Health Guidelines From Qura'n And Sunnah (2/2)

The maintenance of the physical structure in which the spirit resides:

After describing pillars of faith as a basis for the spiritual health, let us talk about the maintenance of the physical structure in which the spirit resides.

Nutrition:

Allah loves his creations so much that he is concerned even with what we eat and put in our body. Our muscles, bones, lungs, liver, brain and secretions are made from the raw product we feed it. If we provide the factory with junk raw products, the factory will not produce tough bones, strong muscles, good pump (heart) and clean pipes (vessels).

"O you mankind: Eat of what is lawful and good on earth. [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 168]

"Eat of the things which god has provided for you lawful and good, but fear God in whom you believe". Forbidden to us are dead meat, blood and flesh of swine [Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:4] and intoxicants [Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:93, Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:219 and Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:91]

Science so far has not confirmed any beneficial effects to the prohibitions.

The blood and meat of the dead could be full of germs and other harmful elements like antibodies. The pork meat is high in cholesterol, salt and may have worms, and alcohol and other intoxicants cloud our mentation, our inhibition and interfere with our normal capacity of judging good and bad. Therefore, a person under the influence of alcohol may want to take off his dress, engage in unlawful sexual acts, become violent and abusive without even knowing what he is doing. On medical damages due to alcohol, whole books have been written.

The second component in nutrition (after Permission of the lawful and probation of the unlawful) is the moderation in the lawful.

Obesity is a major American tragedy, a form of malnutrition, affecting million of people, of all age. 99% of obesity is due to overeating. Allah advises as to be moderate in quantity.

"But waste not by excess for God loves not the wasters." [Surah Al-A’raf, 7:31]

"Eat of the good things we have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein, lest my wrath should justly descend on you, and those whom descends my wrath do perish indeed." [Surah Ta-Ha, 20:81]

According to one Hadith of Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) we are advised to leave one third of our stomach empty after finishing the meal. I understood this Hadith only when I broke my blender/mixer in the kitchen after stuffing it to the top and then turning the machine on. After all, what is stomach, if not a blender, grinder, mixer and food processor, all in one!!

Certain types of food i.e. fruits are especially emphasized in Qur’an [Surah Ya-Sin, 36:57, Surah Az-Zukhruf, 43:73, Surah An-Nahl, 16:67, Surah Qaf, 50:68]

"And the fruits of date palm and grapes you get wholesome drink and nutrition: Behold in this is a sign for those who are wise." [Surah An-Nahl, 16:67]

Fruits are low in calorie, high in vitamins and minerals, and fiber and sugar is fructose and not sucrose. In a recent study by Dr. Anderson fructose has been shown to cause no rise in blood sugar and even lowers the high blood sugar of diabetics. Honey is fructose.

Cleanliness:

Allah is pure and likes purity. He is clean and likes cleanliness. Therefore, cleanliness of body and mind is stressed in Qur’an [Surah An-Nisa’, 4:43, Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:7]. Miswak (brushing teeth) is not a new invention of last 200 years. This was stressed as part of our daily routine by Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him). He also advised us on flossing (khilal) as now being advised by all the dentist. In fact, he is known to have said that if it was not hardship for Muslims, he would have advised miswak before each prayer i.e. 5 times a day. Cleanliness of our mind is prerequisite for total creaminess (body and mind).