How pure is Zamzam water sold on streets?
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
MADINAH — 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.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140722212324
Begging a major nuisance for Makkah residents
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
MAKKAH — Begging in the holy city has become a phenomenon, especially during the fasting month of Ramadan and the Haj season when large numbers of pilgrims and visitors come to the Kingdom, according to local residents.
According to official statistics, the majority of the beggars are expatriates, particularly from the African continent and Yemen.
The beggars may use an existing disability or fake a new one to obtain sympathy.
Many beggars usually squat on the roads leading to the Grand Mosque.
A number of citizens have expressed anger over the presence of beggars in the holy city and said they are harming the Kingdom's reputation.
Assim Khalil, a Saudi resident, questioned how long begging would continue during Ramadan and Haj.
He said beggars are exploiting the goodwill of pilgrims to make huge sums of money by faking disabilities.
Khalil accused certain countries, which he did not identify, of encouraging low-income citizens to fake disabilities before sending them to the Kingdom to beg during the fasting month and pilgrimage season.
Mohammed Al-Harbi commended the efforts of the Makkah municipality that succeeded in reducing the number of beggars in the central area around the Grand Mosque. He said as a result many of the beggars have changed course and are now carrying out their activities along the roads leading to the Grand Mosque and at the traffic lights.
Al-Harbi recalled that a beggar on a stretcher was asking people for money at the Al-Rusaifah parking lot. "But when the beggar saw a policeman approaching, he dropped his stretcher and ran like a sprinter," he said.
Haitham Ahmed said begging has become a job for unemployed people. He said: “This is an easy and well paying job. “You can make easy money by becoming a beggar, especially if you fake a disability.”
Ahmed said some of the beggars would not hesitate to get abusive with those who did not give them money.
He recalled a Yemeni woman who was begging at a traffic light called him bad names when he refused to give her money.
He said his friends were also cursed by beggars for not giving them money.
Akram Hussain said beggars are now concentrating in the neighborhoods of Al-Hafair, Al-Shabakiyah and Al-Misyal.
He noted that a number of men and women from African countries would come to this area with their children to beg worshippers for money.
Hussain said an initial group of beggars give their place to others from their country when they make enough money.
According to officials at the Umrah and Haj companies, many pilgrims come to the Kingdom with the sole purpose of begging or stealing. They said they would not hesitate to inform the security forces when they see any pilgrim extending hands to worshippers, asking for money.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140722212328
