Gangs of mainly Bangladeshis, Burmese, Africans and now even Saudis are exploiting the ignorance of pilgrims in Makkah by running a massive Zamzam water scam to make extra money.
Arab News approached one of the gangs and asked its member to fill a 20-liter drum with Zamzam water. This small Burmese man took a pump and filled the drum charging SR17.
Drinking Zamzam water is from among the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and is something Muslims drink when breaking their fast during Ramadan. Pilgrims that come to the Kingdom flock in their thousands to water stations close to the Grand Mosque in Makkah to fill their containers with the blessed water to take back home.
However, Arab News has learned that groups of people have taken up positions near Zamzam stations to sell water that is supposed to be available to people for free. In fact, these people sell empty drums in different sizes at prices higher than drums containing Zamzam to coerce pilgrims to buy Zamzam water from them. The sellers are also known to increase the price of Zamzam water extortionately during the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Pilgrims that Arab News spoke to described the scene at filling stations as a mockery. Muhammad Yusuf from Egypt described the situation as being “ugly” and expressed alarm that individuals connected to the scams would line up first with their large gallons in the morning. “They have drums, they take too much time to fill up compared to the smaller drums that pilgrims have. It’s not fair that they carry these types of scams to make money and deny the pilgrims a quick service,” he said.
The station where Zamzam water is available is divided into two sections. The first section is for the general public and has 14 taps. They are clearly not enough for the high volume of pilgrims that come to get water. Pilgrims are not allowed more than five gallons and because of this a lot of overcrowding takes place, something that more than often leads to fighting.
The fact that the authorities do not control the taps is something that in turn creates a lot of chaos. In charge of the other section of the station is a company, whose workers fill drums for pilgrims for a small fee. This section has three times more numbers of taps than the public section. Both sections are also almost always overcrowded.
Away from the filling station, lined up on the street were large quantities of drums of different sizes that were being sold by Burmese and Africans. Selling Zamzam water like this is illegal; these people fill their gallons from the free taps and also sometimes from the side that is controlled by the company. In fact, these people are taking advantage of pilgrims and visitors who do not know that they are able to fill their drums with Zamzam water for free.
The men who run the scam arrive early in the morning to be the first in line. They bring with them large-sized drums together with five smaller drums, which is the limit any individual is allowed to fill. They then go back to their locations and fill their smaller drums using the water in the larger drums and then sell the smaller drums at extortionate prices. When pilgrims arrive at the station to fill their drums they see the overcrowding and the limited number of taps and are thus coerced to buy Zamzam from the water mafia at high prices just to avoid overcrowding.
One pilgrim directed Arab News to a hidden location near the station where a number of Burmese were busy mixing normal water with Zamzam water to sell to pilgrims.
Sara Yusuf, a pilgrim from Jordan, said: “You can’t trust these people, they mix Zamzam with normal water. An expert will easily notice that the water has been mixed and that they have been cheated.”
Standing in a long line was a pilgrim from the UAE. “I was once cheated by these gangs,” he said. “The water they are selling is not pure Zamzam water. I am standing here in this long line to fill Zamzam water because I do not want to be cheated again,” he said preferring to remain anonymous.
“Where are the police? How could they ignore people and allow these people to cheat pilgrims?” he added.
Arab News approached one of the groups and asked them to fill a 20-liter drum with Zamzam water. A small Burmese man took a pump and filled the drum charging SR17. The entire filling and transaction took place over dirty ground close to a pile of rubbish. There were a lot of mosquitoes and flies at the location casting doubt on the hygiene of the water.
Fadel Hussein, a member of the gang from Burma, said that on a daily basis during Ramadan he earns anything between SR1,000 to SR1,200. “In the last 10 days of Ramadan I make between SR1,500 to SR1,800 per day. This is not illegal; this is just an opportunity to make an honest living. Those that do not want to buy from us can just wait in line. Our job is to provide a quick service to pilgrims,” he said.
Its shocking how shameless people can be, right outside the House of Allah.
The Saudis need to sort this out and make it easier for people to fill up their own ZamZam. 14 taps obviously wouldn't be enough. InshaAllah they are working on it...
"...You are my Walî in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous." [Surah Yusuf 101]
ppl r really sad, i remem wen i went madinah and went close to the gate where RasoolAllah (sal Allah aleyhi wasalam) is buried, and there was dis man n he was throwin papers fru d gate & i asked wot u doin blud, n he sed its lottery numbers! n i was lik woh man like they come to holy places and stil dont stop may Allah (swt) guide us and them ameen
Jaa-Ro-Nee-Mo!!!
"they ask you when will the help of Allah (swt) come! Certainly Allah (Swt) help is always near"
What is the saudi government doing to stop this? I mean... its Makkah!
they know everything
also there are so many other things are going around in haram .
if someone is makeing 1200SR in a day he must be paying half or more to his sheikh ( whose iqama he has). for example has anyone seen pakistani beggars , specially ladies , i was told they make atleast 80 thousand saudi riyals each in peak seasons like ramdhan and hajj, sometimes they do get arrested but u will see them again in few days. ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST
Zamzam well is 30 meters deep. Depth to water is 3.23 meters. There are some springs contributing to the well at approximately 13 meters below surface.
*Without Allah, without Islam, life would be meaningless. If I've ever learned patience, it's because of this. Alhamdulillah...*
Zamzam well is 30 meters deep. Depth to water is 3.23 meters. There are some springs contributing to the well at approximately 13 meters below surface.
I heard there is scientific evidence or reseach which shows the well is ...endless, or am I naive in considering this...
i dunno if what i put is right. its what ive read. On wikipedia it says the well has a pipe but i read an article that someone went to do a research about it and they found no pipes. Im gunna try to find it. zamzam water has more calcium than regular water.
*Without Allah, without Islam, life would be meaningless. If I've ever learned patience, it's because of this. Alhamdulillah...*
no wonder i've seen advertisement here that they are selling zamzam...i thought it was a fake zamzam....
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
no wonder i've seen advertisement here that they are selling zamzam...i thought it was a fake zamzam....
In 2004 i was standing in line to fill zamzam in Madinah,at that time a bangali worker who was working at the zamzam place in Masjid E Nabavi told us that dont fill zamzam from here if u want to take it to ur country as its not pure , filll ur drums from Makkah.
we asked our family friends (they live in madinah) about zamzam in madinah they said its pure .
Alalh knows better
also i remember a worker at zamzam place in Madinaha sked me for money to fill my drum at that time zamzam palce was closed he said ill fill u the drum but how much money u will give me.i went back and lied to my family that zamzam is not available at this time as i was affraid that they will force me to give him money as our flight was on next day but Alhmdolillah we got zamzam in the evening without paying .
i dunno if what i put is right. its what ive read. On wikipedia it says the well has a pipe but i read an article that someone went to do a research about it and they found no pipes. Im gunna try to find it. zamzam water has more calcium than regular water.
Jazak Allah khair ukhti
ZamZam: Best water around!
CALCUIM & MAGNESUIM IN ZAM ZAM WATER:
The difference between Zamzam water and other water (city water) was in the quantity of calcium and magnesium salts. The content of these was slightly higher in Zamzam water. This may be why this water refreshes tired hajis.
FLOURIDE IN ZAMZAM WATER:
But more significantly, the water contains fluorides that have an effective germicidal action.
Moreover, the remarks of the European laboratories showed that the water was fit for drinking
Let me sum up some of the features of Zamzam water:
Never Dried Up:This well has never dried up. On the contrary it has always fulfilled the demand for water. = It is endless
Same Salt composition:It has always maintained the same salt composition and taste ever since it came into existence.
Portability:Its portability has always been universally recognised as pilgrims from all over the world visit Ka'aba every year for Hajj and umrah, but have never omplained about it. Instead, they have always enjoyed the water that refreshes them.
Universal taste:Water tastes different at different places. Zamzam water's appeal has always been universal.
No Biological Growth: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 odour problems. But in the case of the Zamzam water well, there wasn't any sign of biological growth.
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