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| Nutrition: Islamic
Perspective
A highly important factor of health
promotion is proper nutrition. Choosing wholesome food and avoiding what
is unwholesome are essential to health. To abstain from eating without a valid
reason is contrary to health protection. Hence, Islam does not approve of
it. God says in the Quran: Do not forbid yourselves
the wholesome things God has made lawful for you. (5:87) Healthy nutrition means having a balanced
diet, in order to maintain the balance that God has established in all
matters, and to which reference is made in the Quran: "And
He enforced the balance. That you exceed not the bounds; but observe the
balance strictly,. and fall not short thereof". (55:7-9) Healthy nutrition means a diet balanced in
quantity. Eating too much is contrary to Islamic teachings. According to a hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) said: "No human being fills a container to worse effect than he fills his own stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to have a few bites to keep himself fit (which means that it is sufficient to have only what one needs to maintain strength and well-being). If he must eat ( or according to another version "If a human being cannot resist the temptation..."), then let him use one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for breathing". Another authentic hadith quotes the Prophet
(pbuh) as saying: "The food of one person will
be sufficient for two, and the food of two people will be sufficient for
four, and the food of four will be sufficient for eight". Healthy nutrition also means a diet balanced in its contents. This means that it must have a mixture of the different types of food which God has graciously provided for His creation, so that it satisfies all the body needs in terms of proteins, fat, carbohydrates, salts and vitamins. Most of these are mentioned in the Quran: He created cattle which give you warmth, benefits and food to eat. (l6:5) It is He who subdued the seas, from which you eat fresh fish. (16:l4) Referring to vegetarian food God says: It
is He who sends down water from the sky vvith "which He brings up
corn, olives, dates and grapes and other fruit. (16:11) Milk and honey are
also mentioned: In cattle too you have a worthy lesson. We give you to
drink of that which is in their bellies, between the chyle and the blood:
pure milk, a pleasant beverage for those who drink it. (l6:66) From within their (i.e. the bees) bellies
comes forth a fluid of many hues, that provides people with a cure (of
illnesses) (16:69) Islam prefers wholemeal food. An example is
the Prophet's (pbuh) preference for wholemeal bread, as reported in a
hadith' which mentions that Umm Ayman once refined some flour to bake
bread for the Prophet (pbuh). He asked her what she was doing, and she
replied: "This is a type of food which we used to make back home, and
I thought of baking it for you". He said: "Put it (the bran)
back in then make the dough". Washing one's hands before eating is a
basic principle. It ensures the cleanliness of the food we handle, so that
it is not contaminated with what may be harmful. This protects the stomach
from infections. A hadith, the Prophet's wife (pbuh) mentions "the
Prophet (pbuh) used to wash his hands before eating". Another health rule stresses the need to
ensure the cleanliness of food and drink. Islam urges that food should be
covered so that nothing falls in it. A hadith includes the
instruction: "Cover your water container".
And in another version: "Cover your food
and drink". In several places in the Quran, God warns
against corrupting the earth. To corrupt or pollute the environment is one
aspect of such corruption. Indeed it is the first thing that comes to mind
when we read God's directives, such as: |