The Well of Zamzam (or the Zamzam Well, or just Zamzam; Arabic: زمزم) is a well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 20 m (66 ft) east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic belief, it is a miraculously-generated source of water from God, which began thousands of years ago when Abraham's (Ibrāhīm) infant son Ishmael (ʼIsmāʻīl) was thirsty and kept crying for water. Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink its water.
Muslims believe that the Zamzam well is a contemporary miracle, never having gone dry despite the millions of liters of water attributed to the well consumed every year. It had been deepened several times in history during periods of severe droughts. The safety of consuming water from the well has recently been debated in light of a BBC study into Zamzam water's arsenic content, though Saudi authorities state that the levels are much lower than the maximum permitted by the World Health Organization.
Muslims believe that the Zamzam well is a contemporary miracle, never having gone dry despite the millions of liters of water attributed to the well consumed every year. It had been deepened several times in history during periods of severe droughts. The safety of consuming water from the well has recently been debated in light of a BBC study into Zamzam water's arsenic content, though Saudi authorities state that the levels are much lower than the maximum permitted by the World Health Organization.
Source: Daily Aaj
