Zamzam: Stories of Fulfilment

Salam. We mentioned previously the noble hadith which encourages us to use Zamzam as a means to have our prayers fulfilled. Please find below some accounts of the Imams of our community (ummah) who literally tasted the reality of the words of the Most Truthful One (Allah bless Him and give Him peace). This is a rough draft which we will add to Inshallah, taken from Sh. Bakdash’s work.

Imam Abu Hanifah and Knowledge
Al-Zamzami mentions in Nashr al-Aas (L16) citing from ‘Qurrat al-Ain’ by Sh. Ghassan al-Waiz al-Rumi that:

Imam Abu Hanifah (Allah be pleased with him) drank Zamzam so that he may be the most knowledgeable of the scholars, and he was

Al-Busnawi said in his treatise on the Maqam Ibrahim (L20) that:

It is reported that Abu Hanifah (Allah have mercy on him) drank Zamzam for knowledge and understanding, and he was the most knowledgeable of the people of his time

A Student Drinks Zamzam So That His Sheikh Narrates to Him
The student of Imam Ibn Uyaynah drank Zamzam so that his Sheikh would narrate a hundred (100) hadith to him. Abu Bakr al-Dinawari relates in his work al-Mujalasah[1] from al-Humaidi who said:

We were with Sufyan bin Uyaynah, he narrated to us the hadith: ‘The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for’. A person got up from the gathering (left) and then returned and said: O Abu Muhammad: Is not the hadith which you related to us regarding Zamzam Sahih? He replied: Yes, the man said: I just drank a bucket of Zamzam water so that you narrate a hundred hadith to me. Sufyan said to him: Sit, and he sat, and he narrated a hundred hadith to him.

Imam al-Shafi Hits His Target
Hafidh Ibn Hajar said:

It has become well known regarding al-Shafi, the Imam, that he drank Zamzam water for archery, such that he would hit his target nine times out of ten

And in another version:

Imam al-Shafi (Allah have mercy on him) said: I drank Zamzam water for three matters: For archery, and I would hit the target ten times out of ten or nine times out of ten, for knowledge, and I am as you see me, and for entering paradise, and I hope to attain this[2]

Imam Ibn Khuzaimah Explains His Scholarship
It is related from Imam al-Hafidh Ibn Khuzaimah the author of the Sahih who passed away in the year 311 (Allah have mercy on him) that:

He was asked from where did you gain knowledge? He said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless Him and give Him peace) said: ‘The water of Zamzam is whatever it is drunk for’, when I drunk it I asked Allah for beneficial knowledge[3]

Khatib al-Baghdadi’s Three Prayers
It is reported from Imam al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ali, the great Hafidh, the Muhaddith of al-Sham and al-Iraq, who passed away in the year 463 AH (Allah have mercy on him) that when he performed Hajj he drank Zamzam three times and asked Allah (the Exalted) for three things….

The first: That he narrate the history of Baghdad
The second: That he dictate hadith in the Jami’ al-Mansur
The third: To be buried next to the grave of Bishr al-Hafi

Allah decreed all of the above to take place[4]

Imam Ibn Arabi al-Maliki: Knowledge and Action
It is reported from Qadi Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Abdullah Ibn al-Arabi al-Maliki, author of Ahkam al-Quran [d.543 AH] (Allah have mercy upon him) that he said:

I was staying in Makkah in Dhul Hijjah in the year 489. I would drink a large amount of Zamzam water, every time I drank it I intended with it knowledge and faith, until Allah opened for me knowledge from its blessing in a period that He made easy for me. However I forgot to drink it for action, if only I had drunk it for them both! So that Allah give me an opening in them both, but He did not decree this, and my desire towards knowledge is more than that of action. And we ask Allah for protection and success through his mercy[5]

Imam al-Jazari and His Fathers Intention
The Imam, Hafidh and Quran recitor Muhammad bin Muhammad al-JAzari [d.833 AH] in his book Jami al-Asanid mentioned his Sheikhs, the first whom was his father Muhammad al-Jazari (725-785) May Allah have mercy on all of them. He said:

He (meaning his father) told me: I drank Zamzam water so that Allah bless me with a son who would be from the people of the Quran, I married your mother in the year 750, and you were born on the 25th of Ramadan in the year 751

Hafidh Ibn Hajar and His Maqam
Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani [d.852] (Allah have mercy on him) said:

And I drank it on an occasion and asked Allah, this was at a time when I was at the beginning of my study of hadith, that He bless me with the rank of al-Dhahabi in terms of memorisation of hadith. I then preformed Hajj again after a period of approximately 20 years and I find in myself a desire to exceed this rank, so I asked Him for one higher than it, and I hope that I reach it.[6]

His student Hafidh al-Sakhawi said:

Allah realised this wish of his, and a number bore witness to it[7]

Likewise Imam al-Suyuti said after mentioning the above that:

He reached this (rank) and exceeded it[8]

Imam al-Suyuti and High Standards
Imam al-Suyuti [d.911 AH] (Allah have mercy on him) said:

When I performed Hajj I drank from Zamzam water for some matters, from them: That I reach in Fiqh the level of al-Sheikh Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini, and in hadith the level of Hafidh Ibn Hajar[9]

The student of al-Suyuti Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Ali al-Dawudi al-Maliki, author of ‘Tabaqat al-Mufassirin’ [d.945 AH] (Allah have mercy on
him) said:

By the One in whose Hand is my soul, that which I believe and is a blessing from Allah upon me is that the level that he (al-Suyuti) reached in knowledge, and comprehended, no one else has reached, nor has any of his Sheikhs been acquainted with, let alone those who are less than them.[10]

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We ask Allah (the Exalted) to forgive our shortcomings, grant us wellbeing and deflect from us all calamities, for Indeed he does not burden His servants with more that they can bear. And we ask Him to help us realise all of our prayers made whilst drinking Zamzam.

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[1] It was mentioned by Hafidh Ibn Hajar in his ‘Juz Ma Zamzam’ (p.271), the work is ‘al-Mujalasah wa Jawahir al-Ilm’ (2/342) by Ahmad bin Marwan Abi Bakr al-Dinawari. He was a Qadi, Maliki Faqih, the Allamah and Muhaddith. He passed away in the year 330 (AH). A biographical entry can be found for him in Siyar al-Ialam al-Nubala (15/427) and Ialam (1/256).
[2] Nashr al-Aas (L16), al-Jawhar al-Munazzam (p.44-45) citing from al-Jawahir al-Maknunah of Ibn Zahirah
[3] Siyar al-Ialam al-Nubala (14/370), Tadhkirah al-Huffadh (2/721)
[4] Tadhkirah al-Huffadh (3/1193), Tarikh Dimashq of Ibn Asakir (7/24), al-Jawahir wal Durar of al-Sakhawi (1/166)
[5] Ahkam al-Quran (1/1124)
[6] Juz’ fi Hadith Ma Zamzam of Hafidh Ibn Hajar (p.271)
[7] Al-Jawahir wal-Durar fi Tarjamah Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Hajar (1/166)
[8] Tabaqat al-Huffadh (p.547)
[9] Husn al-Muhadarah (1/338)
[10] Al-Jawhar al-Munazzam (p.45)