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| Zaitoon (Olive): Cure for
Seventy Diseases
Dr. M.Laiq Ali Khan* Zaitoon (Olive) the sign of peace and
friendship in this world, has its description in Holy Qur’an Allah Taala
says By the fig and olive The plant of olive reaches the height of 3
meters, leaves are bright green and very attractive and the fruits are of
bright bluish or violet color, possesses a metallic taste. It is known
from old ages. During the excavation of ancient Egyptian graves, vessels
full of olive oil were found with other articles. According to the
scholars of Hadith, on subsidence of Toofan-E-Nooh (The Great Flood of
Noah), when water level came down, the first thing on the earth that was
seen was the olive plant. The plant is extensively found in Asia
Minor, Palestine, Roman territory, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Italy,
North Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, California, Mexico, Peru and South zone of
Australia. Usually it is imported from Spain, Italy, France, Turkey and
Greece. Though olive fruits are very nutritious it is not usually eaten
due to its metallic taste. Rather pickles of its fruits are largely
consumed in Europe. The fruit preserved in vinegar is imported from Greece
and liked very much in Europe and in Arabian countries. Olive oil is a good preservative for other
eatables too. Sardine and other fishes are tinned and preserved in olive
oil. The smokeless burning of olive oil is a peculiar feature, which
produces a bright light. Holy Qur’an stresses the importance of Zaitoon
on several occasions: (141-M-AlInaam-6), (99-K-AlInaam-6),
(11-K-AlNahl-16), (AlNoor-35), (Moominoon). Hazrat Sayyed Al-Ansari narrates that the
Prophet (Pbuh) said “Eat the olive oil and massage
it over your bodies since it is a holy (mubarak) tree.” (Tirmizi,
Ibn Maja) Hazrat Alqama Bin Amir narrates that
Prophet (Pbuh) said, “ There is olive oil for you,
eat it, massage over your body, since it is effective in Heamorrhoids
(Piles).” (Ibn Al-Jozi, Zanbi) Hazrat Aqba Bin Amir narrates that the
Prophet (Pbuh) stated, “You have the olive oil
from this Holy (mubarak) tree, treat yourself with this, since it cures
the Anal fissure (Basoor).” Khalid Bin Saad narrates, “I came to
Madinah with Ghalib Bin Al Jabr. Ghalib became ill during the journey. Ibn
Abi Ateeq came to see him and told a narration from Hazrat Aisha that the
Prophet (Pbuh) told about the cure in Kalonji. We crushed a few seeds of
Kalonji and mixed it with olive oil and dropped in both nostrils, after
which Ghalib became healthy.” (Ibn Maja, Bukhari) Hazrath Abu Hurairah narrates that the
Prophet (Pbuh) stated, “Eat the olive oil and
apply it (locally), since there is cure for seventy diseases in it, one of
them is Leprosy.” (Abu Naim) Hazrat Zaid Bin Arqam narrates, “
We have been directed by the Prophet (Pbuh) that we should treat the
Pleurisy with Qust-e-Behri (Qust Sheerin) and olive oil.” (Tirmizi,
sanadeAhmed, Ibn Maja) Olive oil has a place in Govt Pharmacopoca
of USA and Britain (British Pharmacopoca). Both of these countries have
given prime importance to olive oil for the treatment of various ailments
and have fixed standard parameters to evaluate its purity. It contains Palmatic Acid, Oleic Acid,
Linoleic Acid, Steanic Acid, Myristic Acid and Glycerides. It is not
dissolved in water but in Alcohol, Ether, Chloroform and Liquid Paraffin. The adulterant very often used in the olive
are of the seeds of Tea Plant, Arachis oil in the market samples of olive
oil. Sometimes Machine Gun oil and refined Mobile oil are also found. Olive oil is extracted from the ripened
fruits. The unripe and over ripe fruits contain less amount of the oil.
The fruits are processed three times. Successively, the first round oil is
the best in quality, golden in colour, with a light fragrance and known as
virgin oil. Some varieties of olive oil remained unchanged in its
effectiveness for years together. It contains therapeutic potential even
if it is a thousand years old. Despite the prime importance and holiness
given by Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) no work has been done to
find out its efficacy for the ailments other than the Haemorrhoids, Anal
fissure, Skin diseases, pleurisy and leprosy, which are already described
by the Prophet (Pbuh) , whereas the Prophet (Pbuh) himself says that it
contains cure for seventy diseases. According to Ibn Al-Qayyim the red coloured
oil is better than blackish one. It is an exhilarant, glows up the facial
complexion, provides prevention against poisons, regulates the digestive
process, expels the intestinal parasites, makes the hair lustrous and
minimizes the ageing problems. The massage of olive oil with common salt
over the gums is a remedy for several diseases of gums and teeth. The
local application of olive oil or the water extracted from the crushed
olive oil leaves is effective on boils, rashes and itching. The chronic
ulcers and boils, which show difficult, healing condition, are healed up
with the use of olive oil locally. According to Zahbi it strengthens the hairs
and body, hence could be used as a good tonic in old age problems and to
delay the ageing process. It is also useful in sexual weakness.
Combination of normal saline with olive oil is highly effective in burns
cases.
In view of the researches carried out in USA and England, it is concluded that it is a good nourishing diet during the ailments of kidney, where nitrogen-containing food/proteins in take is contra indicated. Since, the Prophet (Pbuh) stated that it is a good remedy for Anal fissure, hence for the same complaint patients were advised to take two spoonful of olive oil at bedtime and an ointment was applied on fissure locally at retiring and in morning, prepared from 8 spoonfuls of olive oil and 2 spoonfuls of ground henna leaves. This showed very good effects against the problem. It is a good tonic for hair and maintains the lustre. Its combination with other prescribed drugs of Tibb-al-Nabwi is a good remedy for Psoriasis and Eczema. The impressions of several doctors practicing in Middle East and North Africa reveal that no case was detected of Gastro Intestinal Carcinoma, among those who were used to consuming olive oil. Japanese doctors also endorse this fact and have the opinion that olive oil prevents the incidence of G.I.T. Carcinoma The Prophet (Pbuh) stated that it is a good
remedy for intestinal inflammations. Therefore it was used in the cases of
G.I.T ulcers and found very much effective. It is also observed that no
remedy equates the benefits of olive oil in hyper acidity and gas troubles. The Prophet (Pbuh) recommended the use of
olive oil in Pleurisy. Keeping this in view olive oil was administered in
various diseases of Respiratory tract and it was observed that the regular
users of olive oil were least affected with common cold and coryzha? and
pneumonia. The clinical experiences of well-qualified and highly established doctors in the profession who take a keen interest in Prophet’s medicine reveal that olive oil is a good supportive treatment in Tubercular infection of either site. According to a narration of Kahlid Bin Saad in Ibn Maja, one spoonful of Kalonji was pulverized and mixed with 12 spoonful of olive oil. This suggestion was dropped into the nostrils morning and evening for the cases of chronic cold and epitasis. The results were found highly positive. (* Director, Shah Faisal Institute of Hadith & Medical Sciences, Kasganj - 207123 ,UP) reprinted with permission from: |