How pure is Zamzam water sold on Saudi streets?

All roads leading out of Makkah are dotted with people of different nationalities selling Zamzam water bottles to visitors and Umrah pilgrims. But several people are questioning the very source of the water: whether it is pure Zamzam or mixed with tap water, a report in Al-Hayat daily said.

The report cited several people denouncing the lack of enough monitoring on the sale of Zamzam water, which is carried by pilgrims from across the world to their home countries. The report reiterated that unauthorized sale of Zamzam water is illegal.

The selling of the holy water is being done with impunity right under the nose of the authorities and close to the bottling plant at Kudai in Makkah. A bottle of Zamzam which costs SR5 at the plant is being sold for SR15 to SR20 or even higher just outside the plant.

Ayman Hilal, a citizen, said he is afraid that the water he has taken from hawkers outside the plant is not pure.

Several other people cited in the report said they have a feeling that regular tap water is mixed with Zamzam.

Ahmed Al-Matrafi, a citizen, said he has seen residue on the bottom of the bottles many times, which indicates that normal water has been mixed with Zamzam.

However, a vendor who declined to be named, said there is no fraud involved and added that there is no impurity in the Zamzam bottles. "We sell the bottles at very reasonable prices, since little halal (permissible) income is far better and blessed than haram (ill-gotten) income," he said.

He said he goes to Makkah everyday to secure his share of Zamzam, and adds the cost of the bottles, and his expenses for the daily trip, and only gains very little profit.

Grand Mufti and head of the Board of Senior Scholars Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh has called for the intervention of security bodies and the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques to stop the unauthorized selling of Zamzam water.

He added that the government has made Zamzam available to everyone to prevent vendors from controlling its availability and selling it at high prices.