Taking Quranic plants to gardens in the Middle East

LUCKNOW: Did you know that pomegranate originated in Iran and it is its wild form that is found in India, Afghanistan is found in India, Afghanistan and Syria?

Or that cucumber, known as 'Qiththa' in Quran, was eaten by children of Israel in the arid climate of Egypt for relief from heat.

These are some of the findings of a

Lucknow-based scientist

who recently taught people in Qatar how to cultivate medicinal plants mentioned in the Quran.

Phytochemist Mohammad Iqtedaar Husain, who has penned a book on plants mentioned in Islam's holy book, recently unveiled its Arabic version at University of Qatar.

The book was released by director of the Quranic Botanic Garden in

Doha Fatima Saleh Al-Khulaifi

at an international conference on the need of the vegetation in Arab countries.

Addressing the conference, Iqtedar dwelt on ways to cultivate crops necessary for countries in the middle east. He also spoke about the significance of prophetic medicine in Indo-Arab trade.

The focus of the book is on camphor, cedar and ginger along with other legumes. According to Iqtedar, `kafoor' mentioned in the Quran was understood to be camphor by people. However, he says, it is actually kufer or henna--a fragrant herb, common among Arabs.

Pomegranate, he says, is a tonic for heart patients. The juice of the fruit is an excellent cooling beverage and allays thirst in diarrhoea apart from soothing colitis, anaemia, jaundice, high blood pressure, piles and arthritis. In the Quran, the fruit is known as `Rumman'.

With 90% water and negligible fat, cucumber is a refreshing vegetable. In the religious book of Muslims Sahih Al Bukhari, Hazrat Abdullah bin Jafar said he had seen Prophet Muhammad eating fresh dates and cucumber.

Known in Quran as 'Zanjabil', ginger originated in India.“In Quran, Allah has said that those who go to paradise because of their good deeds on earth will get a sweet wine with the taste of ginger. Arabs used to import the dry form of ginger known as 'sonth' from India,“ says Iqtedar.

Iqtedar's research was taken up by UNESCO, which had approved a project for the establishment of Quranic Botanical Gardens in countries of the middle east. The project is led by Doha (Qatar) and Sharjah (UAE).

The founder of

Nadwatul Ulema Maulana Syed Abul Hasan

Ali Nadvi has described the book as the “new light“. The king of Morocco has praised the book as “invaluable for mankind“.

Iqtedar has penned around 26 books.