How do I Identify Real Zamzam water from the fake one?

Zamzam is noble and blessed water. The Prophet (sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said the following about Zamzam water:

“Indeed it is blessed, and that like food, it fills.”[1.(Muslim no. 2473)] “And a cure for illness.”[2.(Abu Dawud At-Tiyalsi 2nd Volume no. 61)]. So these ahaadeeths prove its virtues, that it is a filling food, a cure for illness, and that it is blessed.

There are many people who sell fake zamzam water just to make money from the pilgrims. So It is very important that you know the right source to get zamzam water and how to identify fake ones.

1- Different Taste than Normal Water

Zamzam water has a strong mineral taste unlike any other water , some people try to add small quantity of ZamZam into regular water which would make the taste lighter but similar. Although zamzam has a definite taste, It is hard to identify zamzam water by just tasting it. Hence you need to know what source you get the zamzam from.

2- Source from where you got it

This is how the official Zamzam water bottle looks. Sealed Zamzam bottles come from the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Zamzam Water Project in the Kudai district of Makkah, run by the National Water Company (NWC). The standard bottle is 5 litres. NWC says it sells them from the project’s head office and through more than 750 outlets across the Kingdom, and small 330 ml bottles can be ordered through the Nusuk app.

• At Jeddah and Madinah airports, travellers can buy one 5-litre bottle per passenger (passport required) for about SAR 12.50, sold in flight-ready packaging
• At the project’s other outlets, NWC has quoted SAR 9.75 per 5-litre bottle (VAT included) with a limit of 4 bottles per person (as of December 2023)

Airlines flying out of Saudi Arabia generally accept only this official airport-packed bottle, usually one per passenger. Check your airline’s rules before you buy.

Other than these sources, if you get it from any other place you need to check and recheck before you actually buy them. You can learn more about Zamzam water at the Saudi National Water Company website here.

NWC has named branches of Panda, Bin Dawood and Danube in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah as authorised points of sale. The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques has warned that it takes no responsibility for bottles sold at unannounced points of sale.

Thus if you are certain about the source you got it from, you can be sure whether it is zamzam or not.