By: Dr. Qazi Shaikh Abbas Borhany

This information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute of medical advice; no doubt honey is miraculous.

A Hadith reports that a person approached Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, and asked medicine for his brother who was suffering from stomach disorder. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam Advised: "Let him drink honey." He approached again and Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam responded the same. The person returned again, and requested: "I have done that." Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam then declared in crystal clear term: "Allah has said the truth, but your brother's stomach has told a lie. Let him drink honey." He drank it and was cured. Miraculous properties of honey are discussed in the Quran and Ahadith some fourteen hundred years ago. Amongst the Muslims of Indian Subcontinent the most respected member of the family puts Ghutti, prepared by honey, into the mouth of the infant as its first food and holds honey over its head to ward off evil spirits. When the Pharaoh of Egypt gave the order that all male Hebrew children should be executed by drowning them in the Nile, Jewish mothers were constrained to give birth to their children in the fields. The mother of Musa (AS) kept the future divine guide concealed for three months, and it would not be surprising if he also was brought up on honey. This might account for his wisdom, eloquence and farsighted powers.

Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam used to take honey early in the morning, and during noon and afternoon, while stomach was empty. In birth, wedding and funeral ceremonies of most ancient nations and of many of the primitive races to this day, honey has played an important role.

Significance of the word Honeymoon is very interesting. According to an ancient custom, the bride and groom eat honey and drink it during the first four weeks of their married life. Jannah is described in Islam as a promised place where faithful would enjoy with canals of milk and honey surrounded by Hoories.

Al Shaikh al Raees Abi Ali Sina (Avicenna), has provided many medicinal formulas in his work that included Honey and Bees-Wax among the ingredients. He advised: –

It helps when you have a runny nose – cheers you up – makes you feel fit – facilitates the digestion of food – gets rid of wind – improves the appetite – It is almost a provision for retaining youth – making the memory better, sharpening the wits – loosening the tongue – Honey has a beneficial effect on deep and infected ulcers – When honey is taken for a cold, then patient should stay in bed, or at least at home, for honey causes one to sweat a great deal – Honey has also been used since time immemorial for diseases of the lungs – Honey rids a wound of its stench – Prevents people from going blind when spread on the eyeball – Heals sores in the mouth – Causes urination – Eases the bowels – Soothes a cough – Heals poisoned bites and the bites of mad dogs – It has a good effect on deep wounds – Several spoons a day acted as an internal disinfectant – Those who uses their voice, should take two teaspoons in warm milk to soothe their throats

A Few Benefits Discussed By Experts

• Countless travellers have found that Honey works when nothing else does to end the distress of traveller's diarrhoea.
• Honey has the power to improving our mood and stimulating the part of the brain responsible for learning.
• It has the ability to attract and absorb moisture, which makes it remarkably soothing for minor burns and helps to prevent scarring.
• Memory of the people of senile dementia much improves after consuming glucose, a form of sugar found in honey.
• It helps kidneys and intestines to function better.
• Recent studies have proven that athletes, who took some honey before and after competing, recovered more quickly than those who did not.
• When honey is taken with rose-oil, it cures animal bites and effects of opium.
• Lemon juice and honey is a good remedy in cases of hypertension, insomnia, and nervous conditions. Dissolve a spoonful of honey in a glass of water and add the juice of half a lemon. The beverage is pleasant and nutritious.
• A teaspoon of honey before bed is recommended for babies cutting teeth. It reduces the amount of phosphorus in the blood and so eases the pain.
• Two table spoons of honey prevent bed-wetting, as it causes dehydration and reduces the amount of calcium in the blood.
• Two tablespoons of honey taken regularly instead of supper help in cases of insomnia. It is advisable to give them a teaspoon of honey two or three times a day, but the dose should not exceed 30 to 40 grams daily.
• Applied Honey to someone infected with lice, it will kill both the lice and the eggs.
• Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for blood formation. It helps in cleansing, regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.

Demand of Honey today is higher than the ancient times. All Sacred Scriptures have discussed its merit. Chinese, Greece, and Roman accounts also provide us non counted benefits of Honey. The Ancient Egyptians have used Honey as a preserving substance. When King Edward I of England, who died in 1307, was exhumed in 1774, his hands and face were found to be well pre-served. This condition was attributed to the fact that they had been coated with a thin layer of wax and honey. Indian Sacred Scriptures, compiled around 1500 (BC) also contain references of Honey. Hindu believed that eating Honey would enable them to maintain good health. According to the faith of Hindus, Krishna has been depicted as a Bee. In the region of Attica in ancient Greece, there were 20,000 hives to which people travelled great distances to benefit from the Honey, believing that it would improve their health and helped them to recover from illness. Welsh and Celtic folk lore has abundant references on the sweet substance. At one point in their history, the Welsh paid their taxes in form of Honey.

Honey, a remarkable thick liquid, has occupied a prominent place in traditional medicines throughout world history. The ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans employed honey for wounds and diseases of the gut. Honey is frequently mentioned in the works of poets and writers, especially by the oriental and classical writers. Honey represented to them all things that are sweet and pleasing to the taste, to the mind and to the heart. Honey, like the bees, was a symbol of spirituality and also of poetic inspiration; it was looked upon as psychic nourishment—the food of the saints, carried by the bees even to the divine throne. Honey is mentioned widely through The Bible": A few quotations are as follows:

"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)

"I Am the Rubb (Lord) of your father, the Rubb of Ibrahim (Abraham), the Rubb of Ishaq and the Rubb of Yaqub (Jacob)." At this, Mosa (Moses) hid his face, because he was afraid to look at Rubb. The Rubb said: "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites." (Exodus 3:6-8)

Milk and honey were dietary staples for the semi-nomadic Israelites of Biblical times, so Palestine would indeed be a promising home, abounding in goats and swarming with bees. Sulaiyman says: "My son! Eat honey for it is good." (Proverbs 24: 13)

For many reasons honey was one of the most popular foods among the people of the New and the Old Testament". It became a symbol for abundance and divine blessings- therefore tiding was given in the following wordings: a land of milk and Honey," so it was the promised goal of the Bani Israel. Tradition says that when Kind David made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem with the Ark, the treat he brought with him were Honey cakes. And he distributed to all gatherings of Israel, both men and women, to everyone a ring-shaped cake of bread, a date cake and a raisin cake. (2 Samuel 6:19).

In each part of the global village, there are many towns, mountains, lakes and rivers which are associated with the word honey. The conception of honey was associated with everything that was holy, agreeable and beneficial. The origin of these traditions and customs is almost impossible to trace. The use of honey was only rarely omitted during birth-rites. Among Babylonians, Iranians, Egyptians and Hebrews, honey and milk was the first food which touched the lips of a new-born. During Hindu birth ceremonies, after a male infant is born and the umbilical cord is severed, the father touches the lips of the son with honey taken from a golden vessel and applies it with a golden spoon, at the same time giving the child its name.

The Quran and the Hadith literature refer Honey as a healer of disease. Quran says: Bees were inspired through inborn advice by the Rubb, instructing: Make hives in mountains, in trees and in that which they (human) build. Then eat of all the fruits and follow the ways of your Rubb submissive. There comes out from within (their bodies) a drink of various hues (honey), in it is healing (effect) for human. Verily in this is a sign for the people who consider". (Surah No. 16: Ayah Nos. 68-69). A Hadith says: Honey is a remedy for every physical illness and the Quran is a remedy for all mental illness, therefore, I recommend to you both as remedies, the Quran and honey."