Part 36

Drinking from a chipped cup is not allowed

Abu Dawood narrated in his Sunan that Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri said:

"The Messenger of Allah b disallowed drinking from the chipped side of the cup and from breathing in the drink."

This Hadith In addition teaches the Muslim many types of good behavior. For instance, drinking from the chipped side of the cup might cause one to swallow the

substances that have accumulated near the chipped side. In addition, one might not be able to enjoy his drink when he is drinking from the cup's chipped side. In addition, dirt and fat concentrate near the chipped side and are usually not fully cleaned when rinsed. In addition, the chipped side of the cup is the worst and is not beneficial. One of ours saw a man once buying inferior goods and said to him, "Do not buy it, do you not know that Allah has not blessed inferior things?" In addition, the chipped side of the cup might cause injury to the mouth.

As for breathing in the cup, it will transfer the foul odor from the person to the drink. This is why the Prophet s@ has disallowed breathing or blowing in it. In the Hadith that At-Termezey narrated, Ibn Ab'ass said:

"The Messenger of Allah ate prohibited breathing in the pot (or cup) or blowing on it."

If some asks, "What about the Hadith in the Sahihain in which Anas narrated:

"The Messenger of Allah b used to take three breaths while drinking”

We say that we believe in this Hadith and that it does not contradict the Ahadeeth that we mentioned, because it only means that the Prophet b did not sip the drink in one breath.

—— The Prophetic Medicine

The Prophet b drank milk undiluted or mixed with water

Drinking sweet milk in hot areas is very beneficial in preserving the health and providing moisture for the body and the liver. This is especially the case when the animals that produce the milk have grazed on wormwood, lavender, lavender cotton, and so forth, because their milk is both a food and a medicine,

At-Termezey narrated that the Prophet b said:

"When any of you eats food, let him say, 'O Allah! Bless it for us and give us what is better than it.’ When someone is given milk, let him say. 'O Allah! Bless it for us and give us more of it.' Certainly, milk is the only food or drink that is sufficient."

"The Messenger of Allah b used to be made Nabith (some dates soaked in water) in the beginning of the night and would drink it in the moming of the next day, the nex: night and the next day, and another night, and the next day until 'Asr. If any of it remained, he would then give it to a servant or would order that it be poured out."

The Nabith mentioned in this Hadith is some dates

that are soaked in water to sweeten the water and it is used both in drinks and foods. The Nabith has a great benefit in strengthening the body and preserving the health. The Prophet 3 did not drink the Nabith that is more than three days old fearing that it might have started to decompose and become intoxicating.

The Prophet's guidance regarding clothes

The Prophet's guidance regarding clothes was the best guidance, the most beneficial for the body and the easiest to wear and take off.

The Prophet b used to wear an outer garment and Izar (which covered the body), as these types of clothes are the softest on the body. The Prophet ate In addition liked to wear shirts, which was preferred by him.

What the Prophet s& used to wear was the most beneficial for the body, as his clothes did not have excessively long or wide sleeves. Rather, the sleeves were to the wrists and would not be longer than the hand, as this would make them harder to wear and to move about easily. Further, the sleeves were not shorter than what we have described, so as not to expose the hands to the cold and heat,

In addition, the Prophet's shirts and garments did not reach the ankles and would usually reach the middle

of his legs. Otherwise, if the clothes were longer, they will restrict the movement and make one feel restrained. They were not shorter than what we have described, so as not to expose the thighs to the heat and cold.

The Prophet's turban was not excessively big so that it did not harm the head. It was not very small either, otherwise it would not be sufficient to protect the head from the heat and cold. It was medium in size, and he used to pass a part of it under his chin to protect the neck from the heat and cold and to keep the turban firmly on the head when riding his horse or camel and when in battle.

Many people use some type of braces instead of passing the turban under the chin, although the two methods cannot be compared in terms of benefit or even beauty.

When one thinks about the types of clothes that the Prophet ag used, he will find that they are indeed among the best for the body and health and the farthest from extravagance and difficulty to wear.

Most of the time, the Prophet b used to wear ’ Khuff (socks) while traveling, because the feet would need such types of foot covering to fend off the effects of the heat and cold. Sometimes, he would use the Khuff when he was not traveling.

The best colors that the Prophet sag used to wear were white and striped garments. He did not wear all red, black or dyed garments.

As for the red garment the Prophet b was reported to have worn, it was a Yemeni garment that had black, red, and white stripes. We have mentioned this before and stated that some people erred when they thought that the Prophet wore red garments.

The Prophet's guidance concerning one's place of residence

The Prophet s& had knowledge that this life-term was just a transi: station in which one resides for the remainder of his earthly life and then moves on to the Next Life. It was not a part of his guidance or the guidance of his companions, and all those who followed and imitated him, to establish and be concerned with building houses, raising them, beautifying them and extending them. Rather, their places of residence were among the best transit stations that could benefit the traveler, fending off the cold, heat, people's eyes, the beasts and even the fear that it might fall down on them because of its considerable weight! In addition, their residence were neither shared by wild animals, due to their size, nor did the air and wind buffet them due to their excessive height. They were neither built underground, because this would harm the inhabitants,

——— The Prophetic Medicine

nor were they very high above the ground. They were on the level of the ground. These are the best types of houses, most beneficial and least cold or hot. They were not so small that the inhabitants would be irritated by their smallness, nor very spacious, for the residents would not be able to benefit from the excess space. Their homes did not contain bathrooms so that they did not bother the people with a stinking odor. The scent in their homes was fresh, as the Prophet used to like good smells and always had a good scent in his house. In fact, the Prophet's sweat was one of the best scents ever smelled, and such was the scent of his body. There is no doubt that this is the description of the best type of home, most suitable for the body and for staying healthy.

The Prophet's guidance concerning sleep

Those who read about the Prophet's guidance concerning being awake and concerning sleep will find that his sleep was the best and most beneficial for the body, the organs and one's strength. He used to sleep in the early part of the night and would wake up in the beginning of the latter part, use siwak (natural toothbrush), perfcrm ablution and pray as much as Allah permitted him. Consequently, the body, the organs and one's strength will acquire their fair share of sleep, rest and physical activity, along with acquiring the complete rewards (from Allah). This method ensures righteousness

a The Prophetic Medicine

of the heart and body in this life and the Next Life.

The Prophet * did not oversleep or deprive his body of necessary sleep, making his method in this regard the most perfect. He used to sleep when sleep is warranted and would jay on his right side and remember Allah in supplication until sleep overwhelmed his eyes. In addition, his body would not be burdened with overeating or overdrinking. He neither slept on the bare floor, or on high beds. Rather, he had mats made of leaves, used to lean on a pillow and would sometimes place his hand under his cheek.

We will now elaborate on the beneficial and harmful methods of sleep.

Sleep is a condition during which the body's instinctive heat becomes idle, so that the body gets some rest. There are two types of sleep, normal and abnormal. Normal sleep entails resting the inner powers and the senses. When these powers are idle, the body refrains from its usual activity and thus the vapors and wetness that were moving and decomposing while awake would ascend to the brain which is the residence of these powers. The brain then becomes idle, and this is the normal type of sleep.

Abnormal (i.e. heavy) sleep occurs because of an accident or a disease. In this case, the excess wetness will

take over the brain in a manner that prevents the person from waking up easily. Or, excessive amounts of vapor and moisture ascend to the brain, just as what happens in the aftermath of Overeating and overdrinking, and cause the brain to relax and thus the person goes to sleep.

There are two benefits in Sleep: the senses get to rest from the fatigue that overtakes them, n this case, the senses will rest from the tiresome activity that occurs when one is awake. The second benefit is digesting food and leading the various mixtures, conditions or temperaments to maturity (processing bodily wastes). While one is asleep, his instinctive energy or heat concentrates on the digestion process and this is why the body gets cold and needs a cover while one is asleep.

The best type of sleep is for one to sleep on his right side so that the food sits in the stomach comfortably, for the stomach leans to left side as we have stated. One could In addition lay on his left side a little so that the digestion is made faster because the stomach leans on the liver. One should then turn again on his right side to help the stomach push the food down the stomach and this way one starts and ends his sleep while laying on his right side, Sleeping on the left side regularly harms the heart because the organs of the body will pressure the heart with their weight.