The Spice Nutmeg is Haraam (Unlawful)

Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibraaheem Aal as-Shaykh (rahimahullaah), quoted the research of previous scholars quoting the concensus amongst the four madhhabs on the unlawfulness of nutmeg due to its intoxicating nature. Further, the Permanent Committee For Research and Verdicts quoted Shaykh Muhammad (quoting the previous research) in their Fataawee (v.22/pp.162-168), signed by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (president), Shaykh 'Abdur-Razzaaq 'Afeefee (vice-president), and others, and dated 4/11/1376.
The above information was provided by Moosaa ibn John Richardson.


The following research is to establish that nutmeg is an intoxicant and is used for recreational use. As such we advise that you clear your spice racks of it, and notify others.


Abernethy MK, Becker LB. Section of Emergency medicine, University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics, IL 60637. Acute nutmeg intoxication. Am J Emerg Med. 1992 Sep;10(5):429-30.


Nutmeg is a common household spice sometimes abused for its hallucinogenic properties.


This abuse is well reported in the medical literature over the last century. Ingestion of less than one tablespoon can produce symptoms similar to those of an anticholinergic toxic episode. Common presenting complaints are hallucinations, palpitations, and feelings of impending doom. We report a case of intentional nutmeg intoxication in a 23-year-old college student. As laboratory tests are usually normal, this diagnosis should be considered in patients presenting with an acute psychotic break accompanied by symptoms resembling an anticholinergic toxic episode.


Treatment is primarily supportive once other life-threatening conditions have been ruled out.Mathias B. Forrester. Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit, Texas Department of State health Services, 1100 W 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Nutmeg intoxication in Texas, 1998-2004. Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 24, No. 11, 563-566 (2005).


Nutmeg is a spice that contains volatile oils comprised of alkyl benzene derivatives (myristicin, elemicin, safrole, etc.), terpenes and myristic acid. Nutmeg has a long history of abuse. This study describes the nutmeg ingestion calls received by Texas poison centers from 1998 to 2004.


There were 17 calls involving nutmeg ingestion, of which 64.7% involved intentional abuse. When abuse and non-abuse ingestions were compared, abuse ingestions were more likely to involve males (100 versus 66.7%) and adolescents (55.6 versus 16.7%). The majority of both abuse and non-abuse calls were managed outside of health care facilities (54.5 and 66.7%, respectively). None of the ingestions resulted in more than moderate clinical effects or death.Demetriades AK, Wallman PD, McGuiness A, Gavalas MC. Department of Accident and Emergency, University College London Hospital, London WC1E 6AU, UK. Low cost, high risk: accidental nutmeg intoxication. Emerg Med J. 2005 Mar;22(3):223-5.


Nutmeg poisoning is rare but probably underreported and should be considered in recreational substance users with acute psychotic symptoms as well as central nervous system neuromodulatory signs that may mimic in part an anticholinergic hyperstimulation.Sangalli BC, Chiang W. Hudson Valley Regional Poison Center at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, Sleepy Hollow, New York 10595, USA. Toxicology of nutmeg abuse. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 2000;38(6):671-8


BACKGROUND: Unpleasant and frightening side effects associated with the abuse of nutmeg occasionally generate emergency department referrals. We report a young patient's first-time experience with nutmeg and review the mechanisms of its toxicity. CASE REPORT: A 13-year-old female ingested 15-24 g of nutmeg over a 3-hour period and smoked and shared 2 joints of marijuana.


To facilitate ingestion, the nutmeg was put into 00-000 gelatin capsules. Bizarre behavior and visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations developed. She also experienced nausea, gagging, hot/cold sensations, and blurred vision followed by numbness, double, and "triple" vision, headache, and drowsiness. Nystagmus, muscle weakness, and ataxia were present. Her vital signs and laboratory tests were normal. She received 50 g of activated charcoal and except for complaints of dizziness and visual changes, her 2-day admission was uneventful. The central nervous system activity of nutmeg is often postulated to result from biotransformation of its chemical components to amphetamine-like compounds, but this has not been proven. Nutmeg contains several compounds with structural similarities to substances with known central nervous system neuromodulatory activity.Pytte M, Rygnestad T.

Nutmeg--more than a spice. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1998 Nov 20;118(28):4346-7.


Nutmeg is an easily obtainable spice that has been widely used domestically for centuries because of its psychotropic effects. Several cases of nutmeg poisoning, including one fatality, have been published. The active ingredients are volatile oils where myristicin and elemicin are thought to be the most important constituents. These have anticholinergic and psychotropic properties and are metabolised to compounds similar to amphetamine. We present the first reported case of nutmeg poisoning in Norway.And then some other research papers establishing the same. The intoxicating nature of nutmeg is thoroughly established.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Shaykh Ibraaheem Ibn Muhammad Aal ash-Shaykh

This biography was obtained from: http://www.fatwa-online.com/

He was Abu 'Abdul-'Azeez Ibraaheem Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ibraaheem Ibn 'Abdul-Lateef Ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Hasan Aal ash-Shaykh.

He was born in Riyadh on the 17th of Muharram in the year 1311 A.H./1890 C.E.

He was raised in a righteous environment in Riyadh, under the guidance of his father, Shaykh Ibraaheem Ibn 'Abdul-Lateef. Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Ibraaheem, completed the memorization of the Qur.aan at the age of 11 years. He lost his sight when he was 16 years old. However this did not hinder his determination (to seek knowledge), rather, he continued to attend the lectures of the scholars of his time.

He studied with his father and his uncle, Shaykh 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abdul-Lateef, who was a famous scholar of his time, in Najd. Whilst in the company of his father and uncle, he memorised several texts in Islaamic Law and the Arabic language. He also studied fiqh and mustalah al-hadeeth (science of hadeeth) with Shaykh Sa'd Ibn 'Ateeq, and studied the various aspects of the Arabic language from Shaykh Hamad Ibn Faaris.

He undertook several government appointments, in addition to his efforts in teaching, passing fatwa and giving khutbah, such as Head of Academic Institutions, Head of the Judiciary, Supervisor of the Islaamic University of Madeenah, at al-Madeenah an-Nabawiyyah, Head of Academic Institutions for girls, and other (such) positions.

Several senior scholars graduated from having studied with him, amongst them: Shaykh 'Abdullaah Ibn Humayd, Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Ibn Baaz and Shaykh Sulayman Ibn 'Ubayd, and other than them.

Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Ibraaheem passed away on Wednesday 24th of Ramadhaan 1389 A.H./1968 C.E. at the age of 78 years.

He left behind a large collection of fataawa and treatises that have been printed in several books and journals.

What Causes Some Muslims to Act Violently?

In order to make a balanced evaluation of issues in international relations as well as in inter-cultural communication, one has to bring a frame of mind capable of understanding and accommodating differences. Prejudices die hard, and world media are bent on feeding them, no matter the terrible cost the world is made to pay.


I hope you will agree that some non-Muslims also act violently. Ours is a world where all sections of people — no matter they are Muslims, Christians, Jews or Hindus — have a tendency to resort to violence when there is enough provocation. But at present, there is a general perception particularly in the West that Muslims are more prone to this weakness than others, especially since September 11, 2001. But violence was not born on 9/11.

Violence has always been present in the human psyche since time immemorial. The two world wars that killed millions of humans had little to do with Islam or Muslims. Even today, the most horrible weapons of global destruction are made, put on sale, and tested on defenseless masses by the "civilized nations" of the world. And when we think of the reasons why some Muslims act violently, we cannot ignore the wars of invasion and occupation waged by the big powers.


Let's consider two Muslim countries where Muslims "act violently": Iraq and Afghanistan. It is claimed that the US invaded Afghanistan because they wanted to destroy the terrorists behind 9/11. But we know that none of the "19 hijackers" came from Afghanistan. And yet the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan has continued for the last nine years.


It is now commonplace that the reasons given by the US government for invading and occupying Iraq were baseless: Iraq had no Al-Qaeda link, and it had no weapons of mass destruction. The UN weapons inspectors had certified this repeatedly, but the Bush administration wouldn't pause to listen to them. They sent their terrible war planes to pound the cities and villages of Iraq; and the mindless destruction continued day after day, night after night for about seven years from 2003 to 2010. The occupation of Iraq continues to this day.


The people of Afghanistan and Iraq confront the machine-gun-toting troops of the occupying powers of the West almost on a daily basis; and if they yearn for freedom from the occupiers, and resort to what they consider the most effective means, namely insurgency, are we justified in placing the blame for their violence squarely on their shoulders alone?


Consider the Palestinian question, which is central to the Middle Eastern quandary. Palestinians are both Christians and Muslims who had been living in Palestine for several centuries; and they are the descendents of the Patriarch Abraham through his sons Ishmael and Isaac. There were Jewish people too — who are also called Old Yishuv by the Israelis — among them.

But soon after the Zionist movement began in Europe as a result of the terrible ghettoization and persecution the Jews of Europe had been subjected to, a good number of the European Jews immigrated to Palestine, claiming the land exclusively for themselves.


And this movement was supported by the same countries that persecuted the Jews of Europe and sent them even to the gas chambers. But it is with their help and support that the extremist Jewish organizations drove out most of the original Arab inhabitants of Palestine from their homeland.


As a consequence of the fighting in Palestine between 1947 and 1949, over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs (Christians as well as Muslims) became refugees. More than 75 percent of the refugees left due to Zionist or Israeli military actions and psychological campaigns aimed at frightening Arabs into leaving, besides direct expulsions. The best-known instance of mass expulsion is that of the 50,000 Arabs of the towns of Lydda and Ramle. The most infamous atrocity occurred at Deir Yassin, a village near Jerusalem, where Menachem Begin's "Irgun" gang killed over 400 unarmed Arabs in cold blood. (El-Khatib, 113)


In 1948, with the recognition of the UN, the Jewish state of Israel was instituted in the same land from where most of the Palestinians were expelled. But after all this, about a million Palestinians are citizens of Israel today, living inside the country's 1949 armistice borders. The largest Palestinian diaspora community, approximately 1.3 million, is in Jordan. Many of them still live in the refugee camps that were established in 1949, although others live in cities and towns. Lebanon and Syria also have large Palestinian populations, living in refugee camps. (Peteet)


The Palestinians in Israel are second-class citizens, since Israel defines itself as the state of the Jewish people, and Palestinians are Muslims and Christians. All of Israel's governments have discriminated against the Arab population by allocating far fewer resources for education, health care, public works, municipal government, and economic development to the Arab sector. (Cattan, 241-255)


In the West Bank and Gaza, the Israeli government inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinians, such as curfews, house demolitions, and closure of roads, schools and community institutions. Since 1967, over 300,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned without trial, and over half a million have been tried in the Israeli military court system.


In short, what we see in Palestine is the systematic occupation of more and more Arab land by Israel. It has been made easy for Israel to do this by the United States. The Israelis, aided, armed, and bankrolled by the US and other powerful countries of the West, goes on inflicting indescribable pain and suffering on the Palestinians. And the latest in a series of assaults on them was the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Today the Gazans are being subjected to a slow genocide by denying them food, shelter, medicine, and even water.


The promise made by the world bodies to Palestinians that they would be given a part of their native land as their own free country remains to this day an empty promise. And Israeli forces continue to ravage what remains of Palestinian homes, farms, schools, and hospitals. In this dire situation, any uprising from the Palestinian side is described by world media as "terrorism" and "extremism". And we hear almost nothing by way of condemnation, or even criticism, of the terrible war crimes committed by the Israeli forces on a defenseless people.


The foregoing I suppose, gives you some idea as to why some Muslims at the end of their tether are driven to act violently, even by imperiling whatever help and support they are getting from outside.

Dead Hearts and Empty Supplications

Dead Hearts and Empty Supplications:



It is reported that Ibrâhîm b. Adham (d162H) – Allâh have mercy on him – once passed through the market of Basrah. People gathered around him and asked:


O Abû Ishâq, Allâh the Exalted says in his Book. ‘Call on me, I will answer your prayers’, but we have been calling on Him for a long time and He does not answer our prayers. [Ibrâhîm] replied, “O people of Basrah, your hearts have died in respect to ten things: First, you know Allâh but you do not give Him His rights; second, you have read Allâh’s Book but you do not act by it; third, you claim to love Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – yet you abandon his Sunnah; fourth, you claim to be enemies to Shaytân but you conform to [his ways]; fifth, you say you love Paradise yet you do not work for it; sixth, you say you fear The Fire yet you put yourselves closer to it [by sinning]; seventh, you say death is true but you do not prepare for it; eighth, you busy yourselves with the faults of others and disregard your own; ninth, you consume the favors of your Lord but are not grateful for them; and tenth, you bury your dead but take no lesson from them.”

Advice to Teenage Girls and Choosing Friends

You should note that the stage of adolescence is the most dangerous stage that a person goes through, because during this stage there are many physical, mental, emotional and sexual changes, and the shaytaan is keen to tempt a person during this stage by whatever means and methods he can. Hence every adolescent boy and girl must be cautious. What we recommend at this stage is:



Firstly:


* Strive to do acts of worship, both obligatory and mustahabb, and strive to keep away from haraam, doubtful and makrooh things.


* Among the means which will help you to avoid falling into the trap of the shaytaan and keep away from disobedience to Allaah are:


* Remembering that Allaah is always watching and bearing in mind His greatness, especially when you are alone.


* Not following in the footsteps of the shaytaan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaytaan (Satan). And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytaan (Satan), then, verily, he commands Al Fahsha’ [i.e. to commit indecency (illegal sexual intercourse)], and Al Munkar [disbelief and polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; and to speak or to do what is forbidden in Islam)]” [al-Noor 24:21]. The steps of the shaytaan are like a chain; the one who follows them will not stop and each step is more serious than the one that came before it, unless a person checks himself and gives it up and repents from every sin.


* Repenting from every sin. A Muslim may fall into sin, but if that happens what he must do is give it up and repent, and not continue and persist in it. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who, when they have committed Faahishah (illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allaah and ask forgiveness for their sins; — and none can forgive sins but Allaah — and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:135]. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Every son of Adam commits sin, and the best of those who commit sin are those who repent.” Narrated by Ibn Majaah (4251). Shaykh al-Albaani said: It is hasan.


* Thinking of death and the meeting with Allaah. The one who remembers that death may come to him suddenly and that he will meet Allaah, Who will ask him about his deeds, will avoid sin.


* Turning to Allaah and praying that He will help you to do good deeds and give up evil deeds, for Allaah will never let down the one who calls upon Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright” [al-Baqarah 2:186].


Secondly:


Strive to find good companions and keep away from bad companions, for a friend will have an impact on his friends, as it was said:


Do not ask about a man, rather ask about his friend, for every friend follows the example of his friends.


Thirdly:


You should fill your time with beneficial and useful things, both religious and worldly, and beware of free time for it is one of the greatest sources of corruption at this stage.


Fourthly:


If you want to win people’s hearts, then treat them kindly and have a good attitude towards them, cooperate with them and meet their needs, for in this way you will be able to win their hearts.


Among the wisdom narrated from ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) are his words:


Do favours to whoever you want and you will be like his master, and be in need of whoever you want and you will be like his prisoner, and be independent of whoever you want and you will be his equal.


We will say something in general terms about winning people’s hearts and earning their love.


Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):


“Verily, those who believe [in the Oneness of Allaah and in His Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم)] and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Gracious (Allaah) will bestow love for them (in the hearts of the believers)” [Maryam 19:96]


Qataadah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on this verse: This means, by Allaah, in the hearts of the believers. It was mentioned to us that Haram ibn Hayaan used to say: No person turns with all his heart to Allaah but Allaah will turn the hearts of the believers towards him, until He blesses him with their love and compassion. Tafseer al-Tabari (18/266).


It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah loves a person, He calls Jibreel (A) and says: ‘I love So and so, so love him.’ So Jibreel loves him, then he calls out to the people of heaven, ‘Allaah loves So and so, so love him.’ So the people of heaven love him and he finds acceptance on earth. If Allaah hates someone, He calls Jibreel and says: ‘I hate So and so, so hate him.’ So Jibreel hates him, then he calls out to the people of heaven: ‘Allaah hates So and so, so hate him.’ So they hate him and he is hated on earth.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7485) and Muslim (2637).


Now you see that winning people’s hearts and earning their love is not within your capacity or that of any other human being, rather it is in the hand of Allaah alone, may He be glorified and exalted. He is the One Who softens hearts towards one another and He is the One Who separates them. He is the One Who gives and withholds, lowers and raises. All of this is part and parcel of His being the Rabb (Lord or Cherisher and Sustainer) of His creation, may He be glorified.


As for how to attain the love of Allaah, this is the greatest desire of the believer, and this is the great and noble purpose for which there is only one way to attain it, which is by following and obeying His Prophet. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):


“Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to mankind): “If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:31]


It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My slave draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful slave: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6502).


If there remain after that people of evil and corruption who love to spread evil among those who believe, and they want to harm you, and want you to agree with them, and are annoyed by your obedience to the Most Merciful, and your keenness to worship Him and attain all the branches of faith, then do not pay any attention to them, and continue on your straight path, and be with His righteous slaves.


Here we should point out the importance of respecting parents and relatives, for they are the most deserving of good treatment and of your efforts to win their hearts. It is essential to be patient with parents when they regard you as still being young, because no matter how old you get, you are still young in your parents’ eyes. Moreover they have the right of being in charge of you, looking after you, raising and teaching you, and disciplining you. They are entrusted with your care, and are responsible for you in this world and in the Hereafter. Part of their duty is that they should ensure that you follow proper etiquette and pay attention to the rulings of Islam, and respect the people’s customs and traditions so long as they do not go against sharee’ah. All of that may conflict with the desires and inclinations of teenagers, which may lead to the situation that you describe, and you feel that it is a problem, i.e., reconciling between what is required of you as a teenager and the whims and desires of your own nafs, and what the duties of etiquette demand of you, and what your parents’ rights dictate, that you should respect and accept the guardianship of your parents.


Hence you will know the answer to the rest of your question. If this friend is a good person, then try to love her and grow close to her, and if she is a bad and corrupt person, then keep away from her and she will also keep away from you.


“Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women). Good statements are for good people (or good women for good men) and good people for good statements (or good men for good women): such (good people) are innocent of (every) bad statement which they say; for them is forgiveness, and Rizqun Kareem (generous provision, i.e. Paradise)” [al-Noor 24:26].


And Allaah knows best.

A Wake Up Call To The Ummah!

Until then, Allah says: 'Verily, Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.' [Ar-Ra'd, 13:11]

We have become Alien to Islam as Islam have become Alien to us...


While thousands of Muslims are killed all over the world, and while tens of thousands are imprisoned and tortured for calling to the path of Allah and for enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, most Muslims remain remarkably silent and have no worry except for the material things of life. Their hearts have been filled with the love of this life and the forgetfulness of the Hereafter.


Allah says in the Qur'an: "You will indeed find them, of all people, most greedy of life, even more than those who do not believe in Resurrection. Each one of them wishes he could be given a life of a thousand years. But the grant of such life will not save him even a little from due punishment. For Allah sees well all that they do." (Al Baqarah, 2:96)


Many Muslims today have become so much attached to their life that their desire is to dwell among their family, house, money and commerce. They have forgotten that matters of the Hereafter should come before matters of this life and that we must strive to follow the orders of Allah, not just those we find easy and convenient to follow.


Some Muslims today claim that it is better to perform extra prayers and extra fasting rather than enjoin the good and forbid the evil or defend the lives of weak Muslims. Such people would even blame the Muslims who strive to perform these obligations.


This is what Ibn al-Qayyim had to say about such people: ''The Shaitan has misled most people by beautifying for them the performance of certain voluntary acts of worship such as voluntary prayers and voluntary fasting while neglecting other obligatory acts of worship such as enjoining the good and eradicating the evil, to the extent that they do not even make the intention of performing them whenever they are able to.


Such people are considered by the scholars to be on the bottom of the scale of religion: For the essence of our religion is to perform what Allah ordered us to do. The one who does not perform his obligations is actually worse than the one who performs sins.


Anyone having some knowledge about the revelation of Allah, the guidance of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, and the life of the companions would conclude that those who are pointed at today as the most pious people are in fact the least pious.


Indeed, what kind of piety is there in a person who witnesses Allah's sanctities being violated, his religion abandoned, the Sunnah of His Messenger shunned, and yet remains still with a cold heart and a shut mouth' Such a person is like a dumb Shaitan! In the same way the one who talks falsehood is a speaking Shaitan.


Isn't the misfortune of Islam due only to those who whenever their life and food are secure, would not care about what happens to the religion? The best among them would offer a sorry face. But if they were challenged in one of the things their heart is attached to like their money, they would spare no efforts to get it back.


These people, besides deserving the anger of Allah, are afflicted with the greatest calamity without even knowing it: They have a dead heart. Indeed the more alive a person's heart is, the stronger its anger for the sake of Allah and the more complete his support to Islam and Muslims."