(: DELIAH'S DELI IS CLOSED FOR THE SEASON... :)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

BUAH ZAITUN : Khasiat & Keistimewaannya



Khasiat Buah Zaitun

Allah s.w.t menyebut dalam beberapa ayat mengenai buah zaitun, iaitu dalam surah al-Tiin: "Demi buah tin dan zaitun," dan dalam surah an-Nur ayat 35, disebut mengenai minyak zaitun yang penuh berkat, iaitu "Lampu itu dinyalakan dengan minyak dari pokok yang berkat (atau banyak manfaatnya iaitu) pokok zaitun."

Demikianlah, buah zaitun disebut dalam al-Quran yang tentunya mempunyai keistimewaan tersendiri. Dalam al-Quran, buah zaitun disebut sebanyak tujuh kali; dua kali disebut zaitun bersendirian, lima kali disebut berserta dengan buah-buahan lain, antaranya tamar, delima, anggur dan buah tin. Ini menunjukkan tentu ada banyak kelebihan atau khasiat buah zaitun yang Allah s.w.t kurniakan, bagi faedah dan kebaikan kepada manusia. Buah zaitun nama botaninya disebut olea europea banyak ditanam di kawasan Mediterranean dan tempat pernanamannya yang utama ialah di Sepanyol, Turki, Itali, Tunisia dan Morocco. Minyak zaitun atau olive oil adalah hasil perahan daripada buah zaitun.

Dalam surah al-Nur ayat 35, Allah menyebut tentang buah zaitun, yang mana para ulama memberi pentafsiran dan pandangan yang sama merujuk kepada tempat dan taburan penanaman buah zaitun.

Dalam kitab Sunan al-Tarmizi dan Ibnu Majah, terdapat sebuah hadith daripada Abdullah bin Umar yang menyebut bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda: "Makanlah kamu minyak zaitun dan gunakanlah ia sebagai minyak rambut, kerana minyak zaitun dibuat daripada pohon yang penuh berkat."

Begitu juga hadith riwayat al-Baihaqi dan Ibnu Majah daripada Abdullah bin Umar, Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda: "Gunakanlah minyak zaitun sebagai lauk sekali gus minyak rambut kerana ia berasal dari pohon yang diberkati."

Minyak zaitun bersifat lembap pada peringkat pertama. Justeru, ada yang mengatakan ia bersifat kering adalah tidak benar. Teksturnya bergantung pada kandungan minyaknya. Minyak yang dihasilkan daripada buah zaitun yang sudah masak adalah yang paling elok dan paling stabil. Manakala yang dihasilkan daripada buah yang mentah pula cenderung bersifat sejuk dan kering.

Minyak yang dihasilkan daripada buah zaitun merah mempunyai kualiti sederhana. Minyak yang diperbuat daripada buah zaitun yang berwarna hitam mampu memberikan kehangatan sekali gus kelembapan dengan stabil.

Antara khasiat minyak zaitun, ia boleh mengatasi racun, melapangkan perut dan mengeluarkan cacing. Minyak zaitun mengandungi vitamin E dan vitamin K yang baik untuk kesihatan kulit terutamanya untuk rawatan kecantikan wanita. Jika diperah dengan campuran air, panasnya berkurang, lebih lembut, dan lebih berkhasiat.

Zaitun boleh menghaluskan kulit dan melambatkan pertumbuhan uban. Dengan menggunakan minyak zaitun setiap hari, rambut dan kulit bersinar. Kegunaan untuk tubuh adalah lazimnya disapu setiap kali selepas mandi pada permukaan tubuh. Minyak zaitun mudah meresap, sehingga tidak perlu bimbang ia melekit.

Jus zaitun yang dicampur garam boleh menguatkan gusi. Daunnya boleh meredakan dan merawat demam, kesemutan, kudis dan mencegah peluh berlebihan.

Dari Sudut Saintifik

Dunia moden pada hari ini, melalui kajian-kajian sains, tidak dinafikan banyak yang mengiktiraf khasiat buah zaitun.

Minyak zaitun adalah antara minyak yang bernilai tinggi dalam bidang kesihatan. Selain minyak zaitun bertindak sebagai penambah zat makanan, ia juga bertindak mencuci dan membaik pulih perut dan penawar racun. Ia akan membantu pesakit gastrik dan juga yang mengalami kegagalan fungsi buah pinggang.

Minyak zaitun juga boleh diambil sebagai sapuan luaran, selain bertindak sebagai pelicin, ia sebagai pelembut kepada kulit yang mengalami ekzema dan psoriasis.

Menurut al-Tarmizi dan Ibn Majah, Nabi s.a.w bersabda, "Makanlah minyak zaitun, dan sapulah kulitmu dengannya kerana ia datang dari pohon yang diberkati."

Dari sudut pandangan sains pemakanan, minyak zaitun mengandungi asid lemak tidak tepu yang dikelaskan sebagao "monounsaturated" yang mampu merendahkan kolesterol berbahaya dalam darah. Satu kajian yang dijalankan oleh pakar kesihatan di Institut Sains Kesihatan, Universiti Oxford, mengkaji perkaitan antara kanser dan pemakanan seseorang.

Didapati bahawa negara yang mengamalkan pengambilan daging yang kerap dan rendah dalam pengambilan sayur-sayuran, mempunyai risiko dan kes penyakit kanser yang tinggi tetapi pengambilan minyak zaitun akan mengurangkan kadar kes tersebut. Dalam Annals of Oncology (Januari 2005), pakar-pakar sains mendapati diet Mediterranean yang kaya dengan minyak zaitun boleh mengurangkan risiko seseorang mendapat kanser payudara kerana kandungan oleic acid yang terdapat di dalamnya.


Khasiat Minyak Zaitun

Menurut ImamIbn Qayyim al-Jauziyyah, mutu minyak zaitun adalah bergantung kepada pokok yang mengeluarkannya. Sebagai contoh, jenis yang terbaik adalah minyak zaitun yang dikeluarkan daripada buah yang masak, manakala minyak daripada buah zaitun yang belum masak adalah bersifat sejuk dan kering. Buah zaitun yang telah masak ranum lebih cenderung menjadi panas dan mengurai.

Oleh sebab itu, jika ia diproses menggunakan air akan menjadikannya kurang panas, bertindak dengan lembut dan lebih berkhasiat. Walau bagaimanapun semua jenis minyak zaitun boleh melembutkan kulit serta melambatkan penuaan.

Minyak zaitun boleh melawan racun dalam badan dengan bertindak sebagai laxative dan menyingkir cacing di dalam badan. Pengambilan minyak zaitun amat bermanfaat untuk mencegah penyakit jantung. Minyak zaitun banyak digunakan sebagai bahan asas produk kecantikan dan ramuan kosmetik. Minyak zaitun juga boleh digunakan sebagai minyak masak. Walaupun banyak berpendapat mengatakan bahawa makanan yang dimasak atau digoreng menggunakan minyak zaitun tidak sesedap makanan yang digoreng dengan menggunakan minyak sawit, namun ia ada kelebihan tersendiri dari sudut kesihatan.

Minyak masak selain yang berasaskan zaitun jika digunakan berulang kali menyebabkan jumlah kolesterol teroksida dan menjadi tepu serta tidak elok untuk kesihatan. Kesannya dapat dilihat apabila minyak tersebut memerangkap sisa makanan dan berubah warna dan bau. Namun berbeza dengan minyak zaitun kerana ia boleh digunakan berulang kali dan tidak mengalami proses pengoksidaan serta tidak akan berubah dari segi warna dan bau.

Melihat pada keadaan dan tahap kesihatan umum terkini, penyakit jantung yang dikatakan sebagai pembunuh secara senyap boleh dikurangkan. Pengambilan minyak zaitun boleh mencegahnya kerana ia kaya dengan bahan phenol. Bahan ini mempunyai bahan antioksidan yang tinggi dan mampu mencegah proses radang dan pembekuan darah.

Pada hari ini, produk berasaskan buah zaitun telah banyak dihasilkan dengan dipelbagaikan produknya dengan teknologi terkini, antaranya sebagai bahan untuk kegunaan asas seperti minyak masak, minyak rambut, barangan kecantikan, sabun dan juga sebagai makanan tambahan.

Abu Hurairah meriwayatkan bahawa Nabi s.a.w bersabda: "Ambillah minyak zaitun dan sapu ke kulitmu. Ia membantu mengubat tujuh puluh (beberapa) penyakit dan juga juzam (kusta)."

Justeru, khasiat buah zaitun merupakan anugerah Allah yang amat bernilai untuk dimanfaatkan kerana bukan sahaja ia disebut dalam al-quran malah pakar-pakar sains juga mengiktiraf keistimewaannya.



Sumber: Ustaz Mohd Wahid Abd Hanif - Majalah Solusi

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

BAZLAMA PIZZA - afiyet olsun!




Click HERE for Bazlama Recipe :)

For Topping : tomato paste (Prego @ Kimball), sausages, pineapple, capsicum, olive, mozzarella cheese and oregano - decorate accordingly on bazlama and bake for roughly 10 minutes - done - serve hot - enjoy!




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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

SIMPLE TOM YAM STEAMBOAT DINNER








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Sunday, April 18, 2010

THE VEILED WARRIOR - Khawlah bint Al-Azwar


This is a remarkable article that was emailed to me by my brother in law, and I thought that surely some may like to read it too.

It is interesting to analyze how today's modern world perceives a woman's strength. Sometimes, her strength may be judged by her dexterity at weathering trials and tribulations in life; at other times, it could be her relentless hard work at ascending the contemporary corporate ladder beyond the traditional "glass ceiling".

It could also be her ability to multitask that could make her appear strong, efficiently juggling motherhood with her day-job; or when she survives the "dog-eat-dog" world of shrewd business by mastering professional fields that were traditionally dominated by men, such as aviation or martial arts. Whatever the case, today, a woman's strength is determined and judged by outward factors based on monetary success.


In an era when women are donning business suits and revving up their vehicles early in the morning, coffee-to-go in hand, to go to work at offices high up in sky-scraping buildings, the image of an unidentifiable woman wearing a veil that shrouds her whole body is often met with disdain and concern: Disdain for her supposed uneducated backwardness and lack of positive self-image; and concern for her emancipation from supposed male-dominated, patriarchal societies and oppression in the name of religion.

Yet, it is this very image that is found in Muslim history as an epitome of one woman's inner strength, valor and battlefield bravery. On more than one front, as a valiant female warrior of Islam, she broke gender taboos, fought with all her might, and gained respect from male comrades when she ruthlessly went forth to rescue her brother from the clutches of the enemy battalion after he was taken prisoner during battle.

Her name is Khawlah bint Al-Azwar, and the battle was against the Romans.

Suddenly he saw a rider dressed in black, face covered, on a short-necked chestnut brown horse of tall stature.

The Muslim army – under the able commandership of two of the most able companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): Khalid ibn Al-Waleed and Abu Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah – was fighting the Romans when Khawlah's brother, Diraar ibn Al-Azwar, who was bravely leading an assault, lost his spear and was overcome by his opponents. It was when Khawlah heard of her brother's capture whilst sitting with the women, that she was motivated to do the unthinkable: don her full head-to-toe cover and charge forth on her mare into enemy territory to try to rescue him. In this and the ensuing fight with the Roman warriors, her qualities shone through, which are highlighted below.

Pro-Activeness to Rescue a Captured Sibling

After the capture of Diraar, whom the Muslims tried in vain to rescue, the Muslim army felt crestfallen. Khalid ibn Al-Waleed sought the advice of his co-commander, Abu Ubaidah, who prodded him to continue fighting after first leaving one part of the army stationed behind as contingency, as they had realized that the Romans were very large in number. It was at this point that someone caught Khalid ibn Al-Waleed's eye:

"Suddenly he saw a rider dressed in black, face covered, on a short-necked chestnut brown horse of tall stature. In the rider's hand was a long, glistening spear; his style and behavior hinted towards bravery and valor, and this was apparent from every part of the rider. The rider had on a green imaamah [cloth used to wrap around the head as a turban], whose ends were wrapped round from the back and positioned around the chest, and was spurring onwards at the forefront of the army" (Al-Waqidi).

When the Muslim army was re-grouping for a fresh attack on the Romans, Khawlah had gotten up and ridden forth on her mare into the Roman battalion. Her face cover and imaamah made her female form indistinguishable.

What could have inspired her to get up from among the women and ride her horse towards the enemy army? If we analyze her behavior by imagining ourselves in her position, we will be awestruck by the steeliness of her resolve and the determination with which her pro-activeness made her so confidently enter what is still today viewed as a man's territory. Despite being a member of the so-called "weaker sex", her body language belied her gender. Truly, she possessed not just enormous concern and love for her brother, but also a confidence in her own abilities, coupled with sincere trust in Allah (God). Only such a solid foundation of sound, unadulterated faith in Allah and can inspire an action of such courage.

Expertise in Sword-Fighting and Horse-Riding

She rode her horse at full speed and charged into the Roman army, fighting several men single-handedly, dexterously handling her sword and horse simultaneously.
Khawlah was a skilled warrior who has been described as "a flash of lightening" (Al-Waqidi). She had been very emotionally close to her brother Diraar, who was also a skilled warrior. She was well versed in fighting with the spear and riding her horse; undoubtedly, both brother and sister trained for these fighting skills together, as he had been valiantly leading the Muslim army himself before his spear lost its blade.

Muslim women at the time of Prophet Muhammad were not just trained in fighting, but also had the nursing skills needed to tend to the injured warriors during battles, and the innate stamina to keep the men motivated. They did this by reciting emotional poetry with motivational words when incessant fighting exhausted the fighters' morale, or when the martyrdom of comrades lowered their spirits.

Khawlah had wrapped a green imaamah (the cloth wound on a man's head to make a turban) around herself in such a way that it fell over her chest. She was dressed otherwise completely in black, and had covered her face as well.

With such a garb on, it was impossible to tell that she was a woman. She rode her horse at full speed and charged into the Roman army, fighting several men single-handedly, dexterously handling her sword and horse simultaneously. As she had sped ahead of the Muslim army, they stood back and watched her admiringly – whom they assumed to be a man like them – commenting on her great courage and skill.

Aversion to Showing off Accomplishments

The Muslim army beheld Khawlah fighting several Romans with great resilience. "He" seemed to be in need of aid, and hence they reached "him" and warded off the enemy. Commander Khalid bin Al-Waleed then approached the rider and asked him to reveal his face. But Khawlah did not wish to reveal her identity and so did not respond to the commander's request. The Muslim army began urging her to obey his command saying:

"O slave of Allah, the leader of the Muslim army is talking to you and you are not taking heed and ignoring him and fleeing from him. With all due respect, you should go to him and tell him your name and lineage so that your status can be raised!" (Al-Waqidi).

But still, Khawlah did not respond. The commander himself then approached the masked warrior saying, "It is with great remorse that all the Muslims and I are restless to know more about you and you are totally unconcerned. Who are you?" (Al-Waqidi). Khawlah had no choice but to respond to his request, and the army was shocked to hear a female voice emanating from the masked warrior that had so impressed them. Khawlah said,

"O Commander, I was not intending to disobey you when I did not answer you, but I was too shy to answer, as I am of those who treasure their privacy and take cover from exposure. I only came here because of my aching heart and my grieving soul" (Al-Waqidi).

Khawla was not only a modest and chaste woman, but she also possessed a humility that is in stark contrast to her valiant battlefield accomplishments. In Islam, fighting in the way of Allah is considered one of the loftiest of deeds that a Muslim can perform. Yet, if she had sought worldly honor and recognition from her comrades, or fame and publicity for her bravery, she would have readily volunteered her name and revealed her identity.

Eventually, Khawlah joined the Muslim army under the commandership of Khalid bin Al-Waleed for a final attack aimed at rescuing her brother, Diraar, from the Romans, and they were successful in freeing him alive from the clutches of the enemy.

Khawlah demonstrated how her honed skills, coupled with her strength of spirit and trust in Allah, came into indispensable use at a time critical for their victory in the battlefield. From this, we can learn an invaluable lesson: It is not enough for modern-day Muslim women just to have a noble intention to perform righteous deeds, such as benefiting others through medicine, education, philanthropy, or fighting for the sake of Allah. They must couple their intention with the necessary skills and expertise in these fields to ensure success.

Khawlah bint al-Azwar's valiant courage did more than just save her brother's life, aid the Muslim army, or skillfully fight the enemy. Her resolute and unbridled gallantry set an unparalleled and inspirational practical example of strength and trust in Allah for thousands of Muslim women to come, centuries ahead in time.

Works Cited; Al-Waqdi, Muhammad ibn Umar. The Islamic Conquest of Syria. Trans. Sulayman al-Kindi. London: Ta-Ha Publishing, 1995.

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Saturday, April 10, 2010

DESIDERATA...By Max Ehrman



Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

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