Islamic Medicine - Fruit First

[محمد ارسلان]

 

[محمد ارسلان]

In the Holy Qur'an, Allah, the Exalted, says in Soorah Al-Waqi'ah, mentioning eating fruit first:
"And with fruit that they may choose. And with the flesh of fowls that they desire." (Soorah Al-Waqi'ah, 56:20,21)
It also says in Soorah At-Toor:
"And We shall provide them with fruit and meat such as they desire." (Soorah At-Toor, 52:22)
The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, said: "When one of you breaks his fast, let him break his fast with dates, for they are a blessing." (Narrated by Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi; it has corroborating evidence, which is that the Prophet, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, did this thing.)
It should be noted that eating fruit before the meal offers good health benefits, because fruit contains simple sugars which are easily digested and quickly absorbed, so the intestines absorb these sugars within a short period, which is estimated as minutes, and they nourish the body and cause the symptoms of hunger and lack of sugar in the body to disappear, whereas the one who fills his stomach with various kinds of food straight away needs nearly 3 hours for the intestine to absorb the sugar in his food, and these symptoms of hunger stay with him for longer.
In addition to being easily digested and absorbed, simple sugars are a basic source of energy for the various cells of the body. Among these cells which benefit quickly from simple sugars are the cells on the walls of the intestine and the intestinal villi, which quickly become active when the sugars in fruit reach them and they become ready to do their job of absorbing different types of food eaten by that person after fruit in the best possible manner.
This may be the reason why fruit is mentioned before meat in the verses of the Holy Qur'an and in the Hadith.
(Ma'a Al-Tibb Fil-Qur'an Al-Kareem, by Dr. 'Abdul Hameed Diyab and Dr. Ahmad Qarqooz)
("Islamic Medicine: The Key to a Better Life". Yusuf Al-Hajj Ahmad. Darussalam Publishers, 2010, www.darussalampk.com)