While Abdul-Muttalib was sleeping in the hijr , he was ordered in a vision to dig Zamzam. Abdul-Muttalib said: ‘I was sleeping in the hijr when a supernatural visitant came and said, “Dig Tiba”. I said “And what is Tiba?” ; then he left me. I went to bed again the next day and slept, and he came to me and said “Dig Barra”; when I asked what Barra was he left me. The next day he came and said “Dig al-Madnuna”; when I asked what that was he went away again. The next day he came while I was sleeping and said “Dig Zamzam”. I said, “What is Zamzam?”; he said:

When the exact spot had been indicated to him and he knew that it corresponded with the facts, he took a pick-axe and went with his son al-Harith —for the had no other son at that time—and began to dig. When the top of the well appeared he cried 'Allah u Akbar!’ Thus Quraysh knew that he had obtained his target and they came to him and said, ‘This is the well of our father Ismail, and we have a right to it, so give us a share in it.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, ‘I was specially told of it and not you, and I was the one to be given it.’ They said: ‘Do us justice, for we shall not leave you until we have got a judicial decision in the matter.’ He said: ‘Appoint anyone you like as arbitrator between us.’ He agreed to accept a woman diviner of Bani Sa'd Hudhaym, who dwelt in the uplands of Syria.

So Abdul-Muttalib, accompanied by some of his relations from Banu Abdu Manaf and a representative from all the tribes of Quraysh, rode away. The land was then in wilderness. They went on through desolate country between the Hijaz and Syria until Abdul-Muttalib’s company ran out of water and they feared that they would die of thirst. They asked the Quraysh tribes to give them water, but they refused, on the ground that if they gave them their water they too would die of thirst. In his desperation Abdul-Muttalib consulted his companions as to what should be done, but all they could do was to say that they would follow his instructions: so he said, ‘I think that every man should dig a hole for him self with the strength that he has left so that whenever a man dies his companions can thrust him into the hole and bury him until the last man, for it is better that one man should lie unburied than a whole company.’ They accepted his advice and every man began to dig a hole for himself. Then they sat down until they should die of thirst. After a time Abdul-Muttalib said to his companions, ‘By Allah, to abandon ourselves to death in this way and not to scour the country in search of water is sheer incompetence; perhaps Allah will give us water somewhere. To your saddles!’ So they got their beasts ready while the Quraysh, who were watching them to see what they would do. Abdul-Muttalib went to his beast and mounted her and when she got up from her knees a flow of fresh water broke out from beneath her feet. Abdul-Muttalib and his companions, crying ‘Allah Akbar!’, dismounted and drank and filled their water-skins. Then they invited the Quraysh to come to the water which Allah had given them and to drink freely. After they had done so and filled their water-skins they said: ‘By Allah, the judgement has been given in your favour Abdul-Muttalib. We will never dispute your claim to Zamzam. He who has given you water in this wilderness is He who has given you Zamzam. Return to your office of watering the pilgrims in peace.’ So they all went back without going to the diviner.