The idea to prove Zamzam water came to me in 2014, while reading the opening chapters of Martin Lings' Muhammad on my way to my first Umrah. The Zamzam sample itself was collected the following year, on the seventh and last round of the Umra ritual, Sa'i or running back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwa,

A homeopathic remedy is tested by means of what Hahnemann referred to in German as a prüfung - defined as an experiment or test to determine the medicinal potential of a substance.

A prüfung is commonly called a proving amongst the homeopathic community today. The volunteers who agree to undergo the testing of a new remedy are known as provers. They assess the latent curative capacity of a medicine by taking it in potentised form themselves, until they start to produce symptoms. All the symptoms of the proving group are thoroughly documented. The information gathered is then synthesised to form a 'disease picture' of the remedy. In this way, provings make known to us the curative and healing properties of a great variety of natural substances that can then be added to the homeopathic pharmacy.

To date, I have participated in two provings. The experience was remarkable. A homeopathic proving takes you on an inner journey, where you come to understand the essence of the natural substance under investigation.

The Zamzam Proving

The Homeopathic Proving of Zamzam is one I conducted and authored myself. All proceeds go towards charity.

Zamzam is the well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, close to the Kaaba. Its water holds deep significance for Muslims and is carried home by pilgrims from around the world. This proving investigates it as a homeopathic remedy - its properties observed and documented through the traditional method described above.

It was in the months following this proving that my own practice as a painter began - I've often wondered whether the two are connected. I suspect they are. Coming Home, from the Hu Collection, depicts the Kaaba, close to which the Zamzam well itself is found.

Coming Home - mixed media painting of the Kaaba with flower-of-life pattern and antique map fragments, from the Hu Collection by Sara Kabariti — Coming Home, 2024 - mixed media on panel. Painted in the period following the Zamzam proving.

The full write-up of the Zamzam proving runs to over 170 pages. It opens with the substance report, proving protocol, and list of provers, then presents the proving material itself - organised across Mind (sensations and delusions, emotions, and intellect), Dreams, Physicals, and Generals - alongside anecdotal reflections, a meditative proving, and the completed rubrics. The proving was conducted in Jordan in 2015.