Food and Nutrition in Islam

"O ye people! eat of what is on earth lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the evil one for he is to you an avowed enemy. Q2:168

The Qur'an contains many passages that give Muslims advice about healthful eating habits and nutrition. These passages not only relate to the preservation of a human being's physical well- being, but also to his spiritual health in islam. Encouragement to eat only good and pure foods is combined with warnings to remember Allah and avoid Satan. In this way, Muslims are shown that eating is not merely an action to satisfy the hungry body, but that, as in all of man's actions, it has an effect on how well or how poorly a Muslim will serve Allah SWT.

Since a Muslim wants to direct his activities towards serving Allah in the best way, the object of eating is to nourish his or her body so that it will be in the best possible condition for doing so. In several verses, the Arabic word "tayyeb" is used to describe healthful food. Tayyeb is

translated as "good" and it means pleasing to the taste as well as pure, clean, wholesome and nourishing. Foods which are not tayyeb and which cause one to lose control of the body and mind will not help one to prosper. They distract from the worship of Allah and cause one to lose sight of why it is necessary to eat at all. Thus, a Muslim should strive to get the vitamins,

minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and so forth that his body needs to function well and avoid falling into eating habits that slow him down or make him weak.

Man's growth should be a balance between the physical and spiritual, but these two aspects are intertwined. If he becomes obsessed with food, not only is his time and effort distracted from serving Allah but the diet may make him physically weak. On the other hand, if he concentrates so exclusively on spiritual matters that he neglects his body's proper nourishment, the same result will come about i.e., weakness and illness will prevent him from carrying out all his obligations to Allah Ta'alaa. The Qur'an thus guides man to strike a wholesome balance between the two extremes and advises him on how to create this balance.  This policy of the middle road is a basic theme in Islam in most matters of action and effort. It is a theme that is easily observed in nature: too much or too little in terms of substance or action usually yields a bad result. No, to extremism and no, to laxity but, moderation in all respect.