All praise is due to Allah alone, and may the Salah and Salam of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and his companions. To answer your question, we say while seeking the success from Allah: It was narrated that on the authority of Abdullah ibn al-Moamil from Abu al-Zubair from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may the Salah and Salam of Allah be upon him) said: “The water of zam-zam is (good) for whatever it is intended” Reported by Ahmad (14892), Ibn Majah (3062), al-Buhaiqi (9442) and others. Al-Buhaiqi commented: “This repot was only transmitted through ‘Abdullah ibn al-Moamil but some scholars ruled the report as authentic because the narration of Abdullah ibn al-Moamil is corroborated by another route; al-Hafidh Ibn al-Qayyem and Ibn Hajar ruled it as hasan.” Al-Shawkani said in Nayl al-Awtar (8/51): “The report proves that the water of zam-zam is good for everything it is drunk for, whether it is intended for a worldly benefit or a benefit from the Hereafter. This is because the statement is said in a general form and that means it includes everything.” This view was held by other scholars too such as Mujahid who said: “If you drink it seeking health, Allah will give you healing. If you drink it to satisfy your hunger, Allah will satisfy your hunger. If you drink it to quench your thirst, Allah will quench your thirst.” Al-Nawawi said in Al-Athkar (p.333): “This is what scholars and righteous people do; they drank the water of zam-zam with the intention that Allah fulfills their esteemed wishes, and and their wishes were fulfilled. The scholars said: It is recommended for a person who is drinking it to be forgiven or cured to say before drinking it: ‘Oh Allah! I learnt that the Messenger of Allah said: The water of zam-zam is good for whatever is drunk for. O Allah! I am drinking it to forgive me, or to such and such … etc.” And Allah knows best.” It was reported that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) he said when he drank the water of zam-zam: “Oh Allah I am drinking it for the thirst of the Judgment Day.” The same was reported from Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak.. Al-Mundhiri said in his book al-Targhib wal Tarhib (2/136): It was narrated by Ahmad with an authentic chain of narrators. “ Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said when he drank zam-zam water, "O Allah! I seek beneficial knowledge, abundant provision, and cure from all diseases “ Reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak (1739) Ibn Hajar commented on the report “The water of zam-zam is good for whatever is drunk for” by saying: “It was known that Imam al-Shafe’i drank zam-zam water to be a good shooter; he used to score 9 out of 10. Al-Hakim drank it to improve his authoring skills; as a result he became the best of his era. There are many scholars who drank zam-zam water to achieve a particular matter and their purposes were fulfilled. Al-Hafidh Zain al-Din al-Iraqi said: “I was still a beginner in the knowledge of Hadith so I drank zam-zam water and I asked Allah to make me in the level of al-Dhahbi in the knowledge of Hadith; after twenty years I performed hajj I found myself exceeding the level I asked for. So, I asked Him for a higher rank and I hope to achieve it.” However, some scholars stated that the benefits of zam-zam water are limited to matters related to the body such as quenching the thirst, satiating hunger and curing illness. Evidently, the water of zam-zam is a blessed water as noted in the narration reported by Sahih Muslim (2473): Abdullah ibn al-Samit narrated that Abu Dhar (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed 30 days without food and only living on the water of zam-zam, until he became fat because of that. When he informed the Prophet of that, he (may the Salah and Salam of Allah be upon him) said to him: “It is a blessed water, a food that makes one satiated.” The apparent meaning of this report is that the intention is enough to attain the benefit when drinking zam-zam water. This is the view of many scholars and the above mentioned narration of Abu Dhar supports this view because he was full to satisfaction without supplicating. Thus, it appears to me that having the intention is enough to attain the benefit when drinking zam-zam water and the supplication is only to show more emphasis on the intention but not a requirement. And Allah knows best. Your brother, Khalid al-Mosleh, 11/3/1429 H.
