologically unbalancedbecause

I can’t meet the demands of my culture. I am fortunate that my concerns

and goals in life lie on a higher plane than the dictates of a pretty fashion

industry. I am quite content with my religion, for it values my power to

achieve great things through my mind, not through my body.

Whether I am physically beautiful or not, you have no clue. Perhaps

this fact is disturbing for Catherine Meckes and the library stranger

because they are not ready to meet a woman who can get by without

her looks. Then again, perhaps it is because they are just ignorant of

the (WHAT IS IT?) facts. Either way, I don’t need anyone’s sympathy,

I am not really that scary, and your anger does me no harm.

I am not under duress, or a male-worshipping female captive from

the barbarous Arabian deserts. I’VE BEEN LIBERATED!

“Your LordAllahhas decreed that youworshipnone but Himand that

you be kind to parents whether one or both of them attain old age

in your life. Say not to them a word of contempt nor repel them but

address them in terms of honor and out of kindness lower to them

the wing of humility and say - ‘My Lord bestow on both of them Your

mercy as they cherished me in my childhood.’” (Quran 17:23-24)

iracles of

amzam

Women In Islam