First, we will address the subject of water, for it is the source of life. On page 314 of his book, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim discusses the subject of water.
As we know, the human body is made up of 70% water; consequently, fasting during the month of Ramadan will be based mainly on hydration. Allah says in His noble Book: "And We made from water every living thing." Indeed, water is vital, and without it no organism could grow, survive, or reproduce.
Furthermore, it ensures the distribution of nutrients, oxygen, and hormones throughout the body, and allows the elimination of metabolic waste. During the long hours of fasting, the first thing the body will suffer from is the lack of water.
We should therefore take care to maintain and build up our water reserves in order to preserve a balance that allows essential functions to be maintained, by drinking a sufficient amount of water and consuming water-rich foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits, or yogurt.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim says in his book that water is the substance of life, the best of drinks, and one of the basic elements of the world; and even more, one of its essential elements, since the sky was created from its vapors, the earth from its foam, and Allah drew from it every living thing. He also says that water is cold and moist by nature.
It overcomes heat, preserves the body's moisture, provides a substitute for whoever lacks it, thins food, and helps it pass into the vessels.
The quality of water is assessed in ten ways: first, by its color. It should be clear.
Second, by its smell. It should be odorless.
Third, by its taste. It should be good and sweet, like that of the Nile and the Euphrates.
Fourth, by its weight. It should be light and fluid.
Fifth, by its flow, which should be good.
Sixth, by its source, which should be deep.
Seventh, by its exposure to sun and wind. It should not be hidden underground, so that sun and wind can purify it.
Eighth, by its movement, which should be fast and agitated.
Ninth, by its abundance, which should allow it to eliminate the residues and waste carried into it.
Tenth, by its flow direction, which should run from north to south, or from west to east.
Ibn al-Qayyim says that if one considers all these criteria, they will only be found combined in four rivers, which are the Nile, the Euphrates, "as-Sayhun," and "al-Jayhun." And in a hadith reported by Imam Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet ﷺ said that these four rivers are rivers of Paradise.
The lightness of water is judged in three ways.
The first is its ability to heat or cool quickly. Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician, said: "Water that heats or cools quickly is the lightest."
The second is by weighing it on a scale.
The third consists of boiling two pieces of cotton of equal weight, in two separate waters, then drying them completely and weighing them afterward. The lighter piece will indicate the lighter water.
Ibn al-Qayyim says that even though water is fundamentally cold and moist, its potency shifts when causes arise that bring about a change.
Water exposed to the north and sheltered from all other directions will be cold, and will retain a dryness acquired from the north wind, and likewise for the other directions.
Water springing from minerals will take on the nature of the mineral and will have its effect on the body. It is important to choose water that is sweet and beneficial to people, especially during Ramadan, in order to purify the body. One should be careful not to drink ice-cold water at the time of "al-iftar" (the meal that breaks the fast), nor after intercourse, nor upon waking after a shower, nor after eating fruit. It is likewise best not to drink right after eating food; it is preferable to wait a while. Lukewarm water causes swelling, cold water is more beneficial internally than externally, and the reverse is true for hot water.
Very cold water is harmful to the teeth, and drinking it regularly causes bleeding, inflammation of the mucous membranes, and chest pain. Excess of cold or hot water harms the nerves and the organs, which is why one should alternate with fruits and vegetables. Hot water soothes the pain of hot humors, clears away excess, moistens, and warms. Drinking it corrupts digestion, causes food to float on the stomach's water and softens it, does not quench thirst quickly, and softens the body. Consumed in excess, it can cause illness. However, it is beneficial for the elderly, and for those suffering from epilepsy, cold-type headaches, and conjunctivitis. Moreover, hot water taken regularly as a tea dissolves fat around the kidneys.
Moreover, water exists in several states.
There is snow water or hail water. It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to say in the opening supplication of the prayer, and at other times: "O Allah, wash me of my sins with snow water and hail water"; snow by nature has a corrosive and vaporous quality.
The heart needs this water to cool down from sins. And the month of Ramadan is very effective for purifying oneself and, above all, repenting of one's sins.
From this we draw the essence of the medicine of the body and the heart, and the treatment of illnesses by their opposite.
There are therefore different types of water.
Hail water is sweeter than snow water; frozen water, ice, depends on its origin.
Ice-cold water should not be drunk after bathing, sexual intercourse, physical exercise, or hot food. It is sometimes observed that people suffer from coughing after drinking ice-cold water; it also causes chest weakness or liver weakness. It also makes the humor cold.
The worst waters are those in lead pipes or in blocked wells, especially if the soil is poor; the water will then be unhealthy and harmful.
The best water is Zamzam water; it is a blessed water. It is the noblest, the most precious, and the most beloved to people. It comes from a hole dug by Jibril, through which Allah gave Isma'il water to drink. It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ said to Abu Dharr, when he had stayed forty days near the Kaaba with no food other than Zamzam water.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "It is a food that brings satiety," and other chains of transmission reported that it is a healing for illness. Jabir ibn Abdillah reports that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Zamzam water is for whatever purpose it is drunk."
It is also reported that Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak performed the pilgrimage and went to the Zamzam spring and said: "O Allah, Ibn Abi al-Mawali reported to me, from Muhammad ﷺ ibn al-Munkadir, from Jabir, that the Prophet ﷺ said: Zamzam water is for whatever purpose it is drunk, and I drink it for the thirst of the Day of Resurrection." Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ always sought to drink the best water; indeed, if one acts this way, it will be very effective in purifying the body and being in good health.
Zamzam water is a means of healing certain illnesses, and it is a means of drawing closer to Allah through supplication. Ibn al-Qayyim also says that he himself, as well as others, was able to observe the curative effects of Zamzam water, and that he was also able to cure himself of numerous illnesses by Allah's permission.
And that he observed that a person who fed on it from the second half of the month onward did not feel hunger and mixed normally with people. She also informed him that she had remained forty days feeding only on this water, and that she had the strength to have marital relations with her husband, to fast, and to perform "tawaf" around the Kaaba several times.
There is also Nile water, which is a river of Paradise. Its source lies behind mountain ranges in Abyssinia, thanks to rains that accumulate there and torrents that flow into it, which Allah channels toward arid lands. And thus vegetation is made to grow, on which livestock and people feed, as the land to which this water is channeled is impermeable and hard.
If it rains normally, that land is not irrigated and is not suitable for plants. Allah gave this river a flood at known times in order to sufficiently irrigate the country, and when all the lands have been irrigated, Allah allows the flood to recede, so that the benefits and crops may be brought about.
According to the Prophet ﷺ, seawater is a means of purification, and the unslaughtered animals it contains are lawful. Allah created it salty and brackish. It can treat ENT problems, ear infections, or conjunctivitis, and poisoning. Moreover, it is stable, still, and full of animals.
When these animals die, they are not buried, and if the water had been sweet it would have become foul because of its stillness and the death of its animals.
Moreover, the air surrounding the world would have been affected by this smell, and would thus have grown moldy and stagnant. The Lord's wisdom made it like a salt bed, which, if all the carcasses of the world were thrown into it, would not change. Also, it is beneficial to wash with seawater to treat various skin diseases; however, drinking it is harmful, as it loosens the bowels, weakens the body, and causes itching (scabies), swelling, and thirst.
If, however, one is forced to drink it, it should be placed in a pot set over a fire, with reeds and new wool placed on top of it.
The steam will then rise and the wool will fill with fresh water while the brackish water will remain in the pot. One can also dig a wide hole on the beach so that the water seeps into it, then dig a second hole into which the water from the first will seep, then a third until the water becomes fresh.
How much, when, how: what actually matters
| Question | What Ibn al-Qayyim says | What we know today |
|---|---|---|
| How much | "The substance of life"; in excess, whether hot or cold, it harms the nerves | 1.5 to 2 liters of fluid per day, more in heat or with exertion; urine should stay clear. A meta-analysis of cohorts links sufficient water intake to lower cardiovascular mortality (Int J Clin Pract, 2021) |
| When | Not right after a meal or after fruit; wait a while | Spread throughout the day, a glass upon waking, before meals rather than during; this is the rule of thirds, one third for drink |
| How | Sitting, in three parts, without gulping | The Prophet ﷺ drank sitting down, in three sips, saying Allah's name (Muslim); gulping down a large iced volume hurts the stomach and throat |
| Temperature | Never ice-cold after a bath, exertion, intimacy, or a hot meal; very cold water damages the teeth, chest, and liver; warm water softens the stomach but suits elderly people | Cool or at room temperature; gulping ice-cold water causes spasms and headaches; hot water is useful as an herbal tea, not as a everyday drink |
| Which | Clear, odorless, pleasant to the taste, light, from a deep and running source; never from lead pipes or blocked wells | Regulated tap water or lightly mineralized spring water for everyday use; no lead pipes, still found in some old buildings |
Drinking during Ramadan
The professor reminds us that fasting first causes suffering from lack of water. A review on hydration during Ramadan shows that the water loss over a day of fasting at rest is about 1% of body weight, fully recoverable at night if one drinks enough, and that performance declines beyond 1 to 2% (J Sports Sci, 2012). Everything therefore plays out between iftar and suhur:
- At iftar: dates and a glass of water at room temperature, never ice-cold, as the Prophet ﷺ did (Abu Dawud); then prayer, then the meal.
- During the evening: a glass every hour, rather than two liters all at once, which simply passes out in the urine; soup, fruit, vegetables, and yogurt, which the professor mentions, count toward water intake.
- At suhur: two glasses, and foods that retain water (talbina, cucumber, watermelon, dairy); little salt, no cured meats or excess coffee, which cause urination.
- During the day: avoid sun and exertion during the hot hours; a cool shower and rest make up for what one cannot drink.
- Warning signs: headaches, dizziness, dark and scant urine, confusion in elderly people. Illness, high-risk pregnancy, and certain treatments exempt one from fasting; the doctor determines this.
Zamzam: what the hadith says, what the analysis says
"Zamzam water is for whatever purpose it is drunk for" (Ibn Majah, Ahmad; authenticated by several scholars), and the Prophet ﷺ said of Abu Dharr, who had lived on it for thirty days: "it is a food that satisfies" (Muslim 2473); one version adds "and a healing for sickness." The professor relates the testimony of Ibn al-Qayyim, who healed himself with it and saw someone else live on it for forty days. What the analyses add: Zamzam is an alkaline water (pH around 8), rich in calcium, magnesium, sodium, and bicarbonates, with high mineral content but within WHO standards for all measured elements, including the arsenic that had caused controversy (Heliyon, 2021). In animals, ten weeks of Zamzam improved blood sugar and lipid profile compared to tap water (J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 2020). This does not make Zamzam a medicine: its virtue comes from Allah's blessing and the supplication one makes while drinking it, standing or sitting, facing the Kaaba if one is there, asking for what one needs. It is drunk as it is; one does not "cut" it with other waters to "multiply" it, and true Zamzam comes from pilgrims or official channels, not from anonymous bottles.
Seawater, snow, the Nile
"Its water is purifying and its dead creatures are lawful [to eat]" (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi): seawater is valid for ablutions. The professor recalls, with Ibn al-Qayyim, that it treats the skin (baths for skin diseases, scabies, eczema) and the nose (see the saltwater rinse in our guide to salt), but that one does not drink it: it dehydrates, loosens the bowels, and causes thirst. The two methods he describes for desalinating it, wool stretched over the pot to collect the vapor, and holes dug in the beach sand, are exactly distillation and filtration: survival knowledge still valid today. The supplication "wash me of my sins with water, snow, and hail" (al-Bukhari 744) teaches, he says, that one heals by the opposite: the cold of snow against the heat of sins, just as cool water works against fever. As for the Nile, the Euphrates, the Sayhun, and the Jayhun, the hadith of Muslim counts them among the rivers of Paradise; this is understood as a blessing upon their waters, without their having any particular medicinal virtue today.
Contraindications and precautions
Drinking too much is also possible: beyond 3 to 4 liters without exertion or heat, one dilutes the sodium in the blood, which is dangerous, especially for elderly people and those on certain medications. Those with heart or kidney failure have a ration set by their doctor. Water from wells, uncontrolled springs, or cisterns should be boiled; lead pipes should be replaced. No ice-cold water for a feverish child or after intense exertion. And seawater is never drunk, even "a little for the minerals."
Frequently asked questions
What does Islam say about water?
That it is the source of all life (21:30), the best of drinks according to Ibn al-Qayyim, and that the Prophet ﷺ drank it sitting down, in three sips, saying Allah's name. Zamzam is the noblest of waters, seawater purifies, rainwater is a blessing.
Can you drink ice-cold water in Islam?
Nothing forbids it, but Ibn al-Qayyim and the professor advise against it after a bath, exertion, intimacy, and hot meals, and at iftar: it damages the throat, teeth, and digestion. Cool, yes; ice-cold in one gulp, no.
How much water should you drink during Ramadan?
Your usual ration, 1.5 to 2 liters, spread between iftar and suhur in spaced-out glasses, with water-rich foods. The loss from a day of fasting is fully recovered at night if one drinks enough.
Does Zamzam water heal?
The Prophet ﷺ said that it "is for whatever purpose it is drunk for": it is drunk with a supplication. Analyses show it to be an alkaline mineral water within standards; its virtue comes from the blessing, not from a molecule.
What are the benefits of seawater in Islam?
It purifies (ablutions), and one bathes in it for the skin; as a nasal rinse, it relieves sinusitis and colds. It is not drunk: it dehydrates and causes thirst, as Ibn al-Qayyim reminds us.
