Page 6 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 7 Page 7 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 7 DATES - Rich in Proteins & Vitamins Muslims generally break their fast by eating dates. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is reported to have said, “If anyone of you is fasting, let him break his fast with dates. In case he does not have them, then with water. Verily water is a purifier.” The Prophet used to break his fast by eating some dates before offering Maghrib prayer, and if ripe dates were not available, he used to substitute them with some dried grapes. When these too were not available, he used to have a few sips of water, according to some reports. Modern science has proved that dates are a part of a healthy diet. They contain sugar, fat, and proteins, as well as important vitamins. Hence the great importance attached to them by the Prophet. Dates are also rich in natural fibers. Modern medicine has shown that they are effective in preventing abdominal cancer. They also surpass other fruits in the sheer variety of their constituents. They contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, and magnesium. In other words, one date is a minimum of a balanced and healthy diet. Arabs usually combine dates with milk and yogurt or bread, butter and fish. This combination indeed makes a self-sufficient and tasty diet for both mind and body. Dates and date palms have been mentioned in the Holy Quran 20 times, thus showing their importance. The Prophet likened a good Muslim to the date palm saying, “Among trees, there is a tree like a Muslim. Its leaves do not fall.” Sayyidah Mariam (the Virgin Mary) had dates as her food when she felt labor pains and during confinement. They are definitely the “Crown of sweets,” and ideal food which is easy to digest, and within half an hour of taking it, the tired body regains a new vigor. The reason for this is that a shortage of sugar in the blood is the main factor that makes people hungry and not an empty stomach as is often assumed. When the body absorbs the nutritional essence of a few dates, the feeling of hunger becomes appeased. When one breaking the fast with dates takes some other food afterwards, he cannot eat much. It would seem that breaking the fast with dates then helps one avoid excessive eating. Experiments have also shown that dates contain some stimulants which strengthen the muscles of the uterus in the last months of pregnancy. This helps the dilation of the uterus at the time of delivery on one hand and reduces the bleeding after the delivery on the other. Dieticians consider dates as the best food for women in confinement and those who are breast-feeding. This is because dates contain elements which assist in alleviating depression in mothers and enriching the breast-milk with all the elements needed to make the child healthy and resistant to disease. The Prophet has emphasized the importance of dates and their effectiveness in the growth of the fetus. He has also recommended they be given to women. Modern dietary institutes now recommend dates to be given to children suffering from a nervous nature or hyperactivity. The Prophet has also recommended dates as a medicine for heart troubles, according to some reports. Modern science has also proved the effectiveness of dates, in preventing diseases of the respiratory system. Ayisha (R.A.), used to prescribe dates for those suffering from giddiness. It is now well-known that a fall in the level of the sugar in the blood and low blood pressure are among the causes of giddiness. She was also reported to have used dates combined with cucumber to treat her over-slim condition. She said “they’ve tried to fatten me giving me everything. But I did not become fat. Then they fattened me with cucumbers and ripe dates and I gained.” Ayisha was quite correct. As we now know that one kilogram of dates contains nearly 3,000 calories which alone are sufficient to supply the minimum daily requirements of an active man for one full day. Dates are rich in several vitamins and minerals. When the level of trace elements falls in the body, the health of the blood vessels is affected leading to an increased heart-rate and a consequent inability to perform its function with normal efficiency. As dates are also rich in calcium, they help strengthen the bones. When the calcium content in the body decreases, children are affected with rickets and the bones of adults become brittle and weak. Dates are also important in keeping up the health of the eyes. It is quite effective in guarding against night-blindness. In the early years of Islam, dates were served as food for Muslim warriors. They used to carry them in special bags hung at their sides. They are the best stimulant for muscles and so the best food for a warrior about to engage in battle. The Prophet used to combine dates with bread sometimes. At other times he mixed ripe dates with cucumbers, or dates combined with ghee. He used to take all varieties of dates, but he preferred the variety called ajwah. In the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and the Holy Haram in Makkah, large quantities of dates are supplied by generous people on all days of Ramadan. The Omnipotence of God The miracle of the virgin conception of Mary, as depicted in the Quran, is a clear example of God’s absolute power and His domination over the happenings of the universe. The immense significance of this miracle is that it involved a physiological phenomenon taking place which could not have occurred under the normal working of the laws of nature. By discarding the natural process whereby male and female unite to produce an offspring God demonstrated His absolute power and domination. This was to convince mankind that creation need not necessarily follow the rules of cause and effect or be subjected to it. For God has the capacity to ordain a thing to be and produce effects without prerequisite engendering causes. Here, God is involved with four different processes of creation to demonstrate that the reproduction and perpetuation of the human species can be fulfilled without the necessity of physical contact between male and female or their participation, if He so ordains. These four processes are namely: - the creation of Adam from dust; - the creation of Eve from Adam (or female from male); - the creation of mankind through the union of male and female; - the birth of Jesus from a female without being touched by a male. Thus has God accomplished the four kinds of creation of the human race. Although birth and reproduction have been ordained to occur in accordance with the union between male and female, the fruitfulness of any such union rests with God’s will and providence. About this divine will, the Quran says: “Unto God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He will. He bestows female (offspring) upon whomHe will, and bestows male (offspring) upon whomHe will. Or He mingles them, males and females, and He makes barren whom He will...” (Qur’an Al-Shura 42:49-50) God tells believers not to succumb to despair or confusion if they fail to account for causes and effects, because ultimately it is He alone that determines all causes and their effects as He wills, regardless of laws or norms. With this knowledge at hand, the believer is better prepared to confront the upheavals of daily life with greater confidence in God’s providence and omniscience. This faith rekindles his heart and soul with renewed hope. The thought of unaccountable happenings occurring is no longer disturbing or frightening. Once this faith takes root in the believer’s heart, the true believer firmly holds the conviction that God is capable of ordaining happenings and events in isolation of their due causes. This unwarranted despair is referred to in the Surah of the Family of Imran (Al ‘Imran), wherein God says: “(Remember) when the wife of ‘Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto You that which is in my womb as a consecrated (offering). Accept it fromme. Lo! (You, only You) are the Hearer, the Knower. And when she was delivered she said, My Lord! I am delivered of a female...” (Qur’an Al ‘Imran 3:35-6) The sentence “I am delivered of a female”, spoken by Imran’s wife, indicating her disappointment that the child born was not a male, illustrates the kind of despair which we are cautioned not to let infiltrate our faith in God and His wisdom. Imran’s wife had pledged to offer her unborn child to the service of God and had, therefore, felt certain that He would give her a son who, in her reckoning, would be better able to serve Him. This was an unfounded belief to which God replies: “(God knew best of what she was delivered). The male is not as the female.” (Qur’an Al ‘Imran 3:36) In this verse, God again cautions us not to judge His decrees and plans in terms of our imperfect knowledge and logic. In all divine acts is a purpose that might not be obvious at the time of their actual manifestation. This verse also corrects the misconception that males are superior to females in the service of God or in fulfilling His purpose. Hence came the reminder that ‘The male is not as the female.’ In other words, the daughter Imran’s wife had given birth to was much more worthy than any son she could have wished for. God alone knew what the great significance of the birth of this female child to mankind would be. In preparing Mary for her predestined role, God planned that she should be offered by her mother to His service in the temple. Her spiritual education began by being instilled with faith in God’s power to make things happen independent of their natural causes. She was given evidence of this when He provided her with food that was unlike any found on earth and with fruit out of season. Despite many divine signs, however, Mary continued to doubt the possibility of a miracle conception, asking Gabriel, who had come to announce to her God’s will: “How can I have a son when no mortal has touched me, neither have I been unchaste?” (Qur’an Maryam 19:20) To reinforce her faith and reassure her of His almighty power, God said to her through Gabriel: “So (it will be). Your Lord says: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us.” (Qur’an Maryam 19:21) What God was saying to Mary was “Do you wonder at what is happening to you after all that you have seen of My limitless power?” Another Verse (3:49) tells us that Jesus was given the power to “heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and raise the dead by God’s leave”. In other words, the true healer was God Himself. He was, likewise, the One who gave life and took it. On the other hand, we have the second class of miracles which Jesus could perform spontaneously, using the divine powers already vested in him. Unlike the former class, God revealed to him the secrets of these (latter) miracles and gave him access to His knowledge regarding them. Thus, although he was given the power to revive the dead, neither he nor any other Prophet was given the secret of life and death. Despite the miracles that demonstrated the power of the Absolute and the support it gave Jesus from the moment he was born until his death, the Israelites rejected his message and refused to believe in his God. They seemed to alienate themselves further from God and began to plot against him and cast doubt about his message, exactly as they had previously done to Moses. Even when they seemed to have rid themselves of the attraction of the material world, their faith did not last long and they always regressed to their old ways and the worship of matter, as is stated in the following verse: “But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried:Who will be helpers in the cause of God? The disciples said: We will be God’s helpers. We believe in God, and bear witness that we have surrendered (unto Him) [are Muslims].” (Qur’an Al ‘Imran 3:52) Thus Jesus began to look for true believers and supporters when he discovered that all the miracles and evidence he brought the Israelites could not weaken their deeply-rooted corruption and love for the material world. In seeking disciples to carry on his message after his ascension, Jesus was showing his despair that the Israelites would never see the light of truth, that they would ever cease to fight his religion. He put all his hope in spreading his message tomankind in his disciples and the few supporters who truly believed in his God, and began to teach them the content and purpose of his divine message. He explained to them the commands and injunctions contained in his message and made them pledge to spread it throughout the whole world. Indeed the message of Jesus was an embodiment of the limitless power of God’s will, which was manifested throughout Jesus’ life. It showed itself most vividly when God revealed to Imran’s wife that He alone knew best why she should give birth to a girl. The same divine power showed itself in providing Mary with food unlike any other. Finally the immaculate conception and birth of Jesus, his ability to speak and defend his mother when he was but a few days old gave further evidence of the Almighty will of God. Islamic Dietary Laws Miracles of the Qur’an
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