Rediscovery of Zamzam by Abdul Muttalib

For generations the well of Zamzam had been lost. It had been buried during the war between the tribes of Khuza'a and Jurhum, and the people of Makkah had to fetch their water from far away. Then Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the Prophet ﷺ, saw a dream telling him to dig at a certain spot beside one of the idols around the Ka'bah. At first he ignored it, but the dream kept coming back, until he realised it was from Allah.

At that time he had only one son, Harith, his eldest. With Harith's help he took a shovel and an axe and began to dig. The Quraysh mocked him, asking whether he really thought he would find what no one had found in centuries. He kept digging until he struck water. As the water bubbled up, his own relatives surrounded him and claimed it as their property. Abdul Muttalib refused, saying he had found it and the rights were his. A deadly fight nearly broke out. In this moment he vowed to Allah that if he were ever given ten sons to defend him, he would sacrifice one of them.

The two sides did not want to fight, so they agreed to take the matter to a priestess who lived far away. On the journey they lost their way and came close to dying of thirst. Abdul Muttalib told each man to dig his own grave, since they were too weak to bury one another. As he dug his own grave, he struck water again. His relatives said this was a sign from Allah that the water was his, because it had saved their lives. They turned back without going to the priestess and gave him the rights to Zamzam.