Liver of Fish the first food of the people of Paradise.

Q. Why is liver of fish considered as the first food in heaven? it is said to purify our stomach in heaven this is done, is this true?.

A. Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

It is proven in the saheeh Sunnah that the first food offered to welcome the people of Paradise when they enter it will be “the caudate lobe of whale liver”. That is mentioned in the hadeeth of Thawbaan, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), according to which one of the Jewish rabbis came to ask the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about some matters to test him.

In the hadeeth it says:

The Jewish man said: What will be presented to them first when they enter Paradise?
He said: “Caudate lobe of whale liver.”
He said: What food will be given to them after that?
He said: “The bull of Paradise, which used to graze along its edges, will be slaughtered for them.”
He said: What will their drink be?
He said: “From a spring there that is called Salsabeel.” …
Narrated by Muslim, 315

Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The words “What will be presented to them” refer to that with which a man is welcomed.
Ibraaheem al-Halabi said: It is usually good quality fruits.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 3/227

He also said:
This refers to a whale, according to scholarly consensus… As for the caudate lobe of the liver, this is a separate piece that is attached to the liver and it is the best part of it.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 17/135-136

That is also proven in other saheeh hadeeths in as-Saheehayn and as-Sunan. We quoted this particular hadeeth because of what it contains of differentiating between the first food presented to the people of Paradise, which is the caudate lobe of fish liver, and the food that they will eat after that, which is the meat of the “bull of Paradise”.

Secondly:

We could not find anything to indicate the wisdom behind the caudate lobe of whale liver being the first food presented to the people of Paradise, but we believe that Allah’s wisdom is great and that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the All-Knowing, Most Wise, and that He said of Himself (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses, no choice have they (in any matter). Glorified be Allah, and exalted above all that they associate as partners (with Him)”
[al-Qasas 28:68].

That should not prevent some of the scholars from trying to see the wisdom behind the choice of the caudate lobe of whale liver in particular. Some of them said that this is an indication of the end of this world, which is a transient abode, and moving to Paradise, which is an eternal abode, because the fish or whale is an aquatic animal which is indicative of the essence of life on earth, and the bull is a land animal which is indicative of tilling the soil and earning a living, so the people of Paradise are given these two things to eat to signal the end of this world and the beginning of the Hereafter.
 See: Rooh al-Ma‘aani by al-Aloosi, 7/94

Thirdly:

With regard to the benefits of the caudate lobe of fish liver, they are many, as has been discussed by doctors and nutrition specialists. Among these benefits are: lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood, reducing fat in the body, and lessening joint pain. It is also rich in vitamin D which has many benefits.

For more information on that, refer to specialist references in that field.

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A

Ref: http://islamqa.com/en/cat/226/ref/islamqa/169491

Concise commentaries on Saheeh al-Bukhaari

Q. I am asking about commentaries on Saheeh al-Bukhaari. I want to find the easiest book of commentary on al-Saheeh, concise and easy for one who is not a seeker of knowledge (Taalib ‘ilm).

A. Praise be to Allaah.

The commentaries on Saheeh al-Bukhaari are many and varied. For the most part they are written for specialists and are difficult to understand for those who are not specialized in the study of shar’i sciences. The reason for that it is that it is difficult to understand the way in which al-Bukhaari compiled his Saheeh, because he often paid attention to the number of isnaads and he repeated hadeeths and included many chapter headings, which may confuse both the ordinary reader and the scholar.  

Hence the great scholar Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Lateef al-Zubaydi (893 AH) summarized Saheeh al-Bukhaari, omitting repeated isnaads and reports, and he called his summary al-Tajreed al-Sareeh li Ahaadeeth al-Jaami’ al-Saheeh. This has been printed in an edition edited by Ibraaheem Barakah, with a brief commentary on these ahaadeeth. 

If a non-specialist wants to read Saheeh al-Bukhaari, he should read al-Zubaydi’s abridgement of it, and then try to understand the ahaadeeth in it by means of various commentaries, among the easiest of which are the following: 

1. I’laam al-Sunan by al-‘Allaamah al-Khattaabi (388 AH), which is a brief commentary on the Saheeh. 
2. Haashiyat al-‘Allaamah al-Sindi ‘ala Saheeh al-Bukhaari, which is a very brief but beneficial commentary.
3. ‘Awn al-Baari Sharh Tajreed al-Sareeh by Siddeeq Hasan Khan (1307 AH), which is a commentary on al-Zubaydi’s abridgement, which he based on Fath al-Baari, so it is like a summary thereof. 

These commentaries are amongst the shortest and easiest commentaries on al-Saheeh. They deal with the meanings of the words and expressions used, and the meanings of the hadeeth, and they do not deal with the isnaads and problematic issues and subtleties. They are not difficult to read for most people, although they sometimes indulge in discussing some linguistic details and so on. The reader should overlook whatever he finds difficult to understand. 

But it is the best of these commentaries for the non-specialist, and he can also make use of some verbal commentaries on these books, such as that by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) on al-Saheeh, and the commentary of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr (may Allaah preserve him) on the abridgment by al-Zubaydi. 

We ask Allaah to make the book easy for the ordinary Muslim who reads it, and to benefit more people by means of it. 

For more information on Saheeh al-Imam al-Bukhaari and its author, please see questions no. 20153 and 21523. 

And Allaah knows best.

 

Islam Q&A

Ref: http://www.islamqa.com/en/ref/105655