Second, “and gardens of grapes, and green crops, and date-palms.” The noble verse refers to the following scientific facts about these plants:
“And gardens of grapes”
The word einab (grape) was mentioned eleven times in the Holy Qur’an, out of which the singular form “grape” (einab and einaban) appears twice and its plural form “grapes” (a’anab and a’anaban) appears nine times. In most cases, the word “palm” was mentioned in singular or plural forms according to the form of the word “grape”. þ
The grape is a very celebrated fruit, not only because of its high sugar content compared to other fruits, but because it also contains many vitamins (A and C), organic substances such as proteins, acids and enzymes. In addition, it contains salts of many elements such as potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and many other organic and inorganic compounds, which are found in balanced percentages. All these benefits make grapes a very beneficial food and the purest that man can have.þ
Grapes also proved to have a noticeable efficacy in purifying the blood of toxins, wastes, organic and inorganic residues, viruses, fungi and other disease causing germs. This fruit strengthens the immune system, rebuilds damaged cells, especially when eaten on an empty stomach, i.e. after fasting for a whole day and over a five to seven week period.þ The reason for the quick interaction of grapes in the human body is due to its direct absorption without the need for digestion.þ
Grapes have been successfully used in treating many diseases such as gout (arthrolithiasis, rheumatic diseases, Bilharziosis (schistosomiasis) related diseases, anemia, digestive and respiratory diseases, liver and bladder infections, internal and external ulcers, mouth and gum infections and tooth cavities, and many kinds of cancers, especially in their initial stages. It has been recently discovered that grapes contain a very effective component for treating cancers and other similar incurable diseases in their different stages. This component is called Resveratrol and it exists—in low levels—in the fruits of seventy- two other plants such as mulberries, peanuts, and in some legumes such as chickpeas, beans and lentils. Dr. Johanna Brandt (who was cured from cancer after eating grapes continuously for nine years) affirmed these facts. She wrote her story in a book titled “The Grape Cure. ISBN 0879040025” The book was published inNew York
Mr. Basil Shackleton has also confirmed the great effects of grapes after struggling with the renal failure disease for about forty years. He published a book entitled “The Grape Cure: A Living Testament, ISBN 0722502028” where he mentioned his and Dr. Johanna Brandt’s stories as well as other stories that described the positive effects of grapes in the treatment of many diseases. The book was translated (into Arabic) by Dr. Muhammad Al-Sheikh Omar, printed by Al-Madany Organization (68 Al-Abasia street/Cairo) and distributed for free by Dr. Abd Al-Rahman Omar Nassif’s library (Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The grape’s juice, concentrated or diluted, is considered one of the strongest antiseptics; its solutions are used in cleansing ears, nose, mouth, and larynx. It can also be used as a sort of dressing in the treatment of wounds and external abscesses. Grapes can be dried to become raisins without loosing any of their nutritional or therapeutic value because raisins retain them for long periods.þ
The great benefits of grapes mentioned above, along with others not yet discovered, might be the reason behind mentioning that particular fruit in the Holy Qur’an in eleven places in ten noble chapters. Vineyards were described as heavens in most of the verses; it was depicted as a heavenly fruit even though heaven is a guarded secret that only Allah the Almighty knows about, its laws and features are different from what we find on earth. Grapes were described as a heavenly fruit in Surat
“And green crops, and date-palms”
The word “green crops” here refers to all kind of plants. It was mentioned in this verse and in ten other places in the Holy Qur’an in addition to four other places where it appears as a verb or a subject. The reason behind mentioning this general term “green crops” along with the specific term such as grapes and palms in this particular verse, as well as figs, olives, pomegranates and bananas in other places, is to emphasize their specific importance compared to the rest of fruits and plants.þ
Palms are evergreen trees; their very long trunk ending in a cluster of leaves at its top distinguishes these trees. Palm trees have no branches; the leaves that cover the buds on the top do not fall unless by human intervention. Palms’ fruits (dates), are characterized by their high nutritional value. The percentage of carbohydrates (including simple sugars) in dried dates exceeds 70%; water 13%, fiber 10%, fat up to 2.5%, and mineral salts up to 1.5%. The remaining percentage includes vitamins (A, B and C), proteins, hormones and antibiotics.þ Among these hormones there is one that consists of nine amino acids. It resembles the hormone oxytocin, which plays an important role in the human body (male and female). Oxytocin stops bleeding, stimulates milk production for nursing, facilitates childbirth, heals the uterus after giving birth, stimulates bonds of love and friendship, causes relaxation, and helps to eliminate sadness in both male and female. Dates also contain the estrogen hormone that has many functions; among its important functions is that it regulates the presence of fatty acids and salts in the blood.
Magnesium salts, manganese and iron are very important components of dates. They are found in reasonable amounts and are easily absorbed by the body. Magnesium salts, for instance, have great effects on the glands including the endocrine glands that secrete hormones. They also play a role in calming the nervous system, maintaining the health of bones and teeth, increasing the rate of cell growth, helping in the elasticity of tissues, resisting acid toxins, and in decreasing body temperature. As for manganese, its salts act as a sedative to the nerves, a mood leveler, for anti-anxiety, and to reassure the soul. Iron plays an important role in the construction of hemoglobin and it passes to infants during the breast-feeding process.þ
Thus, the Holy Qur’an focused on the palm due to its importance over other plants and due to its fruit’s characteristics. Therefore, the word palm(s) was mentioned in twenty Quranic verses in sixteen different chapters. Some of these verses mentioned it in the singular form “nakhla” (palm) as it appears twice in Surat Maryam (Mary) to indicate a specific palm. In ten other verses it appears as a definite plural noun “al-nakhl” (the palms), or as an indefinite plural “nakhl” (palms) in seven other verses, and it is mentioned once as “Nakhlan”.þ
“Growing into two or three from a single trunk, or otherwise (one stem root for every palm), watered with the same water; yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat”
Nowadays, scientists have discovered more than 400,000 species of plants, out of which 250,000 species belong to the flowering plants that Allah the Almighty gave the ability to produce its food “and green crops, and date-palms”
The word “green crops” here refers to all kind of plants. It was mentioned in this verse and in ten other places in the Holy Qur’an in addition to four other places where it appears as a verb or a subject. The reason behind mentioning this general term “green crops” along with the specific term such as grapes and palms in this particular verse, as well as figs, olives, pomegranates and bananas in other places, is to emphasize their specific importance compared to the rest of fruits and plants.þ
Palms are evergreen trees; their very long trunk ending in a cluster of leaves at its top distinguishes these trees. Palm trees have no branches; the leaves that cover the buds on the top do not fall unless by human intervention. Palms’ fruits (dates), are characterized by their high nutritional value. The percentage of carbohydrates (including simple sugars) in dried dates exceeds 70%; water 13%, fiber 10%, fat up to 2.5%, and mineral salts up to 1.5%. The remaining percentage includes vitamins (A, B and C), proteins, hormones and antibiotics.þ Among these hormones there is one that consists of nine amino acids. It resembles the hormone oxytocin, which plays an important role in the human body (male and female). Oxytocin stops bleeding, stimulates milk production for nursing, facilitates childbirth, heals the uterus after giving birth, stimulates bonds of love and friendship, causes relaxation, and helps to eliminate sadness in both male and female. Dates also contain the estrogen hormone that has many functions; among its important functions is that it regulates the presence of fatty acids and salts in the blood.
Magnesium salts, manganese and iron are very important components of dates. They are found in reasonable amounts and are easily absorbed by the body. Magnesium salts, for instance, have great effects on the glands including the endocrine glands that secrete hormones. They also play a role in calming the nervous system, maintaining the health of bones and teeth, increasing the rate of cell growth, helping in the elasticity of tissues, resisting acid toxins, and in decreasing body temperature. As for manganese, its salts act as a sedative to the nerves, a mood leveler, for anti-anxiety, and to reassure the soul. Iron plays an important role in the construction of hemoglobin and it passes to infants during the breast-feeding process.þ
Thus, the Holy Qur’an focused on the palm due to its importance over other plants and due to its fruit’s characteristics. Therefore, the word palm(s) was mentioned in twenty Quranic verses in sixteen different chapters. Some of these verses mentioned it in the singular form “nakhla” (palm) as it appears twice in Surat Maryam (Mary) to indicate a specific palm. In ten other verses it appears as a definite plural noun “al-nakhl” (the palms), or as an indefinite plural “nakhl” (palms) in seven other verses, and it is mentioned once as “Nakhlan”.þ
“Growing into two or three from a single trunk, or otherwise (one stem root for every palm), watered with the same water; yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat”
Nowadays, scientists have discovered more than 400,000 species of plants, out of which 250,000 species belong to the flowering plants that Allah the Almighty gave the ability to produce its food through photosynthesis. About 150,000 kinds belong to the non-flowering category and cannot perform photosynthesis so they get their needs through other ways.þ
Diversity between plants of the same species occurs during sexual reproduction as a result of meiotic germ cell division followed by unification of two germ cells from two different individuals one male and the other female. This form of intraspecies variation along with the other interspecies variation takes place until the fruits, grains and vegetable products become numerous so that they fulfill all the life needs on earth.þ
Every plant is strongly influenced by its environment, which is in turn, influenced by its geography (climate, topography, the various kinds of rocks and soils, and the abundance or lack of water). Although plants are influenced by their surroundings, their primary influence comes from their genetic makeup. Essentially, each plant’s genome controls its attributes and its different abilities to use the elements and compounds from the soil. Every plant species, as every other living organism, has a specific number of chromosomes that distinguish it from other plants. Every chromosome carries a number of genes that encode the information necessary for cells to synthesize certain proteins. The diversity of genes from one plant to another leads to the diversity of the proteins produced within the cell, and so their fruits differ in their taste, smell, colors, form and size. Hence, in harmony with its surrounding environment, each plant has an appropriate form, color, and size. Although they can be alike and derive from one species, or can be dissimilar and come from different species, they are still watered by the same water; yet some of them are more favored than others to eat.
The noble verse refers to the sciences of taxonomy, genetics, ecology and geology. These scientific truths did not become evident to mankind until the end of the eighteenth century and in a primitive way. They were not refined until the last decades of the twentieth century. Their existence in the Holy Qur’an, which was revealed at the beginning of the seventh century, and with such scientific accuracy and inclusion, is evidence that it is Allah’s words and also a proof the Prophethood of the last Messenger (PBUH). That is why Allah the Almighty says at the end of the verse what can be translated as, “Verily, in these things there are Ayât (proofs, evidence, lessons, signs) for the people who understand”.
May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions and all those who follow his guidance until the last day and all praise is for Allah, the Lord of all creation.
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق