Chapter 14: A Brief History of the Zarqa Canal ( & Earning a Living Selling Dates and as a Scribe)

Chapter 14: A Brief History of the Zarqa Canal

(& Earning a Living by Selling Dates and as a Scribe)

The Zarqa Canal has been around since the time of Banu Umayyah (Umayyad Caliphate) and was dugout and created in the mountainous region of Quba. Marwan ibn Hakam had arranged for it to formed when he was sent there as a Governor by Hadhrat Ameer Muawiyyah RA. They named the canal ‘Zarqa’ (blue) because of his blue eyes. Others have mentioned that it was named Zarqa because it was the name or appellation of Marwan ibn Hakam’s mother or paternal grandmother. Whilst some are of the view that it earned its name because the water of this particular canal was very clean and pure, and from a distance it looked blue. Even now the water source flows from its elevated mountainous region down into the Mujma-ul ma (the well in which two water sources meet) and is very clean and clear, and on surface looks blue. In summary, this ancient canal’s water was the only water used by the people of Madinah Munawwarah. It was channelled through underground canals and brought down from the elevated areas towards the lower surfaces, and storage tanks (reservoirs) were built at different locations in the city. Steps were added around their expansive stone walls so that people could climb down and draw out water. The water would continually pour out of the iron spouts from within the tank and it would be collected in mashqs (waterskins) and pots. At some locations, wells were created within the canal itself and buckets and ropes were used to draw out the water. Later, the water of this ancient canal became an insufficient source to meet the needs of the population, so the water from a few different wells in Quba was combined and used. This included Bir Uways (Well of Uways), also known as Bir Khatim in which Hadhrat Uthman RA or his slave accidentally dropped the Prophet sallahu alyhi wasallam’s blessed ring and it was never found.

Outside Quba, there was a mujma-ul maa (meeting point) in the shape of a very large well into which two water sources flowed and although its water was muddy it was sweet. The soil and well water of Quba was sweet and this was the same case in Qurban and Al-Awali. Some additional underground canals were also created in the elevated areas of Quba which flowed around the outskirts of the city. This water was not as sweet as the other water sources. These canals were created to meet agricultural needs; they would flow down into lower surface areas of northern and western Madina Munawwarah and were used to irrigate the cultivated land and orchards and were referred to as Uyoon (canals). They would as run through the orchards and finish course at the westerns and northern areas of Mount Uhud where many other orchards stood. 

Hadhrat Ameer Muawiya’s time saw a substantial increase in newly created canals and cultivation because of his efforts. So much so, that the surplus produce – weighing thousands of maund (measure of weight) was sent to be traded off in Syria etc. Later, the canals were closed down owing to the inqalabaat (revolutions) that took place. During the Turkish rule, Sultan Abdul Majeed Khan (marhoom) turned his attention towards this issue and following his reconstruction of the respected Haram-e-Nabwi alayhis-salam, he ordered the cleaning out of the canals’ channels that could be found (it should be known that the current structure of Masjide Nabwi is the work of the Sultan that he excessively spent on this project). The cultivated lands and the canals helped to yield produce, but they were insufficient for everyone’s needs.

Note: many people began to settle within the distance of elevated areas of southern and eastern Madina Munawwara. They cultivated many orchards of date palms, pomegranates, grape vines, fig trees and peach trees etc. These places are well known today as Al-Awali , Qurban and also Quba. At the time of the Prophet (sallahualayhi wasallam) and the era of caliphate, a good number of people resided in those areas, but this later decreased.

Thereafter, the Turkish government used  machinery and mechanical means to install a pipe system to provide water form Canal Zarqa to the city creating ease for the inhabitants. The older water tanks remained as they were.

Owing to our circumstance, we made an intention to break the lease and search for new property following the difficulties that we encountered at the property in Zaqaqul Budur. The houses in Madinah Munawwarah would generally have an annual lease and not on a monthly basis. The leasing usually began in Muharram. Hujjaj were either charged daily or per caravan /group and it worked out to be very costly. Instead, we found a large house in Harat Al-Akhawat that cost us around 120 rupees.

Our father distributed our shar-ee shares from what remained after all the expenditure after we had reached Madina Munawwarah. He expressed: ‘I have made intention of doing hijrat so I will remain here. Each of you has a choice, whether you want to remain here or move back to Hindustan. These rupees will be enough to support your return there.’ We had not made an intention of migration as we had been firstly advised by Hadhrat Gangohi Quddus sirruhul Aziz, and then by Hadhrat Haji Imdadullah Sahib Quddus sirruhul Aziz to avoid making an intention of hijrat. He explained,‘it has been the case of many individuals, that they encountered hardships and became dissatisfied;  as a result they abandoned the migration and returned to their native land,  consequently incurring a sin upon themselves. Rather, you should make the intention of residence (indefinitely) and only when you feel the situation is favourable for yourselves, then make the intention for migration. Alternately, you should return to your native home whenever you desire.’ He further stated, ’I, myself, made the intention for migration when I fell ill and had become hopeless about my life. Whosoever’s purpose is dunya should stay in Jeddah, whosoever’s purpose is deen and dunya should stay in Makkah Mukarramah and whosoever’s purpose is soley deen should stay in Madeenah.’ In Jeddah, there were many amenities and goods available especially for the migrant Indians and generally for others too. In Madeenah Munawwarah, however,  there were very few amenities and it was extremely costly to live. Apart from my father, we all had made the intention of indefinite stay. Evenso, our mother and we siblings thought it disagreeable to leave him on his own; unanimously, we remained as one voice – we would all stay with our father during his lifetime.

Our father explained to us that our money would not be enough to sustain us in the long-term and we could not always rely on receiving an income from India. Generally, the inhabitants of Madeenadh Munawara would rely on wages and stipends that they received from the Turkish government or other countries, and therefore we needed to find means for earning money. We decided to try our hand at trade as it was not possible for us to find employment or work in the field of handcraftsmanship or farming. We went on to rent a shop between Babur-rahmah and Babus-salam and stocked it with tea, sugar, soap, rice, lentils and so forth. We would purchase the goods from wholesalers and sell it in smaller portions. We decided to also buy freshly cut dates when they were in season from Neelam Bazaar, to store them in secure storehouses and then sell them during the Hajj season. Within Madeenah, there were rental storehouses which housed very large north African earthenware jars: these sturdy clay earthenware jars were made in northern and western Africa, they had small mouths and were very strong. They were transported via ships and boats to the Arabian ports and then loaded onto camels and brought to Madeenah. The storehouses served as revenue for the Madeenah people and were usually rented out on an annual basis. Although there were very many large mouthed earthenware pots readily available in different sizes made in Arabia and Madeenah, they were not as strong or worthwhile. Those dates which we feared could become infested with eels would be filled and deeply pressed into these pots. The Um-jardan (Haliyya) dates would then be placed over them, followed by salt, and lastly the mouths of the pots would be sealed with clay. In this manner these dates would remain fresh for up to one or two years at a time.

Many types of dates were grown in Madina Munawwarah.‘Khulasatul Wafa’ and many other historical texts record around one hundred and thirty types of dates. Each date type has its own taste, colour and texture. Over forty types were commonly grown at the time. Each type was sold separately. Um-jurdaan was one type of date known as Haliyyah in those days. In the Rotab (fresh dates) season, these were the first to ripen and were consumed in great numbers. In characteristic; they would become hard and black after they were dried; they contained small date stones; they tasted of burnt raw sugar (jala huwa gur); and they yielded an ample produce. When the Messenger sallalahu alayhi wasallam did hijrah, on his first visit to Quba, Kulthoom ibn ul-Hadam presented a date branch of this type and Rasul sallahu alayhi wasallam made dua for it - There was no need to store this type in clay pots to preserve them. 

In summary, many hundreds of dates were purchased and stored in clay storage pots in a leased storage room in Ribaatul Ajam. The few varieties such as Um-Jurdaan, Lubana and sakhal (without stones) that did not require storage for their preservation were openly heaped at our home. Our elder Brother Molana Mohammad Siddique (marhoom) would make the wholesale purchases because of his keen interest in this field and very quickly became skilled. My brother Saeed Ahmad sahib (marhoom) and myself took turns to mind the shop and sometimes our eldest brother would do shifts. After a short while, when we reviewed the costs of renting the shop and other outgoings, we realised that although this was a form of income it was insufficient for our daily needs.

This is when I became a scribe and would copy books in the Arabic naskh script to earn a wage. At the time, there were two libraries operating in Madinah Munawwarah. One was called Kutub Khana Shaykhul Islam and the other was called Mahmudiya (Kutub Khana Shaykhul Islam is still operating today and Mahmudiya is no longer operating. They both had sponsors in Istanbul that supported most of the running costs of the libraries, however the present Turkish government stopped this arrangement). The two libraries housed many rare manuscripts. The residents of Madinah Munawwarah and visitors would often require a book, and have it copied. Sometimes, people from Egypt or western Africa wanted books copied and would send their representatives. None of the libraries allowed for the books to be taken off their premises. There was a system in place; the person who wanted to copy a book or to read a book would need to do to this on the library premises. The libraries would open at 3 o’clock until 10 o’clock. No copying could take place out of these hours which meant it was not very profitable for me. There were other individuals who also worked as scribes as a source of income. Out of these working hours, I involved myself with sulook practices, as well as teaching. My two brothers and myself would also study (some incomplete) adaab books by the well-known elderly Adab teacher, Molana Shaykh Afendi Abdul Jaleel Barawah RA in the evenings. My suluk practices will be discussed separately later.

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The next chapter to be uploaded will be based on Shaykhul Islam's (Quddus sirruhu) teaching in the blessed city of Madeenah Munawwarah inshaAllah.