Advantages of Cereals, Vegetables, Fruits and Other kinds of Eatables

According to Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), rice is a good food as it expands intestines and cures dysentery.

According to another tradition, a person complained to Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) about stomach- ache. The Imam (a.s.) asked him to wash the rice, dry it in shelter, powder it and have nearly a tablespoonful every morning.

Reliable traditions from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) state that seventy Prophets have prayed for the advantages of chana (gram).

One of the traditions states that having Masoor Dal softens one's heart and makes one cry easily.

According to a reliable tradition, having baqlah increases marrow of the knee and brain and produces fresh blood in the body.

It is stated that a person complained to Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.) of white spots; the Imam (a.s.) asked him to take mash (dal) in his food.

It is stated from Suleman ibne Ja'far that when one day he visited Imam Rida (a.s.), he saw a huge quantity of fresh dates kept before the Imam (a.s.) who was having the dates. When Suleman commented that Imam (a.s.) was helping himself to the dates quite generously, the Imam (a.s.) said that he liked the dates very much because they were liked by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household), Hadrat Ali (a.s.), Imam Hasan (a.s.), Imam Hussein (a.s.), Imam Zainul Abedeen (a.s.), Imam Mohammed Baqir (a.s.), Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) and his father Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.). All those who have accepted the faith of the Imam (a.s.) will like them as they are made from same matter and enemies of Imam (a.s.) and Ahlul Bait will like wine because they are made from fire.

Another tradition states that "having seven Ajwa seeds at night kills worms in the stomach."

A reliable tradition states that five fruits have come from heaven - pomegranate, quince, pea apples, white green grapes and fresh dates.

Another tradition states that Hadrat Ali (a.s.) said that fruits are of 120 kinds but the best among them is pomegranate. Pomegranate appeases the hunger and for those who already had their fill, pomegranate helps to digest the food. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) liked pomegranate the best and he never wanted to share it with others (the cause of which is shown in the next tradition).

A tradition coming from Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.) states that: "a person should have one pomegranate first thing in the morning on a Friday, then his heart will remain bright for forty days. If he has two, it will remain bright for eighty days and if he has three, it will remain bright for one hundred and twenty days. That person will also be protected from the temptations of the devil and he who is safe from temptations is safe from sinning against God and he who does not sin against God will enter heaven."

According to Hadrat Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.), "eating apple keeps one protected from all types of poison, magic, influence of jinns and increase of sputum."

Another tradition states that Sattu of dried apple stops blood coming out of the nose on account of excess heat and is the best medicine for cleaning body from any kind of poison. If people come to know the advantages of apple, they will not use any medicine except apple.

The effects of eating quince, as stated by Hadrat Ali (a.s.), are the following:

a) Strengthens weak heart

b) Causes increase in weight

c) Cleans the stomach

d) Increases reason

e) Makes a man courageous

According to Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), "eating Behi (quince) improves complexion and causes beautiful children."

Another tradition states that: "whosoever will have a seed of Behi first thing in the morning, God will bless his tongue with wisdom for a period of forty days. No Prophet has passed whose body had not smelt of behi (quince). He also said that behi (quince) seed makes sorrow depart from the sad people in the same way as one's hand cleans one's sweat."

A tradition from Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) states that: "eating guava cleans stomach and gives strength. It is better if one takes it after meals instead of first thing in the morning."

According to a reliable tradition from Imam Rida (a.s.), "fig cleans bad smell of the mouth, strengthens bones, increases hair and cures different types of pains. One does not need any medicine after having figs. Among all the fruits, fig has close similarity with the fruits of heaven. It also cures colic (qulanj)."

It is also stated that "figs cure piles and pain in toes and fingers of leg. It increase sexual strength."

Ziad Kundi states that when he visited Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.), he saw a plate of aloo-bukhara (plum). The Imam (a.s.) said that he was suffering from fever and fresh aloo-bukhara makes the temperature fall and causes nausea. Dried aloo-bukhara balances the temperature of blood and cures all types of pains.

Some people enquired from Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) as to what the doctors think about chakotra (grape fruit). The Imam (a.s.) said that: "grape fruit  should be taken after the meals though the doctors ask grape fruit to be taken before meals."

According to a tradition from Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), "from the pulp of sanjad (a fruit like plum), meat is created, skin from its dermis and bones from its seed. Eating sanjad softens and cleans stomach and cures piles."

According to Imam Rida (a.s.), "one should not take melon before breakfast as it causes paralysis. It should always be taken with dried dates or sugar as the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) used to take."

A tradition from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household): "states that if one says Bismillah before having any fruit then it does not harm."

According to a tradition from Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), the meal of Hadrat Ali (a.s.) always consisted of green vegetables. He stated that the heart of momin is green and has a leaning towards greenness. He also stated that whosoever has eaten 7 kasni leaves during the night, he will be safe from the colic pain and whosoever desires many offsprings should take kasni leaves in large quantities.

Another tradition describes "green kasni leaves as a very good vegetable. Not a single leaf of kasni is devoid of a drop of water of heaven and therefore when one eats one should not shake it. It is also stated that kasni leaves (endive) are superior to all vegetables in the same manner as Ahlul Bait (a.s.) are superior to all mankind. Kasni leaves when eaten cause birth of male children who are also beautiful." When a person was ill with fever and headache, the Imam (a.s.) asked kasni leaves to be beaten in pulp, spread on paper, and sprinkled with oil of banafsha and then applied on the forehead of that person as it will completely cure both the fever and the headache.

According to another tradition from Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), "one should have Tura vegetable as it has four good effects - it cleans bad breath, takes out poisonous gases from the body, cures dysentery and safeguards one from leprosy and dandruff."

Another tradition from the same Imam (a.s.) asserts that no other vegetable is as good and beneficial as Khurfa which was the vegetable liked by Hadrat Fatima Zahraa (a.s.).

In yet another tradition he states that: "one should eat salad leaves to clear one's blood."

Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) had shown the Jews two methods of curing dandruff, one was eating beetroot and the other was taking out vein from meat.

Hadrat Imam Rida (a.s.) had stated that: "the leaves of beetroot should be given to those who are ill as it has got beneficial effects and no harmful effect. They will sleep comfortably after having them. But the roots of beetroot cause melancholy (sauda)."

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) said to Hadrat Ali (a.s.) that: "he should take pumpkin as it increases brain and wisdom."

According to Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.), "there are three qualities of radish. Its leaves take out poisonous gases from body, its seeds are easily digestible and its veins take out sputum."

Another reliable tradition orders human beings to take turnip in large quantities for it dissolves the capacity of leprosy and dandruff in those who eat sweet potatoes and turnip.

According to reliable traditions, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) used to have cucumber with salt. Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) has said that cucumber should be eaten from the root side as it is more advantageous.

Another tradition from the Imam (a.s.) states that: "onion cleans dirt of teeth and sputum, lessens fatigue and laziness, strengthens veins and muscles and the roots of the teeth, increases offsprings, beautifies complexion and cures fever."

A tradition from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) narrates that "whenever a person visits any new city, he should eat the onion grown over there so that he may be safe from all the diseases of that city."

According to a tradition from Imam Mohammed Baqir (a.s.), the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) asked the person who eats not to come in his mosque on account of it's bad smell. But the person who is not in a mosque or who is not going to the mosque can have it.

According to another tradition from Imam Mohammed Baqir (a.s.), "the biggest snare of shaitan is to make you eat mud. Eating of mud causes many types of pains in the body, itch and dysentery lessens the strength of legs and on account of lessening of strength of body, there is lessening in good deeds. That man will be questioned on the Day of Judgement and he will be cursed."

According to Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s.), "four things are temptations by devil - eating mud, to break mud in hand habitually, to bite nails with teeth and to bite one's beard."