When A Morsel Of Food Falls

Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullah (ra - may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw - may the peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) said,

“If a morsel belonging to one of you falls down, then let him take it, remove any dirt that is on it, and eat it - and let him not leave it for the shaitaan (devil).”

In another narration of the Hadeeth, the Prophet (saw) said,

“Verily, the shaitaan is present with (each) one of you in all of his affairs; he (shaitaan) is even present with him when he is eating. So if a morsel falls from one of you, then let him remove any dirt that is on it and then eat it, and let him not leave it for the shaitaan. And when he (i.e., one of you) finishes (eating), then let him lick his fingers, for he does not know in which part of his food there is blessings (Barakah.) “ 1

Let us point out some of the lessons we can learn from this Hadeeth. First, the shaitaan is ever present with every human being, looking not only for opportunities to inflict harm upon a person, but also for a chance to share with him his food and drink. Second, we should remove any dirt or foreign object that attaches itself to a morsel of food that falls down. Then we should eat it, realizing that we are preventing the shaitaan from eating it. Shaitaan is our enemy, and as such, we should not only protect ourselves from him, but we should also make sure that he does not achieve any benefit through us. Third, the blessings of a meal might be in the portion that falls down on the ground, so we should pick it up and eat it, and not lose out on the chance of eating the particular part of a meal that has blessings in it. Fourth, we must believe, as the Hadeeth informs us, that the shaitaan is always present with us; we cannot and must not, therefore, follow the way those who use their defective minds to reason and interpret, until they end up claiming that it is not possible for shaitaan to be with us at all times. Fifth, we must avoid wasting food as there are many people in the world today who do not have any food to eat, let alone to waste any food that they have.

1) Related by Muslim (2033) and Ahmad (14218)

Food as "Medicine"

HEADACHE? EAT FISH!
Eat plenty of fish -- fish oil helps prevent headaches.
So does ginger, which reduces inflammation and pain.

HAVE FEVER? EAT YOGURT!
Eat lots of yogurt before pollen season.
Also-eat honey from your area (local region) daily.

TO PREVENT STROKE DRINK TEA!
Prevent buildup of fatty deposits on artery walls with regular doses of tea. (actually, tea suppresses my appetite and keeps the pounds from invading....Green tea is great for our immune system)!

INSOMNIA (CAN'T SLEEP?) HONEY!
Use honey as a tranquilizer and sedative.

ASTHMA? EAT ONIONS!!!!
Eating onions helps ease constriction of bronchial tubes. (when I was young, my mother would make onion packs to place on our chest, helped the respiratory ailments and actually made us breathe better).

ARTHRITIS? EAT FISH, TOO!!
Salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines actually prevent arthritis. (fish has omega oils, good for our immune system)

UPSET STOMACH? BANANAS - GINGER!!!!!
Bananas will settle an upset stomach.
Ginger will cure morning sickness and nausea.

BLADDER INFECTION? DRINK CRANBERRY JUICE!!!!
High-acid cranberry juice controls harmful bacteria.

BONE PROBLEMS? EAT PINEAPPLE!!!
Bone fractures and osteoporosis can be prevented by the manganese in pineapple.

PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME? EAT CORNFLAKES!!!!
Women can ward off the effects of PMS with cornflakes, which help reduce depression, anxiety and fatigue.

MEMORY PROBLEMS? EAT OYSTERS!
Oysters help improve your mental functioning by supplying much-needed zinc.

COLDS? EAT GARLIC!
Clear up that stuffy head with garlic. (remember, garlic lowers cholesterol, too.)

COUGHING? USE RED PEPPERS!!
A substance similar to that found in the cough syrups is found in hot red pepper. Use red (cayenne) pepper with caution-it can irritate your tummy.

BREAST CANCER? EAT Wheat, bran and cabbage
Helps to maintain estrogen at healthy levels.

LUNG CANCER? EAT DARK GREEN AND ORANGE AND VEGGIES!!!
A good antidote is beta carotene, a form of Vitamin A found in dark green and orange vegetables.

ULCERS? EAT CABBAGE ALSO!!!
Cabbage contains chemicals that help heal both gastric and duodenal ulcers.

DIARRHEA? EAT APPLES!
Grate an apple with its skin, let it turn brown and eat it to cure this condition. (Bananas are good for this ailment)

CLOGGED ARTERIES? EAT AVOCADO!
Mono unsaturated fat in avocados lowers cholesterol.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE? EAT CELERY AND OLIVE OIL!!!
Olive oil has been shown to lower blood pressure.
Celery contains a chemical that lowers pressure too.

BLOOD SUGAR IMBALANCE? EAT BROCCOLI AND PEANUTS!!!
The chromium in broccoli and peanuts helps regulate insulin and blood sugar.

Kiwi: Tiny but mighty. This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, Vitamin E &fiber. It's Vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

Apple: An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low Vitamin C content, it has antioxidants &flavonoids which enhances the activity of Vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

Strawberry: Protective fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits &protects the body from cancer causing, blood vessels clogging free radicals. (Actually, any berry is good for you..they're high in anti-oxidants and they actually keep us young.........blueberries are the best and very versatile in the health field........they get rid of all the free-radicals that invade our bodies)

Orange: Sweetest medicine. Taking 2 - 4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessen the risk of colon cancer.

Watermelon: Coolest Thirst Quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene - the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are Vitamin C &Potassium. (watermelon also has natural substances [natural SPF sources] that keep our skin healthy, protecting our skin from those darn suv rays)

Guava & Papaya: Top awards for Vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high Vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber which helps prevent constipation.
Papaya is rich in carotene, this is good for your eyes. (also good for gas and indigestion)

Which? slams junk food firms

Read the Which? report

Mark Sweney
Friday November 24, 2006
MediaGuardian.co.uk


Consumer group Which? has launched a scathing attack on the "underhand" marketing tactics used by junk food advertisers, less than a week after Ofcom announced tough restrictions on TV advertising targeting children.
The controversial report, called Food Fables: Exploding Industry Myths on Responsible Food Marketing to Kids, attacks the tactics used by 12 companies including McDonald's, Burger King, Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Kellogg's, KFC and PepsiCo.

The report highlights a wide range of marketing tactics used by these companies, including viral marketing by Coco Pops, Burger King's film tie-ins with Garfield and Spongebob Squarepants, and Cadbury's educational resource packs for schools that encourage a trip to Cadbury World to "find out how Cadbury makes its delicious chocolate bars".

Also criticised are KFC's sponsorship of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on ITV1 and McDonald's for its internet tactics, including sponsoring the MSN Messenger service.

However, the research by Which? has been heavily criticised by industry bodies such as the Food and Drink Federation and the Food Advertising Unit of the Advertising Association, who argue that the attack is completely "unconstructive".

Julian Hunt, the director of communications at the FDF, said: "It's disappointing that rather than work in this spirit of cooperation and partnership, Which? has decided to generate cheap headlines which don't really help to take the debate forward.

Sue Eustace, the director of public affairs at the FAU, said: "The issue of obesity is extremely important and the industry remains committed to playing its part.

"However, the solution requires a partnership approach rather than continuous counter-productive battles in the media."

PepsiCo and KFC were incensed by the report.

A PepsiCo spokesman said: "This report does not accurately reflect PepsiCo's position in a number of ways, principally the fact that PepsiCo does not advertise directly to children under the age of 12.

"Pepsi has signed a self-regulatory code across Europe to this effect, an initiative which was recently welcomed and supported by the European commission." The spokesman also claimed the report contained errors, and that some of the products mentioned in the report as PepsiCo brands did not belong to the company, such as Sugar Puffs and Tango.

He said that Pepsi only promotes its no-sugar brand Pepsi Max in the UK, and that all Pepsi online activity and competitions require the individual to be over 16 years of age. A KFC spokesman said: "KFC GB recently took the decision to end all children's toy promotions, and further to that has not targeted children with its advertising since 2004.

"The Which? report misrepresents KFC's policies and includes factual inaccuracies. For example, KFC has not sponsored Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway since Christmas 2005 and has no plans to do so in the future."