OLIVE
Qur’anic Reference
One of the most blessed trees mentioned in the Qur’an and sunnah. Allah SWT gave it a beautiful status in Al Noor, verse 35:
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.
Al Mu’minun, verse 20:
And a tree (olive) that springs forth from Mount Sinai, that grows oil, and (it is a) relish for the eatersM.
Al An’aam, verse 99 and 141:
And it is He who sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby the growth of all things. We produce from it greenery from which We produce grains arranged in layers. And from the palm trees – of its emerging fruit are clusters hanging low. And [We produce] gardens of grapevines and olives and pomegranates, similar yet varied. Look at [each of] its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe.
And He it is who causes gardens to grow, [both] trellised and untrellised, and palm trees and crops of different [kinds of] food and olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar. Eat of [each of] its fruit when it yields and give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest. And be not excessive. Indeed, He does not like those who commit excess.
At Tin, verse 1-3:
By the fig, and the olive,
And [by] Mount Sinai
And by this city of security (Makkah).
There is also ahadeeth of Rasulullah SAW in Tirmidhi, which states the importance of eating the olive oil and using it for the body and hair. The Prophet SAW said that it is from a blessed tree. There are also many ahadeeth about olive oil.
The Olive Tree
One of the most beautiful discoveries is the miracle of the Qur’an as the word of God the Creator, because now we know the importance of light to develop any fruit or vegetable and the effect of that over the growth of any plant. The power of the sunlight is essential to convert a chemical reaction inside the plant converting carbohydrate to fat and protein and in the olive tree, later on, develops acidy oil and glycerol which when are united, provide us with olive oil. From scientific evidence, every plant needs a certain amount sun exposure. Light and heat are essential for any plant to produce and they have been found, in an authentic study, the best olive oil is the one that is neither eastern nor western, meaning that it gets complete light from all direction in the same amount of time.
It is an old tree known from ancient times. It is the first tree to exist after the flood of Nuh AS, and always exists in Jerusalem and in the houses of Messengers and Prophets. It takes four years to grow, and it lives to almost 1000 years. It was spread by the Romans but Arabic people are the first one to produce oil from it in the Arabic-Spanish civilisation. This is why until today, you find that Spain has a huge amount of olive trees and produces one of the best olives in the world. Palestine, Syrian, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Greece, Italy and north of Saudi Arabia also produce good olive trees.
Olive contains a high level of antioxidants, called polyphenol, which is essential for a healthy body and protects human cells. Today it has become essential especially from the amount of pollution by factories, cars, cigarettes and unhealthy food, and the amount of complicated and different processed food which generate massive problems in the body.
Benefits
A lot of studies have been done about the olive on the digestive system, the skin, and the human body generally. Even the olive leaf, extremely important in chronic diseases like decreased blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.
Japanese scientists have discovered a very important relationship between extra virgin olive oil and skin cancer. There are a lot of recent studies about the amount of benefits for skin, skin disorder, dry skin and also hair. You can find in old Arabic books and Arabic medicine, many recipes for the hair, skin and the joint problems, even to increase the length of the eyelash. It reduced cholesterol.
Alternative uses:
There are many suggestions and recipes for olive oil. It can be consumed raw, and is delicious with bread or with salads.
It can be used for the skin and hair for its moisturising properties.
Try taking a teaspoon of the olive leaves, boil, strain and drink it twice a day. Studies have shown that this is effective for curing and supporting the respiratory system and joint problems.
