A spring outside Makkah still carries her name, more than a thousand years later.
In the 8th century, water in Makkah was so scarce that a single water-skin could sell for a dinar. Zubaidah bint Ja’far, wife of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had the money to pay for water one Hajj at a time. She chose to bring it from a spring at Wadi Nu’man, through mountains and solid rock, all the way to the city.
She was warned about the cost. As the story goes, her answer was: “Do it, even if every swing of the pickaxe costs a dinar.”
The water kept flowing to pilgrims for centuries. People still call it Ayn Zubaidah.
She built a waqf. Give once, and it keeps giving.
Recent Comments