Part 45

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“And of the fruits of the date-palm, and the grapes, whence you derive strong drink and also good nourishment.” (16: 67)

A tradition of the Prophet # is also relevant here. Anas bin Malik, the Prophet’s Companion, stated: “When alcoholic drinks were prohibited, there was no grape drink in Al-Madinah at all; people used only dates’ juice.” One may conclude, then, that if the Prophet # forbidding the usage of ‘al-karm’ to designate the vine tree was for its use in the brewing of alcohol, he would not have compared the palm-tree to the believer, since alcoholic drink is also made from its fruit. But Allah knows best.

It is also a splendid fact that timber is made to float on water; it is indeed for great wisdom. Without that, ships would not be able to transport mountain-like heaps of loads and goods, sailing with them to and for across the sea; such burdens would have been a great trouble to transport by land, and people would have missed many of their interests!

You may wonder about the wisdom of the many plants one encounters everywhere in the desert and wilderness and mountains where no human inhabitants or dwellers can benefit from them. It may occur to you that they are a worthless addition of no value or benefit at all. But this only reflects on the amount of your knowledge and comprehension. Many aspects of wisdom and benefit has the Lord willed when creating those crops. Lots of beasts, birds and insects feed on them! Some living above the earth and some below its surface! Such plants are a kind of feast that Allah has set for those birds and animals, from which they eat, and the rest is left, in the same way as a

wealthy host lets his guest eat, and much of the food remains after the feast, since the host is wealthy, hospitable and generous!

Think of medicines and remedies that the Lord grows from the earth; think of their distinctive characteristics, and their diverse benefits and uses! One penetrates to joints, extracting heavy wastes which could be fatal if ignored; one gets to and removes black bile; one removes yellow bile; one eases swellings; one soothes irritation and worries; one causes sleep and recovers it after spells of sleeplessness; one relieves the body from the feeling of heaviness; one cheers up the heart if it is too much burdened with depression; one eliminates and removes phlegm; one sharpens vision; one purifies the mouth’s flavour; one lessens erotic desire; one excites it; one cools temperature; one defeats cold and raises temperature; one counters the bad effects of other medicines and foods; one modifies the effect of other medicines and balances it off, so that their effect on the body is a moderate one; one quenches thirst; one eliminates pernicious wind and dismisses it; one gives a person a bright and fresh colour; one increases weight in certain parts of the body; one decreases it; one coats the stomach with a layer; one cleanses and purifies it; and the list can go on and on,; it is hard for humans to make a repertory of all medicines.

You may well ask the denier: Who is it that provided those plants, herbs, grains and roots with their diverse characteristics and powers? Who provided each with its peculiar quality? Who guided human beings, and even animals, to take what is good and to avoid what is harmful? Who alerted humans, and even the ignorant beasts to them? What understanding, and what experiment led them to know all that? What makes them

realize what those things were created for? Who, let the misguided think, but Him Who gave unto everything its nature, and then guided it aright? Even if one supposes that man was awakened to those characteristics through his intellect, experimentation, reflection and observation, it remains to ask Who guided the beast to many characteristics that even human beings do not realise; in such a way that some of those beasts use the particular medicines until they are healed? Who is it that guided the animal to seek that particular plant and no other? It has been observed that some birds take in sea water in their bodies when they suffer from retention, and this enables them to pass the waste; that some birds take a certain plant when they are ill, and this heals them. One may refer to wondrous instances in this respect as reported in compilations by physicians! So again you may ask the denier: Who inspired them to do that? Who guided them? Who taught them? Is it conceivable that such things take place without a Controller, without the management of the Most Mighty, the Wise, and the determination of the Omniscient, the Compassionate, the All-Knowing, Whose wisdom overwhelms and baffles the intellect, Who compels the innate nature (fitrah) of a human to testify to His truth, reflecting what had been ingrained in it by Him, identifying Him as Allah, beside Whom there is no god, the Creator, the Shaper out of naught, beside Whom no one should be worshipped? That if there were another god beside Him in the heavens or the earth they would have been disordered, and the system in the heavens and the earth would run wild! Exalted is the Almighty above what the wrongdoers and deniers say, High Exalted!

* Preface * Al-Imam Ibn Al-Qayyem...

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* The stage of bones, flesh and nerves * The forms of various bones and how they are joined. * The head and its senses...

* The digestive system.... * Who took so much care of you? .. * The male and the female * The tools of reproduction in humans. * Human organs from an aesthetic aspect.. * A refutation of naturalists . * The meaning of nature * In the best stature * Allah’s honouring of man . * Aids to the SEMSeS .o..c.cccccccccccsseseseseecseseecsteneeeseseseseseseseseneneneneneneees

* The driving forces of the body’s organs .... - 114 * The outlook of the believer versus that of others . 116

117 118 - 120 - 122 - 125

* Knowledge and ignorance.

CHAPTER TWO: THE UNIVERSE

* The light of the sun and the light of the moon .

* The way to thinking and reflection - focusing the mind for that purpose... * Remembrance and thought..

wisdom of the Maker

* The Maker's guidance... * The ants

* The production and benefits of honey * Conditions for healing with honey ..

* The locusts ... * The right of the oppressed... * Allah’s ways with creation . * The wisdom of transforming some humans to animals... * Wisdom of sending of messengers

* The diversity of fruit to fit the diversity of times * The palm-tree * Which are more beneficial, dates of grapes ..