Why eat vegetables?

The following is abstracted from"Malfuzat e Attarriyya" (Utterances of
Mohammed Ilyas Attar Qadri).
Someone asked the sheikh: Vegetables are usually a part of your diet.
What is the wisdombehind it?
Sheikh replied: Praise beto Allah, vegetables havecure for several
ailments [diseases]. Sayiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased
with them) has narrated that vinegar is the best gravy [curry], and
Prophet (Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam), use to like vegetables. It is
narratedin "Kanzul Ubaad" that the angles visit the tablecloth which
has vegetables on it.
Prophet of Allah (Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam) loved gourd [squash]. In
a narration by "Abu Naeem" Prophetof Allah (Sallallaho Alihi
Wassallam) said "Oh people! Eat plenty of squash because it
strengthens the brain. Inanother narration, Prophet (Sallallaho Alihi
Wassallam) said, "Oh Ayesha! Whenever you cook add few pieces of
squash because it strengthens the depressed heart". One should make a
habit of putting a few pieces of squash while cooking the meat so that
one gets the reward of following a sunnah and also get other benefits
narrated above. Sayiduna Zahbbi (may Allah's mercy be upon him)
narrates in "Tibb e Nabwi" [Medicine of the Prophet Sallallaho Alihi
Wassallam] eating squash increases the brain [capabilities]. Prophet
(Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam) said that squash cleans the chest and
strengthens the heart.
It is narrated in Bukhari& Muslim etc. that Sayiduna Anus (may Allah
be pleased with him) narrates that, one tailor invited the Prophet
(Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam) and presented barley bread and stew with
squash and dried meat. I saw Prophet Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam
finding piecesof squash from the bowl [serving dish] and eatingit.
After that day I loved [to eat] squash!.
Someone asked the sheikh: Olives are often seen on your tablecloth and
you prevent us fromthrowing its seed! What is the reason behind it?
Sheikh replied: I eat olives as a 'tabaruk' [blessing]. (Narrating
thebenefits of olives he said,) olive tree is a blessed tree. It is
said in the Holy Quran: (AlNoor 24:35) "from the blessed olive tree."
It is in"Tafseer e Sawwi" 70 Prophets Allhimus Salam made benediction
[dua']for its blessing including Prophet Abraham Allihis Salam and
above all, the Master of Prophets, Our Prophet Sallallaho Alihi
Wassallam.
I do not throw the seed away out of respect and to respect the olive
seed is by the guidance of theconscious. (He further narrated) After
the stormof Noah Allihis Salam, the first tree that grew was that of
an olive. Andfirst time the Olive tree grew [in this world] was on the
Mount of Turr where Prophet Moses, Allihis Salam talked with Allah
Almighty.
The life of an olive tree is very long some scholars say it lives for
3,000 years. It is narrated in "Khazayin ul Irfan" [tafseer of Quran]
that its leaves do not shed. Its oil is called"Zi'et", and any oil in
thisworld does not match the qualities of the olive oil. (He further
said) it is in a narration from "AbuNaeem" The master of medicine, the
doctor of doctors, Allah's Prophet Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam said,
eat olives and use its oil for it has cure for 70 diseases and one of
them is leprosy. Eating 25 grams of olive oil daily will cure old
[chronic] constipation. Olive pickles increase appetite and relieve
constipation.
Someone asked the sheikh: It is often seen that you drink water before
your meals, any wisdom behind it?
Sheikh replied: I have read a quote of Sayiduna Luqman, may Allah be
pleased with him, that to drink water before a meal is health, during
a meal is medicine and after a meal is burden. Allah and Allah's
Prophet Sallallaho Alihi Wassallam know (he further said) Physicians
also agree. According to medicine it is beneficial to drink water
before eating fruits. By principle fruits should beeaten before the
meal but today fruits are generally eaten after themeal. It is also
beneficial to drink water before tea [or coffee].

Can we eat Shrimps?

Maulana Amjad Ali Azmi Al-Qadri (Hanffi) writes in "Bahr e Shariat"
Part 15, Vol. 2: There is difference of opinion onshrimps being a fish
or not and based on it, is the difference of opinion on it being
lawful or unlawful. Apparently it does not look like a fish. It rather
looks like a worm. So one should avoid it. ("Radul Mukhtar")
[PS:"Rad-ul-Mukhtar is written by Syed Mohammed Amin Ash-Shaheerba Bin
Abideen Shammi, may Allah's mercy be upon him (died 1253H.)]
Following is abstracted form "Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the
Path of Truth" by Sheikh Abd' Al-Qadir Al-Jilani (Translation: Muhtar
Holland) Vol. 2: Inthe words of Bakr ibn 'Ubaidillah (may Allah bestow
His mercy upon him): "A man can not be truly pious [taqi] until hehas
come to be pious in a way he approaches thedining room.... According
to Shahr ibn Hawshab (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him): "The truly
devout person [muttaqi] is one who is ready to abstain from something
that is quite harmless in itself, as a precaution against slipping
over into something else that could be harmful" …. According to Abu
Yazid Bastami (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him), true devotion
[taqwa] is: "Cautious avoidance [tawarru'] of all things that are of
doubtful legality [shubuhat]….
Shrimps (prawns) can also live outside water and no one calls it a
fish in regular day to day language. But since the cautious scholars
of the past have mentioned thediscussions and given nojudgment it is
up to every individual to decide.
SHRIMPS (prawns) ARE A DOUBTFUL LEGALITY!

Fathwa, - Seclusion of religious women in the home

Question:
My question is in regards to women being commanded to stay in their
houses and the reality faced by religious Muslim women, especially
housewives and mothers of young children, in the West. Itcan get very
depressing to stay at home all the time withyoung children when the
husband is working long hours, however I know of a scholar who doesn't
allow his wife to come to the masjid except once a month or so. This
makes it very difficult for other community women who are in desperate
need of Islamic knowledge from her, and would love to have her teach
them. Also, she is often irritable and complains about her condition
of lonelinessand seclusion to her close friends. How can we advise our
scholar of the importance of allowing his wife to come to the masjid
to fulfill the wajib kifayahof the community, of knowledgeable women
teaching others the basics of Islam? And also it is feared that the
example that the scholar is setting will be followed by other
religious men in the community and thus make all the wives quite
miserable by not meeting their social and religious needs.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed in this question.
Firstly, it is important as you say to organize classes for the women
of the community. This is animportant obligation and thus we should
try to find a way to make this happen. You may suggest having the
classes at one of the homes where there can be complete privacy for
the sisters and with which the Imam and his wife also feels
comfortable. If a class can be arranged in the Imam's own home then
that would also solve theproblem.
The community cannot force the Imam to allow his wife to frequent the
masjid, since he may have valid reasons for not doing so. For
instance, he may not be satisfied with the segregation arrangements
there (unfortunately many masajid suffer from this problem in the US,
and many sisters feel that they cannot gain the peace and tranquility
they seek due to poor or a complete lack of segregation arrangements).
Hence, the educational aspect can be overcome by arranging the classes
elsewhere.
Secondly, the Imam's relationship and interaction with his wife in
this regard is the couple�s personal business and not something the
community has anything to do with. If the wife has a serious problem
with her situation then she may herself approach or consult withher
influential elders or scholars in this regard. They can then deal with
the issue. It is not something members of the community can take into
their hands and pressure or even advice the Imam about, since hemay
have his own valid reasons for doing what he is doing. Entering
intosuch a situation can only harm their relationship. The Sharia
instructs in general not to interfere with couples in their marital
and internal issues.
Finally, to help remove the loneliness of the Imam's wife, this is
certainly something that the sisters of the community can assist in
and will be greatly rewarded for. They can befriend her and make her
feel at home in the community by visiting her home or including her in
properly-organized social get together, so long as her husband
welcomes such interaction. Hence, this should be done on a social
level and not with the intent to interfere.
And Allah knows best.

Fathwa, - How old does a son have to be to be a mehram

Question:
I want to now how old does my son have to be before i can travel with
him as my mehram. e.g for hajj?
Answer:
wa`alaykum as-salam wa-rahmatullah
All praise is to Allah. Blessings and peace be upon the Messengerof Allah.
The mahram with whom a woman travels should be
1) Adult (baligh) by the definition of the shari`ah, (or at least
nearadult [Durr al-Mukhtar]).
(Adulthood for these purposes is defined as the first period for a
girl, or the first wet-dream for a boy, or 15 lunar years of age for
both as aprecautionary upper limit.)
2) Sane
3) Upright, trustworthy and responsible
There is not a specific age which can be used universally; rather what
is important is that the mahram (the son, in yourcase) fulfills the
conditions mentioned above. The rationale is that the mahram should be
capable of protecting the woman and her honor. Clearly a minor child
and an insane person cannot even take care of themselves, let alone
watch out for someone else. nor can anirresponsible or morally corrupt
person be expected to fulfill this role.
[References:
- Radd al-Muhtar, Ibn `Abidin, 3/464 (Dar al-Kutub
al-`Ilmiyyah)
- al-Mughni, Ibn Qudamah, 3/193-4]
And Allah knows best.