Al-Kama'ah (Truffles):
A Natural Remedy Promoted by Our ProphetSAAW
Part 1 of 2
Mohammed S. Uddin
The Prophet of IslamSAAW said: "Take advantage of your health before times of sickness..." (40 Hadith Al-Nawawi, 40). This time-proven statement sets the tone in proof of the matchless blessings of good health over ill-health.
Health is a Blessing Not to be Taken for Granted
In general, man fails to appreciate the blessings of good health and to be grateful for them —until the misfortune of ill-health befalls him. He then resorts to supplications:
And when We show favor to man, he withdraws and turns away; but when evil touches him, then he has recourse to long supplication. [Surah Fussilat, 41:51]
Then, when the misfortune is lifted, he soon forgets the favor, some people even straying into disbelief:
And We gave you all that you ask for, and if you count the Blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them. Verily, man is indeed an extreme wrong-doer, a disbeliever! [Surah Ibrâhîm, 14:34]
Some men at times recognize the favor from Allah, but, then when it comes to being grateful, they deny it in essence when they become grateful to others, sometimes forgetting Allah and worshipping others:
They recognize the Grace of Allah, yet they deny it, and most of them are disbelievers. [Surah Al-Nahl, 16:82]
AllahSWT admonishes us to remember Him —to be grateful, and not to be ungrateful— for our own spiritual benefit because if we remember Him, He remembers us, which in turn facilitates our spiritual journey towards Him.
Therefore, remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me (for my countless favors on you), and never be ungrateful to Me. [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:152]
As faithful Muslims we remember Allah in our Prayer (Salah), expressing gratefulness and praise to Him multiple times a day, every day, seeking His approval and reward.
And those who guard their prayers well, such shall dwell in the Garden (Paradise), honored. [Surah Al-Ma'ârij, 70:34-35]
Among the countless favors, time and health are two important blessings which man typically ignores and misuses:
Ibn Abbas RAAH reported the Messenger of Allah SAAS as saying: "There are two blessings in which many people incur loss: [They are] health and free time (for doing good)." (Riyaḍ Al-Ṣaliḥeen 97: from Ṣaḥîḥ Al-Bukhari, 6412)
Our health is a blessing from AllahSWT —something we tend to take for granted, or at least we ignore its vital importance— as long as we suffer no sickness or disease. Since time, like the tide, flows incessantly and events happen without our knowledge, our health condition can change moment to moment, so we should be mindful of our health and preserve it. Good health nurtures a good mind and a good spirit, necessary for mental peace and security—unlike an unhealthy body that cannot harbor peace and security. This is analogous to a sick and unhealthy king compared to a beggar who is healthy and happy. The Holy ProphetSAAW said:
"Whosoever begins the day feeling family security and good health and possessing provision for his day, it is for him as though he possessed the whole world." (Riyaḍ Al-Ṣaliḥeen 510; reported by 'Ubaidullah bin Mihsan Al-Ansari RAAH)
The purpose of this article is to emphasize the importance of good health, to attest to its evidence in Islamic source texts and to expand our awareness about the means to preserve health before an illness afflicts a person. The Holy ProphetSAAW took a global approach to the subject of health and its preservation for the benefit of an individual, as well as for the benefit of the community at large. He emphasized personal hygiene (viz. bathing and wuḍu') before prayer, and community hygiene (in the case of sneezing, coughing, fever, and plague) to prevent the spread of infectious/contagious diseases. At the same time, he emphasized the preservation and maintenance of the body's internal environment through good eating habits, while recognizing the role of the body's innate immunity:
O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and good on earth, and follow not the footsteps of Shaitan. Verily, he is to you an open enemy. [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:168]
In a world where many of us have so many good foods to choose from, as well as easy access to 'junk food' everywhere, we must choose from those which will best nourish our health. There are thousands of plants in nature, not on our grocery shelves, which can help us avoid disease and contribute to its cure, when need be.
One Amazing Fungus for Building and Regaining Health
Eating lawful and pure substances boosts immunity, while eating impure things will hamper the body's immunity. One such 'lawful and good on earth' is Al-Kama'ah (truffles), which botanically is a species of mushrooms. The study of this edible fungus, allows us to understand its nutritional as well as its medicinal values, and serves to assert its place in the book of preventive medicine. The Holy ProphetSAAW believed in, and practiced, preventive medicine, in keeping with his following statement:
Take benefit of five before five: Your youth before old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your occupation, and your life before your death. (Al-Bukhari, Al-Tirmidhi; narrated by Ibn Abbas and reported by Al-Hakim)
Modern medicine owes its success to building upon ancient medicine, which originated from Ayurvedic Medicine, which in turn owes its source to the botanical world. The Encyclopedia of Divine Medicine is nature. AllahSWT created the earth and the heavens, enriched the earth in stages with countless blessings, and made them subservient to sustain human life.
...[He] created the earth in two Days ...He set on the [earth] mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measured therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion. ... in His design He comprehended the sky —for it had been [as] smoke. He said to it and to the earth: "Come together, willingly or unwillingly." They said, "We do come (together) in willing obedience." [Surah Fussilat, 41:9-11]
He ... has sent down water from the sky. With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants, each separate from the others. Eat [from them] ... [Surah Ṭâ Hâ, 20:53]
HeSWT created the cure when He created the disease, and distributed the cure in nature, the world of herbs. The Holy ProphetSAW said:
Narrated by Abu HurairahRA :"There is no disease which Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment." [Ṣaḥîḥ Al-Bukhari 5678]
Modern medicine is a later version of ancient medicine, and the Medieval Era was the transition period between them, a transition characterized in Islamic lands by emphasis on personal hygiene, healthy eating habits, the use of herbs, roots, and barks, and faith-based medicine for spiritual, mental, and extra-sensorial influences (spells, magic, etc.). Our blessed ProphetSAAW was the master of this quasi-purposive science of medicine. He used herbs extensively to treat people; he emphasized personal hygiene as a preventive measure against infection; he ordered quarantine against person-to-person transmission of the plague. He emphasized prevention through simple means of maintenance for what is natural good health.
In the Prophet's own Tafsir of the following verse,
And We gave you [Moses] the shade of clouds and sent down on you Manna and Salwa [quails], [saying]: "Eat of the good lawful things We have provided for you," [But they rebelled] and they did not wrong Us but they wronged themselves. [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:57]
the Holy ProphetSAAW said:
Narrated by Sa'id bin ZaydRA : "Kama'ah, is like Manna [in that it is obtained without effort and its sap is a (medicinal) cure for eye trouble.]" (Ṣaḥîḥ Al-Bukhari, 1714)
The historical background of Manna, according to Tafsir Ibn Kathir, is that when the Children of Israel were roaming in the wilderness of the Sinai Desert (Ibn Abi Hatim 1:176), Manna used to descend on the trees and to be rained down on them daily for their sustenance. It was whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. These wanderers used to collect it and eat thereof. They were also able to catch enough Salwa [quail] for the day's nourishment. [Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), pages 234-235, paraphrased from comments by Ibn Abbas].
Manna and Salwa were enough to sustain Banu Isra'el nutritionally throughout the whole period (forty years) of their wandering in the desert after they had escaped under Moses from slavery in Egypt.
Manna and Salwa were divinely provided foods without a normal earthly origin. These sustaining nutrients were provided as a mercy and blessing from AllahSWT, but Banu Isra'il rejected the blessing, complaining against having just one kind of food [manna and salwa]. They asked MusaAS for normal earthly foods:
And (remember) when you said, "O Musa/Moses! We cannot endure one kind of food. So, invoke your Lord for us to bring forth for us of what the earth grows…" [Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:61]
Kama'ah is Truffles, and like Manna, it is an amazing food item. Unlike manna, it is an edible mushroom, one type among more than 2,000 of its varieties. Unlike manna, Kama'ah grows from a spore that germinates on decaying organic material like tree trunks, on grains like wheat and barley, or on living materials like trees and vegetables, notably in the hot and dry atmosphere of the Arabian Desert, the Middle East, and North Africa. Its spore breaks down the nutrients from the decaying substrates using its enzymes and then absorbing them. When it grows on plants, it releases nutrients for the plants in symbiotic relationship. It has two parts, the portion of the fungus seen above the ground, which is the fruiting body, and the large underground network of filamentous structures that make up the bulk of this organism.
Popular Supermarket Mushrooms
Because of the all-around health value of mushrooms, the world has moved to producing them commercially as a food item, rather than scavenging the wild plant. Button mushrooms and Portobello mushrooms are commonly served in salads and soups, and those find their way into our cuisines. The Reishi mushroom improves retinal health (naturaleyecure.com). Besides, it has antiviral and antibacterial properties, owing to its high contents of basic ingredients like terpenes, steroids, anthraquinones, benzoic acid derivatives, quinolones, and oxalic acid. Lentinan, an anti-cancer compound, is found in Shiitake mushrooms (used in Japan). The polysaccharide, beta-glucan in Turkey Tail mushroom, is thought to strengthen the immune system to fight cancer (https://www.cancer.gov >about-cancer >treatment).
In the industrialized world, China and the US are among the top five producers of popular mushrooms, while truffles are a highly valued and regularly scavenged food item in some countries —commonly in Europe with the help of trained animals.
See the APPENDIX A for the Biochemical Composition of Kama'ah and APPENDIX B for Modern Medicinal Research Findings on Kama'ah.
What You Need to Know about Kama'ah
To sum-up, the key medicinal uses of Kama'ah are in the areas of antioxidant, anticancer, antiallergic, immunomodulation, antiviral, and antibacterial (penicillin). There may be other uses like antiparasitic (anthraquinone), antifungal, detoxification, and hepatoprotective effects, as evident from their use in folk-lore medicine.
Narrated by Sa'id bin Zayd: The Holy ProphetSAW said: "Truffles (Kama'ah) are like Manna (i. e. they grow naturally without man's care) and their sap heals eye diseases." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5708)
Fourteen centuries ago, when there was no research laboratory to study Kama'ah, the edible fungus, and to estimate its nutritional as well as therapeutic value, this Hadith, that was narrated from the Holy ProphetSAW makes us be in wonder about the medical knowledge of the ProphetSAAW:
Nor does he [the Prophet] speak of (his own) desire. [His speech] is only a Revelation revealed. He has been taught by one mighty in power [ JibrilAS]. [Surah Al-Najm, 53:3-5]
Kama'ah is an edible plant with dense nutritional and curative value. It reminds us of Manna, in that it grows in the dry weather of Arabia and the Middle East, without any care from the human hand. It is a Godsend, a mercy and gift sent by AllahSWT for all kinds of health benefits to mankind. It can be thought of as a complete an ideal food, also having digestive and medicinal values.
Research in mushrooms shows promising results in several degenerative brain diseases like dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other viral diseases. Research, specifically designed to study Kama'ah, may reveal benefits beyond the scope of present medical knowledge:
And We gave you all that you ask for, and if you count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them... [Surah Ibrâhîm, 14:34]
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APPENDIX A
The Biochemical Composition of Kama'ah
The composition of Kama'ah may vary from place to place, with various methods of cultivation, and with climate conditions. But in general, it has the following components: Water 77% and 23% other substances: 60% hydrocarbons, 18% protein, 7% fat, 4% fiber, and 18% ash. Seventeen amino acids have already been recognized in the proteins of truffles [https://www.thesciencefaith.com/truffles-healing-the-eye/ dated March 28, 2016].
Kama'ah is low in calories and fat, and contains a modest amount of fiber and various nutrients. The bulk of a mushroom, however is its non-nutritive plant substances, like polysaccharides, indoles, polyphenols, and carotenoids which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. It is high in vitamins like niacin, folate, B1, B2, B12, C, D, and E. [Edible Mushrooms: International Journal of Microbiology, María Elena Valverde, Talía Hernández-Pérez, and Octavio Paredes-López, Published online 2015 Jan 20]
Its essential amino acids include leucine, valine, glutamine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid. Fatty acids include linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acid. The ash content includes potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, copper, iron, and zinc. The carbohydrate content of Kama'ah includes chitin, glycogen, trehalose, and mannitol; additionally, there are fiber, hemicelluloses, pectin, and β-glucans (a non-digestible polysaccharides).
In qualitative analysis, Kama'ah is an example of one plant comprising an ideal diet, because it is high in protein, essential amino-acids, and carbohydrates, while low in fat —but high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as vitamins and minerals. Because of its all-around health value, it is a prime source for alternative medicine —as the West is looking more and more to the East, to find miracle cures for certain diseases like infection, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancers.
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APPENDIX B
Modern Medicinal Research Findings on Kama'ah
The nutritional value of Kama'ah pertains to its composition of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids (cholesterol); its trace elements, vitamins and its enzymes like amylase and lipase.
The medicinal value of Kama'ah pertains to beta-glucan, an anti-oxidant, an immunomodulator, and an anti-lipid that prevents absorption of cholesterol. Its anti-microbial property is due to its content of penicillin. Because of its bioactive molecules, the Kama'ah exhibits an anti-viral property (Journal of Natural Products, 2008:Frontiers in Microbiology, Wutzler and Sauerbrei, 2004; Chan and Abu Bakar, 2005).
Although most mushrooms have preventive/curative properties, they may not all be edible. Kama'ah, eaten in appropriate quantities and on a regular basis, can prevent the onset of common and major ailments like diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, infections, and cancer, as well as eye disease like keratitis.
On the curative side, Kama'ah may have immunomodulatory, antineoplastic, anti-oxidant, and anti-infectious properties. The immunomodulatory effect is exerted through modulation of the human immune system that includes white cells: the neutrophils, lymphocytes, plasma cells, and the progenitor cells of the bone marrow. Certain extracts of Kama'ah stimulate the neutrophils and lymphocytes to engulf or tag the invading foreign organisms/ substance, and the plasma cells remove the tagged cells/ material by a process called phagocytosis. The progenitor cells of the bone marrow are pluripotential cells that can produce any mature cell line upon receiving the specific signal mediated through chemotaxis triggered by the response of the targeted body cells to foreign invasion. This is a part of internal homeostasis, designed to protect the internal environment of the body, as set in very early in life.
The anti-oxidant property of Kama'ah is also due to its high Vitamin C content. Vitamin C protects the cells against oxidative stress caused by free oxygen radicals (oxygen molecules with extra electrons), generated during metabolic reactions in the body. Free radicals can damage the mitochondria causing abnormality of the oxygen transport system, leading to abnormal glucose metabolism during cellular respiration, and can damage cellular protein, causing mutation, the cumulating effect of which is tumor formation.
Thus, numerous bioactive molecules synthesized by macrofungi (polysaccharides, proteins, fats, minerals, glycosides, alkaloids, volatile oils, terpenoids, tocopherols, phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, folates, lectins, enzymes, ascorbic and organic acids [International Journal of Microbiology, published online, Jan. 20, 2015]), are capable of modulating metabolic processes, and they demonstrate positive properties such as antioxidant effects, inhibition of receptor activities, inhibition or induction of enzymes, and induction and inhibition of gene expression (Biology of Macrofungi, October 2018
DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-02622-6, Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, ISBN: 978-3-030-02622-6, Project: Mushroom Biotechnology)
An extract of Kama'ah, as specifically referred to in the Hadith, is a cure for eye diseases. Ibn Sina mentioned that Muslims, after hearing this Hadith, used to boil it and cool its water, then use it as eye drops.
Dr. al-Mu'ataz al-Marzuqi, an Egyptian Ophthalmologist, in his study found that he could use Al-Kama'ah/ Truffles to stop the formation of fibrous tissue by preventing growth of the cells that form fibrous tissues in the infected area, and he also observed a decrease in the formation of lymphatic cells in the infected area. This is significant because the presence of lymphatic cells is an indication of chronic fibrosis. (https://www.thesciencefaith.com/truffles-healing-the-eye),
Could extracts of Kama'ah possibly be a cure for other eye diseases? What we have learned from Dr. Al-Marzuqi's experient is that Kama'ah prevents fibrosis in the eye. Possibly, it should work the same way for other inflammatory conditions, which, if left untreated, would lead to fibrosis and scar formation.
