IHRC were pleased to welcome Mariam Hakim from Waw Stories this May half-term holiday, for a brilliant and pertinent workshop about Zamzam water and a story reading of her book, An Ocean in One Drop.

Through a reading of An Ocean in One Drop, Mariam taught our young guests about the background story of the woman honoured within the Islamic Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage: Hajar. During this pilgrimage, Hajar’s story is expressed through the core ritual of Sa’ee, which ends with pilgrims drinking holy Zamzam water.

This ritual remembers Hajar’s experience of being stranded in the desert, alone with her infant son, searching for water and help. The Sa’ee tasks each and every pilgrim with reliving Hajar’s story and following her footsteps, running between two large hills seven times. Using poetic rhyming couplets and stunning water colour visuals, the audience explored Hajar’s narrative through the opposing themes of water and desert, life and death, and ancient heritage in modern times.

Mariam showed the audience pictures of how the Zamzam water well has changed and developed overtime and what the current access to Zamzam water in Masjid Al Haram looks like today.

Mariam then taught the children about the etiquettes of drinking Zamzam water, followed by a fun and interactive activity of making chatterboxes that highlight all the Zamzam water etiquettes. The kids were also kept entertained a word search and spot-the-difference worksheets based on An Ocean in One Drop. Towards the end, the children’s knowledge on Zamzam water formalities were tested and each correct answer was gifted with a cupcake!

Purchase An Ocean in One Drop and the corresponding Activity Book from the IHRC Bookshop. Signed copies are available too.

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Email events@ihrc.org for enquiries.