Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

“You are what you eat.” “Food is medicine.” “Your body is a temple.” Commonly propagated, these are some of the many slogans used to bring public awareness on the importance of physical health and good quality food consumption.

Food awareness and healthy eating however, is nothing new for a believer. It is a Sunnah of our Beloved Prophetﷺ, a message heﷺ delivered and exemplified perfectly over 1400 years ago.

Heﷺ said, “The son of Adam cannot fill a vessel worse than his stomach, as it is enough for him to take a few bites to straighten his back.”- Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2380

“Verily, the first organ the human being rots is his stomach. Whoever can eat nothing but wholesome food, let him do so...”- Sahih al-Bukhārī 7152

Mawlanaق said in hisق recent Sohbah,

“Eat from what is clean and good. And then make shukr to Allahﷻ so that Allahﷻ increases these things. A Muslim, a believer should look at what he is eating and drinking, what he is giving and taking. It should be good.”

Mankind is living in an age of massive food production like never before. Food today is readily available and mostly just an ‘app’ away.

This multi-billion dollar industry that fills modern supermarkets and eateries with convenient global cuisines, is also the cause for many adults to be stricken with early onsets of severe diseases.

Food biotechnology and genetic modification began close to a century ago with a speciality in infiltrating the wholesome natural process of food production, harming the consumer. It opposes natural, healing ways of growing food, all in the name of greed.

Believers must be aware of such attacks on food and be cautious when selecting food to eat. Although GMO foods are such an embedded part of our food system these days, taking time to look beyond a mere ‘Halal’ sign to satisfy a craving is crucial for our wellbeing, both physically and spiritually.

A wise old man once said in his Saintly advice about bodily health, “All these tasty food and drink of today brings only a few seconds of nikmah (blessings of satisfaction) from the tongue to the throat. Beyond this point, it brings a lifetime of azab (torment) to the entire body.”

A whole life of suffering brought by a few seconds of obedience to the ego.

The physical and spiritual impurities in food preparation today is draining believers from goodness. In reality, eating and drinking has only one purpose, serving the body for worship. Thousands of blessed angels are on duty to help ensure every morsel is used to nourish the body for worship, expelling all dirtiness as waste.

When we choose to simply eat these ‘poisonous foods’ to satisfy the ego, the toxic waste produced accumulates and damages not just our physical health, but more worryingly, the spiritual heart, turning one listless from the remembrance of Allahﷻ .

Anyone would prefer to have a healthy, active life in comparison to one bounded by illness. What more for a Muslim who understands that having a healthy life in service and worship to Allahﷻ is invaluable.

Hence, we must take steps to properly care and protect our bodies from eating impure, convenient foods that only serve the taste-buds and nothing else beyond it.

Instead, eat clean, find the freshest and most natural foods possible, prepared in a clean environment with the hands of a believer in wu’dhu, reciting zikrullah and salawat. Most importantly, be focused and present with the blessings of food on the table. Make du’a for it to be a means of healing for the body and soul. Take every morsel with ‘bismillah’ and swallow with ‘alhamdulillah’, being aware of a time to come when there will be no more allotted worldly provisions left for us to consume.

May Allahﷻ Grant us this awareness and make all our food, drink and the air we breathe, be a means of protection from severe illnesses, giving us a long and healthy life in service and worship to our Bountiful Allah Almighty.