November 03 2003 Radio seminars- Dar Al-Fatwa Radio- scientific miracles (09-30): Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us. You are the All- Knower, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us what is good for us, and benefit us from what You taught us, and increase our knowledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep away from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. Verses (Ayahs) from the Quran: In the Aame of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful, and peace and blessings be upon our noble prophet (PBUH). The first Ayah (Quranic verse) revealed to the prophet (PBUH) ordered us to read. It ordered us to seek knowledge, Allah says: ((Read! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists),)) [Al-Alaq, 1] Requesting more knowledge is another story, Allah says: ((And say: "My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.")) [Ta-Ha, 114] Allah has explained the noble Quran in details for people who know: 1
((A Book whereof the Verses are explained in detail; A Qur'an in Arabic for people who know.)) [Fussilat, 3] And when one fears Allah, Allah teaches him according to the divine promise in the following Ayah: ((So be afraid of Allah; and Allah teaches you.)) [Al-Baqarah, 282] Zamzam water: It is a pleasure to have with us Dr. Mohammad Rateb Al Nabulsi, the lecturer in Damascus University, Khatib and a preacher in Damascus' Mosques. Welcome Dr. Nabulsi. One of the ancient miracles that took place a long time ago is the miracle of a water spring that went out of desert for our Master Isma'el. Zamzam water was mentioned in the prophetic Ahadith, so if we were to start our meeting by mentioning this miracle in general, what would you say about it? In The Name Of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Praise be to Allah, The Lord (The One and Only) of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon our master, Prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. The title for this blessed meeting could be " Zamzam water". The water of Zamzam well was described by the prophet (PBUH) as follows: ((Verily, it is blessed, it is food that nourishes)) [Narrated by Imam Muslim, by Obadah Ibn Al Samit] 2
In the narration of Bazzar in an authentic (sahih) chanin of narrators, narrated Abu Dhar, May Allah be pleased with him, he added: ((... and a healing for sickness.)) [Al Bazzar, by Safiyah] Ibn Juraij, May Allah have mercy on him, narrated: I overheard that: ((The best water on the face of the earth is the water of Zamzam)) [Attabarani in Al Awsat and Al Kabir, all narrators are authenticated] Prophetic texts and facts: I would like to start by mentioning some prophetic Ahadith followed by scientific proved facts. In another Hadith, narrated by Jabir Ibn Abdullah, he said: I have heard the prophet (PBUH) saying: ((The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for.)) [Ibn Majah] This means that it has multiple benefits. And in another Hadith, narrated by Ibn Abbas, May Allah be pleased with both of them: ((If you drink it seeking health, Allah will give you healing, if you drink it seeking refuge with Allah, Allah will grant you refuge and if you drink it to quench your thirst, Allah will quench your thirst.)) [Alhakem in the Mustadrek] I think that this explains the previous Hadith in which the prophet (PBUH) said: ((The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for.)) Every person has an intention when he/she drinks Zamzam water. It seems that drinking Zamzam water is like an act of worship. ((Mohammad Ibn Abdulrahman Ibn Abu Bakr narrated; I was with Ibn Abbas when a man showed up, so Ibn Abbas asked him: Where did you come from? The man answered: From Zamzam, so he asked again: Did you drink 3
its water as you should? The man asked again: How should I drink it? Ibn Abbas said: When you drink Zamzam water, face the Ka bah, say Bismillah, pause to take a breath three times, drink till you feel full, then praise Allaah after you finish, for the prophet PBUH said: "The difference between the believers and the hypocrites is that the later don t drink of Zamzam till they feel full (Tadullo )")) [Sunnan Ibn Majah] "Tadullo'" is to drink until you feel full and to over-satisfy your thirst from this water. Of course we should follow the prophetic Sunnah since these Ahadith are the prophet's words, and we know that the prophet (PBUH) is infallible. In other words, his words, acts and whatever he accepted are Sunnah, and Allah asked us to follow the prophet (PBUH) in everything, Allah says: ((And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it).)) [Al-Hashr, 7] The sunnah by definition is the prophet's words, actions and things he accepted, and we should apply it, for Allah granted him the infallibility in his sayings, actions and approval. Some people might assume that the prophet (PBUH) is not infallible, but such an assumption means that the order to follow him could lead us to wrong doings. Many people hope that we adhere with the Quran only, but this is against the orders of the Quran as Allah orders us to follow the prophet (PBHU). The meaning of "Tadallo' ": Dear Dr. Nabulsi, you have mentioned the following Hadith: ((The difference between the believers and the hypocrites is that the later don t drink of Zamzam till they get full (tadullo )) What is the meaning of Tadullo'? "Tadullo'" is to drink to be full and to over-satisfy your thirst with this water. Moreover there are Etiquettes for drinking. ((Mohammad Ibn Abdulrahman Ibn Abu Bakr said, I was with Ibn Abbas when a man showed up, so Ibn Abbas asked him: Where did you come from? The man answered: From Zamzam, so he asked again: Did you drink its water as you should? The man asked again: How should I drink it? Ibn 4
Abbas said: When you drink Zamzam water, face the Ka bah, say Bismillah, pause to take a breath three times, drink until you feel full, then praise Allah after you finish, for the prophet PBUH said: "The difference between the believers and the hypocrites is that the later don t drink of Zamzam till they get full (tadullo )) [Sunnan Ibn Majah] Observing Tadullo': Upon applying the previous prophetic instructions, the noble companions, their followers and lot of scholars and common people were keen to reach Tadullo' when they drink Zamzam water especially when they were performing Hajj (the obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca) and Umrah (the supererogatory pilgrimage performed in Mecca). The word Tadullo' is taken from Del' (rib) and Tadullo' means to fill the ribs from this water accompanied by a specific intention (supplication) when drinking it, for supplication is commendable when you drink Zamzam water and that is because Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for. It was narrated that Umar Ibn Al Khattab, May Allah be pleased with him, used to say the following supplication when he drank Zamzam water: ((O Allah, I am drinking it to ward off my thirst on the Day of Resurrection.)) It was also narrated that Ibn Abbas used to say when he drank Zamzam water: ((O Allah, I ask you to grant me beneficial knowledge, plentiful provision and healing from every disease)) Some scholars also said: (Zamzam water is the best and noblest of all waters, the highest in status, the dearest to people, the most precious and valuable to them. It was dug by Gabriel and is the water with which Allah quenched the thirst of Isma'il.) [Ibn Al Qayem in Zad Al Ma'ad] 5
After we have mentioned the prophetic texts related to Zamzam water, what does science and scientific researches say about it. Scientific studies about Zamzam water: Do you have any scientific studies in hands? Now we are getting to the central point. We started by mentioning the authentic prophetic texts about Zamzam water. In the years 1973 and 1980, Zamzam water was chemically analyzed by wellknown international specialized companies, and the results were amazing They indicated that Zamzam water had no trace of any polluting bacteria. Moreover, it is considered as a mineral water. Mineral water is defined as a kind of water which contains 150-350 milligrams of mineral salts in every one liter of it (such water is bottled and sold to people. The analysis showed that Zamzam water contains 2000 milligrams of mineral salts in every one liter of it, some of which are Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium and others. The blessed water: Does this water have any qualities that make it special in regards of worship, or any other qualities? There are a lot of facts about this water and I will mention them inshaallah. Zamzam water is the richest water in Calcium, for it reaches 200 milligrams in one liter. The words of the prophet (PBUH) were very true when he said: 6
((Verily, it is blessed, it is a food that nourishes)) ((... and a healing for sickness.)) As you all know, the skeleton of the human being has the ability to renew its cells and it has what is called "destruction and instruction process". If one neglects his body s need of calcium, his skeleton will be at risk of having osteoporosis or osteomalacia (bone loss) which is a serious disease, and in such cases any fraction in the pelvic at an old age will be a disaster. For that, this water is blessed: ((It is a food that nourishes)) Facts and statistics: It was scientifically proved recently that the diseases of the heart's coronary artery are less in the bodies of those who drink such water. Thus the prophet's words were true when he said: ((... and a healing for sickness.)) Every word said by the prophet indicates a scientific fact that has been proved later on by scientists. Carbonated water (soda water) is considered as a means to help digesting food if it contains more than 250 milligrams of Bicarbonate in every liter of it. Evian water source in France is considered as the most famous soda water, for it contains 357 milligrams of Bicarbonate in every liter of it. Now pay attention: Zamzam water contains 366 milligrams of Bicarbonate in every one liter of it, and thus it is the richest water in Bicarbonate in the whole world. The prophet's words were true when he said: ((The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for.)) 7
A cure for every disease: Dear sir, did scientists, especially doctors, consider prescribing this water to their patients in order to cure specific diseases? Absolutely, for the prophet (PBUH) said: ((... and a healing for sickness.)) Hence, let us look for the specific medical indications of this water. By the way, I consider the following Hadith as a prophetic miracle, Jaber narrated that the prophet (PBUH) said: ((Every illness has a cure, and when the proper remedy is applied to the disease it cures it with the permission of Allah)) [Sahih Muslim] If this Hadith were to be read by a patient, his heart would be filled with hope and trust in Allah the Almighty, on the other hand, if it were to be read by a doctor, he would feel that he can do a lot more. ((Every illness has a cure...)) There is still one illness which I call the exit illness, and which has no cure, it is the illness of death. It all starts with an intractable disease in a part of the body that gets worse by time and leads to death even if the afflicted was a prophet, a notable person or a pious one, for the illness of death is the human exit from this life (to the other world) and it is the incurable disease unlike other diseases included in the following hadith: ((Every illness has a cure...)) Back to answer your question: In a book that was published in 1995, medical scientists mentioned that the mineral water is good for a lot of rheumatic diseases, for peptic acidity, for chronic diarrhea, and for indigestion. Moreover it has diuretic effect, laxative effect and it restores the lacked minerals in the body. The prophet's words were true when he said: ((If you drink it seeking health, Allah will give you healing, if you drink it seeking refuge with Allah, Allah will grant you refuge and if you drink it to quench your thirst, Allah will quench your thirst.)) 8
Drinking Zamzam is an act or worship: The question to be asked is: Why drinking Zamzam water is considered as an act or worship? To answer this question: Zamzam water is kind of salty water, whereas man long for sweet water. Thus since Muslims drink this water despite its salty taste because they believe that it is a blessed water, not to mention drinking of this water till one is full, this action is a proof of their faith. A famous story about Zamzam water: Glory be to Allah! Lot of outstanding facts aforementioned about this water being a mineral water, a cure and a miracle, but has it ever happened that a person was cured by drinking this water? I know a famous story about a Moroccan teacher who lived in Paris. She was afflicted with a malignant tumor in her brain and was told by her specialized doctor that she had only a few weeks left for her to live. Accordingly, she chose to move to the sacred land (Mecca) and offer Omrah at the end of her life during which she drank unbelievable amounts of Zamzam water and she was totally cured afterward. Upon going back to France, she met her doctor and told him what happened; also she published her story in which she mentioned how Allah cured her by this water in His sacred house. The past is in line with the present: I really want to ask what scientific institutes were there in the prophet's era to give him these outstanding facts about Zamzam water that match the most recent scientific studies? What are the specialized research institutions that discovered these facts about Zamzam water in the prophetic era? What kind of gigantic laboratories which analyzed and brought forth the exact amounts of mineral salts in Zamzam water on which the prophet depended when he described this water? It is none of that, it is just the revelation. ((Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only an Inspiration that is inspired.)) [An-Najm, 3-4] I tend to call this matching of the prophet's words 1400 years ago with the most recent scientific facts as proofs of Mohammad's (PBUH) prophethood. Whenever a Quranic Ayah and a proved scientific fact match with spontaneously and completely I would say: this is one side of the inimitability of the Quran. 9
However, whenever the prophetic words (Hadith) match completely with a scientific fact, I tend to call it a proof of Mohammad's prophethood, distinguishing it from the inimitability of the Quran. Accordingly, the title of this meeting could be "some proofs of Mohammad's prophethood". At the end of this episode, and since we tackled the issue Zamzam water, we invoke Allah the Almighty to let us and all of you drink from the basin of His prophet (PBUH) (in the hereafter) and to drink from Zamzam water (in the worldly life) which welled up in the desert for the sake of our Master Isma'el (PBUH), and from which we are still drinking till our present day. Brothers in faith and Islam, see you in next episode. Wassalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatoo Allah Wa Barakatoh (May Allah grant you peace, blessings and mercy) Translation : Noura Al-Sharabi Edited by : Maha Sulieman 10