Practices in the Torah That Are Compatible with the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
(May God Bless Him and Grant Him Peace)
Through their superior virtues all the prophets sent ever since the time of the Prophet Adam (pbuh) have lived in a way that sets an example for all. How the prophets spent their days, what foods they liked, how they ate them, the kinds of clothes they wore, the way they wore their hair, the attention they paid to cleanliness, their conversation, and how they treated other people are all valuable information for believers to know. According to Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace), all messengers are blessed individuals on whom our Lord has bestowed moral virtues, grandeur, wisdom, the ability to influence others, nobility and radiance. The lives of these blessed individuals, their habits and behavior that guided their communities, are their Sunnah. In the hadith, Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) tells us that the Sunnah of all the prophets and messengers are very similar to one another.
God reveals in the Qur'an that all the prophets have been descended from the same family line, and have had the same belief and moral virtues:
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This is the argument We gave to Abraham against his people. We raise in rank anyone We will. Your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing. We gave him Isaac and Jacob, each of whom We guided. And before him We had guided Noah. And among his descendants were David and Solomon, and Job, Joseph, Moses and Aaron. That is how We recompense the good-doers. And Zachariah, John, Jesus and Elijah. All of them were among the righteous. And Ishmael, Isaiah, Jonah and Lot. All of them We favored over all beings. And some of their forebears, descendants and brothers; We chose them and guided them to a straight path. That is Allah's guidance. He guides by it those of His servants He wills. If they had associated others with Him, nothing they did would have been of any use. They are the ones to whom We gave the Book, Judgment and prophethood. If these people reject it We have already entrusted it to a people who did not. (Surat al-An'am, 83-89)
Those are some of the prophets Allah has blessed, from the descendants of Adam and from those We carried with Noah, and from the descendants of Abraham and Israel and from those We guided and chose. When the signs of the All-Merciful were recited to them they fell on their faces, weeping, in prostration. (Surah Maryam, 58)
When the Torah revealed to the Prophet Moses (pbuh) is examined in detail, it can be seen to contain important information, in terms of the lives, moral values and Sunnah of the prophets and messengers who lived in the past.
In this section of the book, you will see the similarities between prophets who were sent as beacon for the worlds.
Forms of Dress Recommended in the Torah
Wearing the skullcap:
He (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) would wear the skullcap. He sometimes wore it under his turban, and sometimes on its own. He would sometimes remove it and place a shawl over his head and brow.1
Most of the blessed one's clothes were white. He wore a turban over his skullcap. He began donning his shirt from the right. He had a special costume he wore on Fridays.2
The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) wore a striped skullcap.3
Make tunics, sashes and headbands for Aaron's sons, to give them dignity and honor. (Exodus, 28:40)
And put headbands on them... The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. In this way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons. (Exodus, 29:9)
Then he brought Aaron's sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Leviticus, 8:13)
Wearing a shirt:
Al-Ghazali says in his Ihya' al-'Ulum: "The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) would wear all kinds of clothing prepared for him. Shirts, jackets, shawls etc.4
He would tie it over his shirt, sometimes opening it at the daily prayer and outside the daily prayer.5
He began donning his shirt from the right.6
Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. (Exodus, 28:39)
Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. (Exodus, 29:8)
He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod* on him. (Leviticus, 8:7)
* Ephod: A garment worn over the robe.
Using clothes made of linen:
In his book Manaqib, Ibn Shahr Ashub relates: "He (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) would wear clothes of woven linen and cotton. Most of the blessed one's clothes were white.7
The Makarim al-Akhlaq relates: "Linen was one of the prophets' clothes."8
For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver—and the turban of fine linen, the linen headbands and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. The sash was of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus, 39:27-29)
"Make linen undergarments... reaching from the waist to the thigh. Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place..." This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants. (Exodus, 28:40-43)
They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire. (Ezekiel, 44:18)
He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. (Leviticus, 16:4)
Using the turban:
He (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) would wear the turban over his skullcap.9
According to the account, the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) would wind his turban around him three or five times.10
He had a turban referred to as al-sahab, and he gave this to the blessed Ali, when Ali came wearing this turban God's Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, "Ali has come to you inside al-sahab."11
Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. (Zechariah, 3:5)
These are the garments they are to make: a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. (Exodus, 28:4)
They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire. (Ezekiel, 44:18)
Wearing a robe and kaftan:
On days of battle and on normal days he (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) wore lined clothes. He had a green silk robe, and it was worth seeing when the blessed one wore this and it contrasted with his white skin...
The garment he wore on top of his clothes was dyed with saffron. He sometimes led the community in prayer dressed in this single garment. Sometimes he wore just a single robe...
He sometimes donned a striped Yemeni cloak, and sometimes a robe made of wool over his garments. In the same way, he wore clothes woven from cotton and linen.12
They made the robe of the ephod* entirely of blue cloth—the work of a weaver—with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar, and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. (Exodus, 39:22-24)
* Ephod: A garment worn over the robe.
Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them... Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breast piece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. (Exodus, 29:4-5)
He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also tied the ephod to him by its skillfully woven waistband. (Leviticus, 8:7)
Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve Me as priest. These are the garments they are to make: a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve Me as priests. Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. (Exodus, 28:3-5)
The Importance Attached to Cleanliness According to the Torah
They wove two jackets for the blessed one (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]), and these he wore only for the daily prayer. He would encourage and command his community to be clean.13
When we, the Ahl al-Bayt, wish to sleep we abide by ten things: To be clean...14
It is reported by the son of Omar ibn Hattab that, "I never saw a more generous, braver and cleaner person than the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace)."15
The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: "Islam is clean and unsullied. You, too, must be clean, clean yourselves, because the clean enter Paradise."16
And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes." (Exodus, 19:10)
After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. (Exodus, 19:14)
"My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" (2 Kings, 5:13)
They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus, 40:32)
Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. (2 Samuel, 12:20)
"You must keep the believers separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling My dwelling place, which is among them." (Leviticus, 15:31)
... [He] must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. (Leviticus, 16:28)
He shall bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his regular garments. (Leviticus, 16:24)
... [They] purified themselves and washed their clothes. (Numbers, 8:21)
He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. (Leviticus, 16:4)
Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of My sight! (Isaiah, 1:16)
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean. (Leviticus, 10:10)
Wearing good smell:
The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) had a box containing musk. He would take this and anoint himself with it after every ritual purification. This delightful scent would spread all around whenever he left his house.17
When the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) was given scent he would rub it on himself. "It smells good and is easy to carry," he would say. If he had an excuse not to, he would have made to with touching it with the tip of his finger.18
The Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) grandson, the blessed Hasan, stated his views regarding his pleasant smell: "The Prophet commanded us to wear the best clothes we could find and the most pleasant scents we could find."19
His body was clean and he smelt very pleasant. Whether or not he had used scent, his skin smelt more pleasant than the finest perfume. When anyone had close contact with him (shaking hands or enjoying his conversation, friendship and affection), he would perceive that lovely smell all day, and if he touched the head of a child with his blessed hand, that child would be distinguished among the other children.20
Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes... (2 Samuel, 12:20)
Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor... (Ruth, 3:3)
Places of worship smelling pleasant:
The Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace), who attached meticulous attention to cleanliness, wished Muslims to remain in clean places and liked beauties and beautiful scents as a manifestation of God commanded Muslims to keep the mosques clean. The Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) wanted mosques to have a fragrant odor and a comfortable environment that would give relief to Muslims. For this end, he also made Muslims to incense the mosques. Incensing for the purpose of fragrant odor is also mentioned in the Torah. Below are the related accounts and explanations in the Torah:
Camphor (an oil obtained from the camphor tree) or other incense was burned in the Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) general assemblies, and the community would thus be called to rest. On Fridays he commanded pleasant scents to be used.21
The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) would give a pleasant aroma with "Awd al-Gumari" (a species of plant that gives off a pleasant smell when placed over fire).22
... And fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you. (Exodus, 31:11)
And burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him. (Exodus, 40:27)
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart. (Proverbs, 27:9)
Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. (Exodus, 30:7-9)
From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord, take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord, an offering made to the Lord by fire. (Exodus, 29:23-25)
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the believers to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for Me from each man whose heart prompts him to give... olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense." (Exodus, 25:2, 6)
The cleanliness of places of worship:
One hot day, business owners and workers came to the mosque in their work clothes, and since the mosque was small the air inside became heavy and unpleasant. At this the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said; "It would have been better if you had washed and then come." After that, it became a custom to wash on Fridays.23
The Messenger of God's (may God bless him and grant him peace) mosque would be carefully scrubbed and cleaned.24
Neither shall he leave the house of his God nor desecrate it because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God... He must not... desecrate My house. I am the Lord, Who makes them holy. So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites. (Leviticus, 21:12, 23-24)
I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. (Nehemiah, 13:9)
The priests went into the house of the Lord to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord's house everything unclean that they found in the house of the Lord... (2 Chronicles, 29:16)
On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp. (Numbers, 31:24)
After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water... (Numbers, 19:7)
The importance attached to bodily cleanliness:
The Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace): "Surely, Islam is pure, therefore be pure, because he can never enter Paradise who is not pure."25
The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) combed his hair and set it right with water, and he then said, "Water is enough for a believer to smell pleasant."26
Ibn Shuba says in his book Tuhaf al-Uqul, "Cleanliness is one of the virtues of the prophets."27
Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" (2 Kings, 5:13)
... If I washed myself with soap and my hands with washing soda. (Job, 9:30)
Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong. (Isaiah, 1:16)
Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. (Exodus, 30:18)
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure... (Isaiah, 52:11)
... His teeth whiter than milk. (Genesis, 49:12)
Attention to hair and dress:
Aisha (ra) relates "When the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) combed and oiled his hair..."28
Tabarsi reports in the Makarim al-Akhlaq: "The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) would comb his hair with a special comb known as "madari"... He would usually comb his hair twice a day." He also related that, "After combing his hair, he would leave his comb under his bed."29
The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) once intended to go to his companions and so he put on his turban and dressed his hairs... He said: "Yes, God loves the actions of His servant who refines his body in order to meet his friends and brothers."30
The Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) grandson, the blessed Hasan, expressed his views on the subject of clothing: "The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) commanded us to wear the best clothes we had and to use the finest perfumes."31
They (priests) must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed. (Ezekiel, 44:20)
Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes." (Leviticus, 10:6)
The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes. (Leviticus, 21:10)
Your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. (Ezekiel, 16:13)
For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen—the work of a weaver—and the turban of fine linen, the linen headbands and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. The sash was of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn—the work of an embroiderer—as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus, 39:27-29)
Oiling the hair and body:
The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) would oil his body with many different oils, during which time he would oil his head before his beard and say, "The head comes before the beard."32
The blessed one would generally oil his body with violet oil and said, "This is the best of all oils."33
When the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) wish to oil himself he would first oil his eyebrows, then his moustache and then smell, and finally oil his blessed head.34
He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him. (Leviticus, 8:12)
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. (Psalm, 133:2)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil... (Psalm, 23:5)
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers. (Psalm, 141:5)
Foods and Drinks Noted in the Torah
Stew:
It is reported in the Makarim that: "The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) would generally eat helim (a kind of soup made from cracked wheat, meat and water.) He sometimes preferred to eat helim for the sahr meal."35
Some of the foods eaten by the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) may be listed as follows: the meat from the foreleg and back of the sheep, chops, kebabs, chicken, bustard, meat soup, sippet, courgettes, olive oil, melon, halwa, honey, dates, chard, fish..."36
While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, Elisha said to his servant, "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men." (2 Kings, 4:38)
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country... (Genesis, 25:29)
Meat:
Meat was the best food in the sight of the blessed one (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]). He would eat it in gravy... He would eat game... He liked the shoulder, leg and wrist parts of the sheep. 37
In the Makarim it is reported of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) that: "Meat was the blessed one's favorite food... He would reach for that among the foods on the table and ate chicken and other poultry and birds..."38
Some of the foods eaten by the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) may be listed as follows: the meat from the foreleg and back of the sheep, chops, kebabs, chicken, bustard, meat soup, sippet, courgettes, olive oil, melon, halwa, honey, dates, chard, fish..."39
Meat was his favorite food.40
Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." (Genesis, 27:19)
Moses also said, "You will know that it was the Lord when He gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning. (Exodus, 16:8)
Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." (Genesis, 27:25)
He (Esau) too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." (Genesis, 27:31)
Tell them, "At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God." (Exodus, 16:12)
Dates:
In the Makarim it is reported that: "When he (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) fasted, if the time coincided with that of "fresh dates," he would eat only those as iftar... The blessed one's meals generally consisted of dates and water."41
He loved the Ajwah date best of all dates.42
Aisha (ra) tells us that: "God's Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace) ate watermelon with fresh dates."43
The blessed Jabir relates that: "He would often eat fresh dates and melon, and would say 'These are delicious fruits.'"44
Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water. (Exodus, 15:27)
Then (David) he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates... and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. (2 Samuel, 6:19)
On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. (Leviticus, 23:40)
Bread:
Abu Hazim relates: "I asked whether the people had a sieve in the time of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). 'I never saw a sieve up to the death of the Messenger,' he said. 'In that case, how did you eat barley bread that had not been sieved?' I asked. He answered, 'We would blow on it, and the husks would fly away. The remaining (bran) we would soften with water and knead."45
According to Ummi Ayman (ra): "The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, 'Put the bran you have removed back with the rest (the flour), then knead it (and make bread).'"46
Anas (ra) relates: "The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) ate 'nourishing' foods and wore starched clothes. Hasen (who narrated the above from Anas) was asked, 'What is 'nourishing' food?' He answered: 'Rough-milled barley, such that anyone placing it in his mouth could only swallow it with water.'"47
Ibn 'Abbas relates: "The Messenger of God's (may God bless him and grant him peace) favorite food was sippet made from bread and sippet made from hays (a well-known Arab dish.)"48
Solomon's daily provisions were thirty cores of fine flour and sixty cores of meal, ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. (1 Kings, 4:22-23)
Moses also said, "You will know that it was the Lord when He gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning." (Exodus, 16:8)
From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord, take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons. (Exodus, 29:23)
At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God. (Exodus, 16:12)
So he did what the Lord had told him... The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. (1 Kings, 17:5-6)
But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. (Genesis, 19:3)
Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. Weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. (Ezekiel, 4:9-10)
Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to the Lord by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy." (Leviticus, 10:12)
Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast. (Leviticus, 7:13)
Grapes and grape molasses:
Narrated from Ibn Omar: They asked, "What is grape essence?" "Drink," he (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) said. "That is what they call the essence: They boil the must, two out of three parts disappear, and one part remains."49
Ibn Zayd relates: "The blessed Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) loved grapes and melon among fruits."50
If you follow My decrees and are careful to obey My commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. (Leviticus, 26:3-5)
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. (Deuteronomy, 8:7-8)
When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. (Numbers, 13:23)
Honey:
Haysama ibn Aswad relates from 'Abd God: "The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) said, 'Draw health from the Qur'an and from honey.'"51
He loved sweet things and honey.52
The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) loved such drinks as honey sherbet, and date and dried-grape must.53
Of all sherbets he loved honey sherbet the best.54
Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. (Genesis, 43:11)
... They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows' milk for David and his people to eat. For they said, "The people have become hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert." (2 Samuel, 17:28-29)
And I am come down... to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey... (Exodus, 3:8)
... The children of Israel gave in abundance... oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. (2 Chronicles, 31:5)
Milk:
The Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]: "Whenever God gives someone milk to drink, let that person pray 'My Lord, make this milk plentiful for us and give us more milk.' I know of no fitter food and drink than milk."55
Of all drinks, he loved milk the best.56
He asked for water, and she gave him milk... (Judges, 5:25)
... She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up. (Judges, 4:19)
... A land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands... (Ezekiel, 20:6)
Pomegranates:
It is related in the Makarim that: "The blessed one's (the Prophet Muhammad [may God bless him and grant him peace]) favorite fruits were melon and pomegranate... He often ate pomegranates one by one."57
Al-Kulayni reports Omar ibn Aban al-Kulayni as saying: "I heard that Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq said 'The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) loved the pomegranate best of all the fruits of the earth.'"58
When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. (Numbers, 13:23)
Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "From this day on I will bless you." (Haggai, 2:19)
The use of olive oil:
The Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace): "Eat and use olive oil. Because that oil is blessed.59
... Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. (Ezekiel, 16:13)
This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve Me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil. (Exodus, 29:1-2)
If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil. (Leviticus, 7:12)
If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of fine flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour and oil. (Leviticus, 2:5-7)
Other Practices in the Qur'an Compatible with the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (May God Bless Him and Grant Him Peace)
The use of carnelian:
The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) used a seal, on which were written the words "Muhammad, the Messenger of God," in three lines, to sign the bottom of the letters he sent to the rulers of neighboring states. The words were carved onto carnelian stone held in a silver clasp. The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) wore this on his finger in the form of a ring. He would remove it in order to seal official documents he dictated, and he would replace it on his finger once the papers had been sealed. 60
They fashioned the breast piece—the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It was square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings... so that the breast piece would not swing out from the ephod—as the Lord commanded Moses. (Exodus, 39:8-13, 21)
Fashion a breast piece for making decisions—the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings... Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. (Exodus, 28:15-20, 27)
The use of a signet ring:
Anas Malik (ra) says: "The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) had a ring made of silver and its (inlaid) gem was also of silver. When the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) wanted to write to the leaders of foreign states, he ordered a seal-ring to be made, the brightness of which is still before my eyes. The inscription engraved on the ring of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) was 'Muhammad Rasul God,' of which in the first line was engraved 'Muhammad,' in the second line 'Rasul,' and in the third line 'God'."61
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. (Daniel, 6:17)
So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman... These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. (Esther, 3:10, 12)
Now write another decree in the king's name... and seal it with the king's signet ring—for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked. (Esther, 8:8)
