Islamic Remedies: Milk Is Excellent For General Health
ALMIGHTY Allah said: “And verily! In the cattle, there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from between excretions and blood, pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.” (Qur’an 16:66)
In the Sunan it is narrated:
“Whoever Allah gives some type of food, let him supplicate, ‘O Allah! Bless it for us and grant us what is better.’ Whoever Allah grants some laban, let him say, ‘O Allah! Bless it for us and grant us more of it,’ for I do not know of a more complete food or drink than milk.”
Hadith
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was presented two cups at Bait Al-Maqdis on the night of Heavenly Journey, one containing wine and the other containing milk. He looked at both of them, and he took the one containing milk, whereupon Gabriel (peace be upon him) said: Praise is due to Allah Who guided you to the true nature; had you taken the one containing wine, your Ummah would have gone astray.
Milk is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, particularly calcium. It has an important role in strengthening the bones.
Nutrients
Milk and milk products contain a good balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate and are a very important source of essential nutrients including: Calcium, riboflavin, phosphorous, Vitamins A, D and B12 and pantothenic acid.
Milk products also contain ‘high quality proteins’ that are well-suited to human needs. Milk proteins increase the value of poorer quality cereal and vegetable proteins in the diet by providing amino acids these proteins lack.
Milk and tooth decay
The amounts of calcium and phosphorous in milk and dairy products are also beneficial for the development and maintenance of healthy teeth. The most abundant protein in milk is casein and is protective as it forms a thin film on the enamel surface which prevents loss of calcium and phosphate from the enamel when the teeth are exposed to acids in the mouth. In fact, dentists recommend that milk is the only safe drink to have between meals (except for water) as it has been shown not causing tooth decay even in conditions perfect for damaging teeth!
Bone health
Milk and dairy products are providers of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and protein which are all essential for healthy bone growth and development.
Adequate consumption of milk and dairy products from early childhood and throughout life can help make the bones strong and protect them against diseases like osteoporosis (a debilitating, brittle bone disorder) in later life.
If milk and milk products are removed from the diet, it can lead to an inadequate intake of calcium. This is of particular concern for women and the elderly, who have high calcium needs. Calcium deficiency may lead to disorders like osteoporosis (a disease characterized by bone loss).
Disobedience Removes Allah’s Blessings From Our Lives
Disobedience removes the blessings of one’s life, sustenance, knowledge, deeds and obedience. In short, it eradicates the blessings of religion and the material world. You will not find the least blessing in the life, religion or world of one who disobeys Allah. It is none other than the disobedience of creation that effaces blessings from the Earth. Allah says:
And if the people of the towns had believed and had Taqwa (piety), certainly, We would have opened for them blessings from the Heaven and the Earth. (Qur’an, 7:96)
The expanse of sustenance and deeds is not calculated by its quantity and nor is the length of one’s age determined by the number of months and years, but the expanse of sustenance is measured by the blessing within it. It has already been said that the age of the believer is the span of his life and that there is no life for the one who turns away from Allah and preoccupies himself with objects other than Him; the lives of beasts are better than his life.
The life of a person is determined by the life of his heart and soul, and his heart will have no life unless it knows its Maker; loves Him; worships Him alone; turns to Him in repentance; finds tranquillity in His remembrance and endearment by being near to Him. Whoever is denied this life has lost out on all good even if he compensates it with something of the world. In fact, the world in its entirety cannot compensate for such a life.
Everything the believer loses out on has a substitute but if he loses out on Allah, nothing at all can ever substitute Him. How can something that is inherently in need compensate for the One who is inherently self-sufficient; that is inherently incapable compensate for the One who is inherently able? How can one who does not own even the weight of an atom compensate for the One who possesses the dominions of the Heavens and the Earth?
The reason that disobedience of Allah eradicates the blessing of one’s sustenance and age lies in the charge of Satan with disobedience and its perpetrators. His authority is over them and he refers back to this office, its people and associates. The blessing of anything that connects and joins with Satan becomes obliterated; the mentioning of Allah’s Name was prescribed at times of eating, drinking, dressing, mounting and sexual relations because of the blessing associated to the Name of Allah. The mention of His Name expels Satan and cause blessings to materialize; nothing can challenge the name of Allah.
Anything that is not for Allah will have its blessing removed as it is the Lord alone who blesses and all blessings emanate from Him. Everything that is attributed to Him is blessed: His speech is blessed; His Messenger is blessed; His believing servant who benefits creation is blessed; and His Sacred House is blessed.
So none but He alone can bless and nothing besides what is attributed to Him is blessed, i.e., attributed to His servitude, love and pleasure since the whole universe is otherwise ascribed to His lordship and is His creation.
The direct opposite of being blessed is being cursed. The land, the person or action that Allah has cursed will be the most removed from any good or blessing. Anything that is associated and linked to it or is a route to it will contain no blessing whatsoever. Allah cursed His enemy, Iblis, and made him the furthest creation from Himself; everything that emanates from his side will bear the curse of Allah in proportion to its proximity and attachment to him. It is from this perspective that disobedience has the severest effect on removing the blessings of one’s age, sustenance, knowledge and actions. Any period of time in which Allah is disobeyed, any wealth, body, status, knowledge and action Allah is disobeyed with, will count against the doer and not for him. The only life, wealth, strength, status, knowledge and action he really possesses is that with which Allah is obeyed.
Likewise, one may own a tremendous amount of gold and silver but his actual wealth does not extend to a thousand dirhams or so. The case is the same for knowledge and status. It is related in At-Tirmidhi from the Prophet, “The world is cursed; everything in it is cursed except the remembrance of Allah and whatever ensues from it or a scholar and a student.” In another narration, “The world is cursed; everything in it is cursed except that which is for Allah.” This is what contains blessing specifically and Allah is the One Who is sought for help and upon Him we rely.”
– Excerpt from Al-Da’ wa Al-Dawa’/Islam21c
Arrogance As A Human Nature Vice
A very important characteristic that everyone has to be cautious about, especially those people who are seeking knowledge: who have been blessed by Allah to have knowledge and involved in da`wah work. These people have to be very careful about a disease that often afflicts people of this nature, unfortunately, and this is the disease of kibr, of arrogance and pride. And sometimes the way this is reflected is where the person refuses and does not want anyone to correct him, or at least he will not accept correction from certain people.
He may accept correction or be told that he is wrong by someone who is from his group, someone who is a close friend of his, but if it is anyone else, he will look down upon, and he will not accept any kind of criticism, and this is pride and arrogance, as described in the Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh).
The Prophet (pbuh) said that no one who has even a mustard grain seed weight of arrogance in his heart, will enter paradise.
When someone asked the Prophet (pbuh), he said that a man loves to have nice clothing on, put shoes…, and he shows off this is arrogance; the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty,” viz this is not arrogance, but arrogance is “to reject the truth and to look down upon the people”, to reject the truth for example when it comes to you from a source you do not like, when it comes to you from someone perhaps who is not as much upon the right path as you think you are, and to look down upon other people and to disgrace them, this is arrogance.
You have to realize that, I don’t care if you are the biggest scholar in the world, you could make a mistake sometimes, that some child could come up to you and say, you know, that was a mistake. This is something that we have to be very careful about especially as I said when we are involved in da`wah and in imparting knowledge.
Ehsas e Gunah
Abiding By The Qur’an And Sunnah
PROPHET Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the best teacher of humanity. He left behind him a legacy in the form of the Qur ‘an and the Sunnah. He stressed the urgent need to hold firmly to these two sources during his farewell speech in the valley of Arafat. If people hold fast to them, they will never go astray.
The teachings he left for us if put into practice in their true spirit and proper way will bring about a happy life in this world and in addition indubitable rewards in the life after death. In this sense, Islam is a religion which cares for the worldly affairs of humanity. The Hereafter is merely a continuation of the worldly life.
It is difficult to portend that man can be saved in the Hereafter without being saved in this world. The safe way is to follow the way shown to us by the Prophet (pbuh). When his wife, Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), was asked by a companion about the Prophet ‘s daily conduct, she replied that the conduct of the Prophet (pbuh) was the Qur’an which is the guidance from Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) was given authority and mission by Allah to interpret and implement it. That is why his conduct is the highest example of human conduct.
Islam as expounded and practiced by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is commonly misunderstood as a religion of rituals only like prayers, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage. Thanks to the new developments in the world, Islam is now seen in a wider and proper perspective.
The increased interest in Islamic studies by Muslims and non-Muslims supported by the advanced printing technology and mass media has begun to open the eyes of the world about the true teachings and intrinsic values of Islam.
The Inner Secrets Of Fasting
Know, that in the fast (Sawm) is a special quality that is not found in anything else. And that is its close connection to Allah, such that He says:
‘‘The Fast (Sawm) is for Me and I will reward for it.’’
This connection is enough to show the high status of fasting. Similarly, the Ka’bah is highly dignified due to its close connection to Him, as occurs in His statement:
‘‘And sanctify My House.’’
Indeed, the fast is an excellent act of worship due to two significant reasons:
· It is a secret and hidden action, thus, no one from the creation is able to see it; therefore riya‘ (showing off) cannot enter it.
· It is a means of subjugating the enemies of Allah. This is because the road that the enemies (of Allah) embark upon (in order to misguide the son of Adam) is that of desires. And eating and drinking strengthens the desires. There are many Prophetic traditions that indicate the merits of fasting, and they are well-known
Recommended acts of fasting
The pre-dawn meal (suhoor) and delaying in taking it are preferable, as well as hastening to break the fast and doing so with dates. Generosity in giving in charity is also recommended during Ramadan, as well as doing good deeds and giving more and more in charity. This is in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
It is also recommended to study the Qur‘an and perform I‘tikaf (seclusion for worship) during Ramadan, especially in its last 10 days, as well as exerting in doing good deeds in it. In the two Saheehs, ’Aa‘isha said: ‘‘When the last 10 days (of Ramadan) would come, the Prophet would grid up his loins’’
The scholars have mentioned two views concerning the meaning of ‘girding up his lions.’ The first is that it means the turning away from women.
The second is that it is an expression denoting his eagerness and diligence in doing good deed. They also say that the reason for his making an extra effort the last 10 days of Ramadan was due to his seeking of the Night of al-Qadr (Laylatul-Qadr).
Inner secrets of fasting
There are three levels of fasting, the general fast, the specific fast and the more specific fast. As for the general fast, it is the restraining of one’s stomach and private parts from fulfilling their desires.
The specific fast is the refraining of ones gaze, tongue, hands, feet, hearing and eyes, as well as the rest of one’s body parts from committing sinful acts. As for the more specific fast, it is the heart’s abstention from its yearning for the worldly objects and the thoughts which distance one away from Allah, as well as its (the heart’s) abstention from all the things that Allah has placed at the same level.
Among the characteristics of the specific fast is that one lowers his gaze and safeguards his tongue from the repulsive speech that is forbidden, disliked, or which has no benefit, as well as controlling the rest of his body parts. As is mentioned in a Hadith by Al-Bukhari: ‘‘Whosoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it, Allah is not in need of his giving up food and drink.’’
Another characteristic of the specific fast is that one does not overfill oneself with food during the night. Instead, he eats in due measure, for indeed, the son of Adam does not fill a vessel more evil than his stomach. If he were to eat his fill during the first part of the night, he would not make good use of the remainder of the night.
In the same way, if he eats to his fill for suhoor, he does make good use of himself until the afternoon. This is because excessive eating breeds laziness and lethargy.
Therefore, the objective of fasting is lost due to one’s excessive in eating, for what is indeed intended by the fast, is that one savours the taste of hunger and readily shuns his carnal desires.
Muslim Character As It Should Be
MUSLIMS today are associated with terror, oppression, extremeness and harshness. Unfortunately due to the actions of a few, a huge misrepresentation of who a Muslim is and what the word stands for has developed.
To understand its right meaning, we should look into the life of Muhammad (peace is upon him). Several Muslims exert their utmost efforts to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him), but as fallible mortals, we all fall short.
If a group of Muslims cause terror around the globe by indiscriminately killing Muslims and non-Muslims and justify their actions by misquoting and misconstruing the verses of the Qur’an, is it fair to label all Muslims as terrorists? Take the example of a father who beats his children. Because of one such father, do we label all fathers as child-beaters? We cannot judge Islam by the people, we judge it by the Qur’an and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
A Muslim is someone who firstly believes in and submits to Allah, and obeys His Messenger. He understands and attests to the five pillars of Islam. Understanding monotheism and having the correct belief is the most important of all.
As for the character, a Muslim has to be honest and truthful. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said “Three things are the sign of the hypocrite: when he speaks he tells lies, when he promises he breaks it and when he is trusted he proves to be dishonest.” (Al-Bukhari, Eng. Trans. 1/31/no.32 and Muslim, Eng. Trans. 1/40/no.112). We should ask ourselves: Do we fall into these categories or are we safe from them?
A Muslim is expected to be gentle. Gentleness spreads love and unites people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said “Indeed Allah is gentle and loves gentleness, and gives due to gentleness that which He does not give to harshness. (Ibn Majah, no. 3688)
A Muslim should also be quick to forgive others. Allah said in the Qur’an:
“And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqun (the pious).
Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the gooddoers).” (Qur’an, 3:133-134)
Worthy to mention here is an example of the Prophet’s kindness and forgiveness:
Before migration, when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was living in Makkah, an old woman would throw rubbish on him whenever he passed by her house. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would silently pass by that house everyday, without expressing any anger or annoyance. The old woman, one day, fell ill. The Prophet (peace be upon him) not finding his usual greetings, enquired about the woman’s well-being by visiting her and if he could in any way help her.
The old woman was greatly moved by this kindness. The example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made her understand that he was truly the Prophet of Allah and that Islam was the true religion. She accepted Islam at once.
As Muslims, we should try our utmost to be a proper representative of Islam. We should portray the message brought by the Prophet (peace be upon him). We should always look at ourselves first before judging others.
Taqwa Ikhtiyar Karein
Cure For Arrogance
In continuation of the earlier topic “Hues of Arrogance” here are Islamic remedies for this disease of the heart with the steps one can take to develop humility towards Allah and His creation to stem the disease of arrogance and to increase humility:
Know Allah
What has knowing Allah got to do with arrogance? Everything. The one who truly recognizes his Creator, and learns about His exalted names and attributes, embraces reality. He knows with conviction how great his Lord is, and how absolutely insignificant his own self is.
He knows that Allah created him, fashioned him, brought him into this world, gave him sustenance and bestowed upon him strength after the frailty of infancy and childhood. Allah has revealed about Himself in the Qur’an and once someone truly knows Allah, he cannot harbor arrogance in his heart for long.
Allah’s signs
The most powerful people who ever lived – with extraordinary physical or mental strength – all become weak with the passage of time. Great scholars or professors can one day suffer from amnesia or Alzheimer’s. Even the man who played the fictional “Superman” – the idol of many young boys – suffered a crippling fall, withered and died before their very eyes.
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Allah looks neither at your figures, nor at your outward appearance, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.” (Sahih Muslim)
This should remind us that each and every little blessing we have – from our looks, to our wealth, to our abilities and talents – is solely from Allah. Our achievements are not the product of our own selves, they are a result of whatever talent Allah blessed us with combined with the effort He guided us to undertake. Not only that, He can take them away whenever He wants, even in a split second.
A beauty queen can lose her perfect body and beauty to a disease (just a passing reference to the recent death of a 20-year-old Brazilian model, who died within two months of contracting a mysterious disease).
A strong wrestler might suffer an accident that could render him invalid. Taking lessons from these will In Sha Allah bring humility in us.
“Did they then feel secure against the Plan of Allah. None feels secure from the Plan of Allah except the people who are the losers.” (Qur’an, 7:99)