Where did the pumpkins go?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum.

Every year, in late October, pumpkins make an appearance – after being absent for a year. For about a week, all everybody talks about is pumpkins.

As soon as October ends, the pumpkins proceed to disappear again.

Where did the pumpkins go?

Well, obviously, they didn’t go anywhere. The problem is that people only think about pumpkins when it’s time for Halloween.

Now, you’re probably thinking that this is a “Halloween is haram” post. Actually, no, this is a post about pumpkins. However, before I start talking about them, it is important to discuss why it is not allowed to celebrate Halloween in Islam.

First of all, the whole history of Halloween revolves around shirk (worshipping other than Allah) and devils.Here’s an article that sheds light on the Satanic nature of Halloween:

[Please note that I’m not responsible for any other articles on any of the websites and linking to these sites doesn’t mean approving of them.]

History.com states the following:

“Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2018 occurs on Wednesday, October 31. It originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating sweet treats.

Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.

When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By 43 A.D., the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.”

(The rest of the article offers up even more awful details about Halloween.)

That’s not all. I came across some articles by non-Muslims (one of whom is a former devil worshipper) which makes it clear that Halloween, and all its facets, revolves around devil worship and that it is a special day for Satanists. I will not link to those articles as they mention worshipping Isa (alaihissalaam) – which is also shirk. All the information is freely avaible on the internet for those who want to do some research.

Islam revolves around tawheed (singling Allah out in His Lordship, His Worship and His Names and Attributes), so anything that opposes this belief is completely prohibited. Anyone who dies upon shirk (which is the opposite of tawheed) will not be forgiven.

لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّـهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۖ وَقَالَ الْمَسِيحُ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّـهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّـهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ

Surely, they have disbelieved who say: “Allah is the Messiah [Isa], son of Maryam.” But the Messiah said: “O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” Verily, whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the dhaalimoon (polytheists and wrong­doers) there are no helpers. [Surah Al-Maidah (5) : 72]

وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

And indeed it has been revealed to you (O Muhammad), as it was to those (Allah’s Messengers) before you: “If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.” [Surah Az-Zumar (39) : 65]

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَىُّ الذَّنْبِ أَعْظَمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ‏:‏ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ لِلَّهِ نِدًّا وَهْوَ خَلَقَكَ ‏‏‏.‏ قُلْتُ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَعَظِيمٌ، قُلْتُ ثُمَّ أَىُّ قَالَ ‏:‏ وَأَنْ تَقْتُلَ وَلَدَكَ تَخَافُ أَنْ يَطْعَمَ مَعَكَ ‏‏‏.‏ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ أَىُّ قَالَ ‏:‏ أَنْ تُزَانِيَ حَلِيلَةَ جَارِكَ ‏

Narrated Abdullah (radiallahu anhu): I asked the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam “What is the greatest sin in the sight of Allah?” He said, “That you set up a rival unto Allah though He alone created you.” I said, “That is indeed a great sin.” Then asked, “What is next?” He said, “To kill your son lest he should share your food with you.” I asked, “What is next?” He said, “To commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari,  Volume 6, Hadeeth No. 4]

What’s really sad is that there so many Muslims today who do not like the hijab, the niqab, a long beard, etc., all of which are from Islam, but they have absolutely no problem seeing a cross or idols! This shows a lack of awareness of Allah and His magnificence.

Now, some people might say that Halloween isn’t celebrated in a serious manner so there is no harm in it. That’s not true. We cannot take any part of this magnificent religion as a joke. This is disbelief and is a trait of the hypocrites.

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَخُوضُ وَنَلْعَبُ ۚ قُلْ أَبِاللَّـهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِئُونَ

لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا قَدْ كَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ ۚ إِن نَّعْفُ عَن طَائِفَةٍ مِّنكُمْ نُعَذِّبْ طَائِفَةً بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ

الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ بَعْضُهُم مِّن بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمُنكَرِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَقْبِضُونَ أَيْدِيَهُمْ ۚ نَسُوا اللَّـهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

 وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ هِيَ حَسْبُهُمْ ۚ وَلَعَنَهُمُ اللَّـهُ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ

If you ask them (about this), they declare: “We were only talking idly and joking.” Say: “Was it at Allah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?” 

Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of you, We will punish others amongst you because they were Mujrimoon (disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, criminals, etc.). 

The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another, they enjoin (on the people) Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief and polytheism of all kinds and all that Islam has forbidden), and forbid (people) from Al-Maroof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and they close their hands [from giving (spending in Allah’s Cause) alms, etc.]. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Verily, the hypocrites are the Faasiqoon (rebellious, disobedient to Allah). 

Allah has promised the hypocrites; men and women, and the disbelievers, the Fire of Hell, therein shall they abide. It will suffice them. Allah has cursed them and for them is the lasting torment. [Surah At-Tawbah (9) : 65-68]

So, we all need to be really careful to not fall into shirk. The way to do that is by studying aqeedah (creed) from Ahlus Sunnah (the People of the Sunnah). The Concise Commentary on the Book of Tawheed (by Shaikh Saleh Al-Fawzan) is an easy but beneficial book to start with.

The second reason that we cannot celebrate Halloween, or the like, is because we are not allowed to imitate the kuffar (disbelievers). This is the reality, although many Muslims deny it.

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ :‏ مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ

Now, this part shouldn’t really be an issue because we as Muslims should be PROUD of our religion (as it’s the truth, revealed by the Most High) and be PROUD of who we are and we should not want to imitate those who do not submit to what Allah has revealed.

Also, our religion is complete so why would we even need to imitate anyone?

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّـهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا بِالْأَزْلَامِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ ۚ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Forbidden to you (for food) are: Al-Maytah (the dead animals – cattle-beast not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and the meat of that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah, or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., or on which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering, and that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by the goring of horns – and that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal – unless you are able to slaughter it (before its death) ­ and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An­-Nusub (stone altars). (Forbidden) also is to use arrows seeking luck or decision, (all) that is Fisq (disobedience of Allah and sin). This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such can eat these above-mentioned meats), then surely, Allah is Oft­Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Surah Al-Maaidah (5) : 3]

Interestingly enough, imitating the disbelievers doesn’t benefit them either because that stops them from realising the truth. So when they see Muslims imitating their way, they don’t realise that Islam is the only true religion.

There are actually many people who accepted Islam after they saw how Muslims did things differently (in a good way) and realised that Islam had to be the truth. So, if Muslims stop imitating non-Muslims, it will actually benefit both parties!

Thirdly, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) prohibited the Muslims from celebrating anything other than the two Eids. This doesn’t mean things like weddings or parties which come once, rather what is being referred to is yearly celebrations e.g. Valentine’s, birthdays (both of which also have terrible histories!), Mother’s Day, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving (which appears to have both a religious and a violent history), Hanukkah, Nowruz,  national days, etc.

عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْمَدِينَةَ وَلَهُمْ يَوْمَانِ يَلْعَبُونَ فِيهِمَا فَقَالَ ‏:‏ مَا هَذَانِ الْيَوْمَانِ ‏.‏ قَالُوا كُنَّا نَلْعَبُ فِيهِمَا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏: إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَبْدَلَكُمْ بِهِمَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمَا يَوْمَ الأَضْحَى وَيَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ ‏.

Narrated Anas ibn Malik (radiallahu anhu): When the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) came to Madinah, the people had two days on which they engaged in games. He asked: What are these two days (what is the significance)? They said: We used to engage ourselves on them in the pre-Islamic period. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: Allah has substituted for them something better than them, the Day of Al-Adha and the Day of Al-Fitr . [Sunan Abee Dawood, Hadeeth No. 1134. Graded “sahih” (authentic) by Al-Albani.]

Years ago, one of my teachers, Ustadh Anees Al-Masabi, pointed out that the people of Madinah were not celebrating a religious festival but the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) still did not permit them to celebrate it

Also, celebrating dozens of things then causes one to not focus on the two Eids because these two days lose their emphasis.

Now, apart from these three reasons why we shouldn’t celebrate Halloween or any other festival for that matter, Halloween has other problems specific to it.

What happens to the pumpkins on this day? Well, people carve out ugly faces into them, display them to others, and then proceed to chuck them out the next day.

This results in wasted food and other items which then results in environmental problems. Apart from this, the food being wasted (i.e. pumpkins) has a LOT of value.

Let’s understand this step by step:

First, we need to understand the amount of food that is wasted in Halloween. Let’s assume that each family buys just one pumpkin. There are millions of families celebrating this festival which means that there are millions of pumpkins wasted on one day!! Subhan Allah.

Do you think I’m exaggerating?

Let’s take a look at some articles (please pay close attention to the benefits of pumpkins mentioned in them):

Here’s what the Independent had to say in 2014:

“Traditionally far bigger in the US than the UK, Halloween has soared in popularity on this side of the pond in recent years, to the point where two in five Britons now buy a pumpkin at this time of the year, according to new figures.

But while US pumpkin buyers enjoy turning their fruit into a tasty dish, their UK counterparts have been far more reluctant to cook the scooped-out insides, with only a third choosing to do so, according to research from the Pumpkin Rescue campaign.

As a result, 18,000 tons of perfectly edible squash is tipped straight into the bin every Halloween – weighing the same as 1,500 double decker buses.“

Here’s what Zero Waste Scotland had to say in 2016:

“Some 100,000 pumpkins are set to be purchased in Scotland in the run up to October 31, with a truly frightening two thirds being chucked away rather than eaten. Figures from Zero Waste Scotland reveal a massive 340,000kg of pumpkin sold in Scotland in 2014 was wasted – 230,000kg of which could have been consumed. That’s enough to make 460,000 pumpkin lasagnes.”

And here’s what it had to say in 2017:

“Zero Waste Scotland is calling on Scots to tackle the frightful number of pumpkins wasted every Halloween. Research reveals that 1.8 million pumpkins were carved in Scotland for Halloween last year with over 1.1 million thrown away. That’s enough pumpkins to stretch from Edinburgh to Stornoway.”

Here’s what the NPR website had to say in 2015:

Here’s what the Daily Beast had to say in 2013:

“On Halloween, we’ll carve our pumpkins, put them on display and then—throw them in the garbage. What a waste.

Lacing into the innocent Jack-o-lantern might make me a killjoy, but here’s the thing. The Halloween pumpkin, as it stands today, is an emblem of the problems of our global industrial food system that sucks up too many of the planet’s resources, feeds billions of us too much, leaves 1 in 8 humans chronically undernourished and lets one third of all food produced for human consumption go to waste.

Where I live, Jack-o-lanterns line the streets by the dozen, some houses displaying three, four, even five pumpkins. The morning after the pumpkins that aren’t smashed by late night marauders are thrown away.

But when we toss that pumpkin, we are wasting all the resources used to grow it—the irrigation water, any pesticides or fertilizers that treated the soil, and all the energy used to plant, harvest, transport, and then store it. When a pumpkin is sent to the landfill, it rots, emitting methane, an alarmingly potent greenhouse gas.

When we chuck our pumpkins, we are also wasting a good source of food. In many cuisines, pumpkin is a common ingredient. There’s Thai pumpkin curry, East African pumpkin stew, Japanese-style simmered pumpkin, chickpea and pumpkin tagine as well as soups and baked goods. The morning after Halloween, a friend of mine from Morocco, where she made pumpkin tagine, arrived at my door in shock because she had passed so many discarded pumpkins. To her, it was as if people had left freshly barbecued steaks to rot on their front porches.

But our food wastage is not just at Halloween. That we think it is okay to put a pumpkin in the garbage shows us how little we respect food and the land it comes from.”

Here’s what the Soil Association had to say in 2017:

“We will throw away 18,000 tonnes of pumpkin in the UK this Halloween. That frightening figure is the result of more than a million pumpkins being bought and hollowed out for decorative purposes, with many people choosing to dispose of the pumpkin’s flesh rather than making use of it in the kitchen.

In a bid to tackle my own food waste, I set myself a challenge. Could I create a whole dining experience using pumpkin as my central ingredient? The answer was yes.

As I learned, pumpkin is hugely versatile and can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes. Even the seeds and flesh are edible, meaning there really is no excuse for throwing away our pumpkins this Halloween.”

Here’s what Slow Food had to say in 2017:

“It’s that time of year again, and across much of the Western world today millions of children will be carving pumpkins and going from door to door on the hunt for candy. And what’s even scarier than ghosts and witches? Food waste. While around a third of all food produced globally goes to waste, this figure creeps as high as two-thirds for Halloween pumpkins, which are cut up and thrown away as disposable accessories to a costume party, and almost never appreciated for what they are: a delicious—and seasonal—product of agriculture! In the UK alone, as many as 15 million pumpkins may be thrown out: enough to feed everyone in the country.“

Here’s what Unilever had to say in 2016:

“Halloween is now Britain’s third biggest commercial holiday, after Christmas and Easter, and the country’s second biggest party night after New Year’s Eve. The survey of 2,000 UK adults found that two in five British households carve pumpkins for Halloween and most of those go for at least two pumpkins.

Eight out of 10 people said they would like to reduce the amount of food they waste, but more than half admitted that they don’t think of a Halloween pumpkin as food. Half of those asked said they had never eaten pumpkin before and perhaps it’s this unfamiliarity that leads six in 10 to say they wouldn’t know how to cook pumpkin, despite two thirds claiming they are confident they could make a soup from scratch. Most (73%) of those who had tried pumpkin said they liked it, with pumpkin soup coming out as Britain’s favourite pumpkin dish.”

Here’s what Resource had to say in 2016:

“This weekend, homes across the UK, and the world, will display flickering pumpkins to mark another Halloween, but here’s a frightening thought: according to research by Unilever and behaviour change charity Hubbub, 15 million pumpkins per year go to waste instead of being eaten in UK – enough for a bowl of pumpkin soup for everyone in Britain.

As well as this waste, five million pumpkins don’t make it into food waste collections and end up in landfill, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions as they decompose and produce methane. Laid end to end, the uneaten pumpkins would stretch over 2,500 miles — all the way from the UK to Azerbaijan, where pumpkin pancakes are a national dish.

One of the main issues with pumpkin waste is that over half of people asked in a Consensuswide survey didn’t think of a Halloween pumpkin as food, often mistakenly believing a carving pumpkin is not edible. Seven out of 10 pumpkins carved for Halloween don’t get eaten.”

And here’s what Politics.co.uk had to say in 2015:

“According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), pumpkin sales will rocket by around 90% in the weeks and days immediately preceding Halloween. They estimate that over a million pumpkins are purchased every year in the UK for decoration purposes. 

Scarily, according to Hubbub UK, a charity dedicated to reducing pumpkin waste, some 18,000 tonnes of pumpkin will go from supermarket shelf to front doorstep to landfill sites in the UK, without ever stopping to fulfil its primary function as food.

Let’s just pause to consider that figure. 18,000 tonnes. 18 million kilogrammes. Enough to provide one simple meal for every single inhabitant of the UK. Or, with a little organisation, more than enough to provide significant support for homeless charities the length and breadth of the country.

People are going hungry while we, in pursuit of this imported non-tradition, are casually trashing vast amounts of food each and every year.

The main reason, according to Populus, is that because this habit is so recently arrived, many people simply don’t know what to do with pumpkins. According to their research from 2014, two-thirds of people will throw edible pumpkins away on or after 1 November.

However, 52% of respondents said they would re-use them if there were more recipes (has nobody heard of google?), while 42% claimed to avoid cooking pumpkins because of the hassle of having to de-seed and skin them beforehand.”

Please note that this is the amount of waste in just the US and UK, so what about the rest of the planet???

Just imagine all these pumpkins being wasted:

This is how they end up after October 31st every single year:

And this is all the pumpkins that were purchased. What about those that are still with the farmers?

22News stated the following in 2015:

“But having pumpkins leftover is a different story for farmers, where they sometimes are left with thousands of pumpkins. Acres of pumpkins are leftover after Halloween and for farmers its like throwing money out the window.

22News talked to Steve McCray, owner of McCray’s Farms, “It’s kinda lousy because the pumpkins we just throw them back into the field and they will rot over the winter time and we will harrow them up just to mix them up.”

If the fields become too crowded, farmers will use some of the pumpkins for food for the pigs.”

Food for pigs???? When there are so many people dying of hunger?

Do you know who is suffering from famine or food shortage?

You may also refer to the Hunger Map of 2018.

Do you know how many people die of hunger?

Imagine what these starving people would do for a few of those pumpkins. Instead these valuable pumpkins are trashed or fed to pigs!

The wasted food is not the only problem. There are two more problems:

1. The pumpkins that are tossed out end up in landfills and cause environmental problems.

2. There are lots of other things wasted too including those silly costumes.

Another problem with Halloween is the type of food that is being wasted: pumpkins.

What’s so special about pumkins? Well for starters, it’s mentioned in the Quran in the story of Yunus (alaihissalam).

Now, his story appears in the Quran multiple times. In Surah As-Shuara however, there is a detail mentioned that is not stated elsewhere:

وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ

فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ

فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ

فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ

لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ

فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ

وَأَنبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِّن يَقْطِينٍ

وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَىٰ مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ

فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ

And, verily, Yunus was one of the Messengers. When he ran to the laden ship, he (agreed to) cast lots, and he was among the losers, then a (big) fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame.

Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, he would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick, and We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him.

And We sent him to a hundred thousand (people) or even more. And they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while. [Surah As-Saffaat (37) : 139-148]

(Please note that the word “yaqteen” is also translated as gourd or squash, which are both from the same family as pumpkins so please keep that in mind when reading the translations of the Quran, ahadeeth and tafsir.)

So, in this Surah the pumpkin tree is mentioned. (Interestingly enough, this is the last of the stories of the Prophets (alaihimisalaam) mentioned in this Surah. The first story is that of Nuh (alaihissalam) and right before that, the tree of Zaqqum (from Hell) is mentioned. So there is mention of both a good tree (which brought mercy) and a bad tree (which is a punishment) in the same Surah.)

Just imagine the condition of Yunus (alaihissalam). He was stuck in the belly of a whale and then washed ashore.

How ill and weak would he have been? Yet, Allah made the pumpkin tree of all the trees to grow over him.

This is the fruit that Allah chose for his Prophet (alaihimissalaam):

What’s so special about it?

Imam Ibn Kathir (rahimahullah) stated in his explanation of the above verses:

“In the Two Sahihs it is reported that the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) said:

«مَا يَنْبَغِي لِعَبْدٍ أَنْ يَقُولَ: أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ يُونُسَ بْنِ مَتَّى»

(It is not right for any person to say I am better than Yunus bin Matta.)

﴿إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ ﴾

(When he ran to the laden ship.) Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “It was filled with cargo.

﴿فَسَاهَمَ﴾

(Then he (agreed to) cast lots,) means, to draw lots.”

﴿فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ﴾

(and he was among the losers.) means among those who have been overcome. This was because the ship was being pounded by the waves on all sides, and they were at risk of drowning, so they drew lots, and whoever lost would be thrown overboard so as to lighten the load. The Prophet of Allah Yunus, peace be upon him, lost the draw three times, but they did not want to throw him overboard. He took off his garment so that he could throw himself into the sea, and they tried to stop him. Then Allah commanded a large fish from the Green Sea (i.e., Mediterranian Sea) to cleave the oceans and come and swallow Yunus, peace be upon him, without cutting his flesh or breaking his bones. The fish came and Yunus, peace be upon him, threw himself overboard, and the fish swallowed him and took him away, traveling through all the seas with him. When Yunus had stayed for some time in the fish’s belly, he thought that he had died; then he moved his head and legs and arms, and saw that he was alive. He prayed in the belly of the fish, and one of the things he said in his main prayer was: “O Lord, I have taken as a place of worship to You a place which no other person has reached.” They differed as to how long he spent in the belly of the fish. Some said three days; this was the view of Qatadah. Some said seven days; this was the view of Jafar As-Sadiq, may Allah be pleased with him. Some said forty days; this was the view of Abu Malik. Mujahid said, narrating from Ash-Shabi, “It swallowed him in the morning and cast him forth in the evening.” And Allah knows best how long exactly was. Allah says,

﴿فَلَوْلاَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ – لَلَبِثَ فِى بَطْنِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ ﴾

(Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, He would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection.) It was said that, if he had not already done righteous deeds during his time of ease. This was the view of Ad-Dahhak bin Qays, Abu Al-Aliyah, Wahb bin Munabbih, Qatadah and others, and it was the view favored by Ibn Jarir. This is what is indicated in the authentic Hadith which we quote below, if Allah wills. In a Hadith narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, he said:

«تَعَرَّفْ إِلَى اللهِ فِي الرَّخَاءِ، يَعْرِفْكَ فِي الشِّدَّة»

(Remember Allah during times of ease and He will remember you during times of difficulty.) And it was said that what was meant by the Ayah:

﴿فَلَوْلاَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ ﴾

(Had he not been of them who glorify Allah,) was the meaning of the following Ayat:

﴿فَنَادَى فِى الظُّلُمَـتِ أَن لاَّ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنتَ سُبْحَـنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ﴾

﴿فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَـهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَكَذلِكَ نُنجِـى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴾

(But he cried through the darkness (saying): “La ilaha illa Anta, You are glorified! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers.” So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers.) (21:87-88). This was the view of Said bin Jubayr and others. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him – and I do not know of anything narrated from Anas that he did not attribute to the Messenger of Allah :

«إِنَّ يُونُسَ النَّبِيَّ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ حِينَ بَدَا لَهُ أَنْ يَدْعُوَ بِهَذِهِ الْكَلِمَاتِ وَهُوَ فِي بَطْنِ الْحُوتِ فَقَالَ: اللْهُمَّ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ،فَأَقْبَلَتِ الدَّعْوَةُ تَحُفُّ بِالْعَرْشِ، قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ: يَا رَبِّ هَذَا صَوْتٌ ضَعِيفٌ مَعْرُوفٌ مِنْ بِلَادٍ بَعِيدَةٍ غَرِيبَةٍ فَقَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: أَمَا تَعْرِفُونَ ذَلِكَ؟ قَالُوا: يَا رَبِّ وَمَنْ هُوَ؟ قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: عَبْدِي يُونُسُ، قَالُوا: عَبْدُكَ يُونُسُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَزَلْ يُرْفَعُ لَهُ عَمَلٌ مُتَقَبَّلٌ وَدَعْوَةٌ مُسْتَجَابَةٌ؟ قَالُوا: يَا رَبِّ أَوَلَا تَرْحَمُ مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِي الرَّخَاءِ فَتُنْجِيَهُ فِي الْبَلَاءِ، قَالَ: بَلَى، فَأَمَرَ الْحُوتَ فَطَرَحَهُ بِالْعَرَاء»

(When it occurred to the Prophet Yunus, upon him be peace, to call upon Allah in these words when he was in the belly of the great fish, he said, “There is none worthy of worship except You, You are glorified! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers.” This call went and hovered around the (mighty) Throne, and the angels said, “O Lord, this is the voice of one who is weak but known, in a faraway strange land. Allah, may He be exalted, said, “How do you know this” They said, “O Lord, who is he” Allah, may He be exalted, said, “My servant Yunus.” They said, “Your servant Yunus, from whom there kept coming acceptable deeds and supplications which were answered!” They said, “O Lord, will You not have mercy on him for what he did during his time of ease, and save him from this trial and tribulation” He said, “Of course.” So, He commanded the great fish, and it cast him forth on the naked shore.) Allah says:

﴿فَنَبَذْنَـهُ﴾

(But We cast him forth) meaning, `We threw him out,’

﴿بِالْعَرَآءِ﴾

(on the naked shore) Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said that this refers to land in which there is no vegetation and no buildings.

﴿وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ﴾

(while he was sick,) means, when he was weak of body.

﴿وَأَنبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِّن يَقْطِينٍ ﴾

(And We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him.) Ibn Masud and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Said bin Jubayr, Wahb bin Munabbih, Hilal bin Yasaf, Abdullah bin Tawus, As-Suddi, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Ata Al-Khurasani and several others, all said that gourd means squash. Some of them mentioned that the squash has a number of benefits: it grows quickly, its leaves offer shade because of their large size and smooth texture, flies do not come near it, and its fruits provide good nourishment; they may be eaten raw or cooked, and both the pulp and the peel may be eaten.”

What Ibn Kathir mentioned is just some of the benefits of pumpkins. There are much more than that.

Here are some more health benefits:

Now we all know why the pumpkin tree was chosen, don’t we? And this fruit, with all these benefits, is the one that gets wasted on Halloween, subhan Allah. So it’s not just a waste of food, but a waste of incredibly nutritious food.

This is a disaster especially considering how malnutrition is affecting the world:

Imagine how much benefit these people would get if they were able to eat these nutritious pumpkins?

Now, the pumpkin isn’t just mentioned in the Quran. It’s also mentioned in the Sunnah. Guess who used to love eating them?

عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ يُحِبُّ الْقَرْعَ

It was narrated that Anas (radiallahu anhu) said: “The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) liked gourd.” [Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadeeth No. 3302. Graded “sahih” (authentic) by Al-Albani.]

عَنْ أَنَس بْنَ مَالِكٍ، يَقُولُ إِنَّ خَيَّاطًا دَعَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِطَعَامٍ صَنَعَهُ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ فَذَهَبْتُ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى ذَلِكَ الطَّعَامِ فَقَرَّبَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم خُبْزًا مِنْ شَعِيرٍ وَمَرَقًا فِيهِ دُبَّاءٌ وَقَدِيدٌ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَنَسٌ فَرَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَتَتَبَّعُ الدُّبَّاءَ مِنْ حَوَالَىِ الصَّحْفَةِ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَلَمْ أَزَلْ أُحِبُّ الدُّبَّاءَ مُنْذُ يَوْمَئِذٍ

Anas ibn Malik (radiallahu anhu) reported: A tailor invited Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) to a meal which he had prepared. Anas ibn Malik said: I went along with Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) to that feast. He presented to Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) barley bread and soup containing pumpkin, and sliced pieces of meat. Anas said: I saw Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) going after the pumpkin round the dish, so I have always liked the pumpkin since that day.  [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth No. 5067]

عَنْ أَنَسٍ، قَالَ دَعَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَجُلٌ فَانْطَلَقْتُ مَعَهُ فَجِيءَ بِمَرَقَةٍ فِيهَا دُبَّاءٌ فَجَعَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَأْكُلُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الدُّبَّاءِ وَيُعْجِبُهُ – قَالَ – فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُ ذَلِكَ جَعَلْتُ أُلْقِيهِ إِلَيْهِ وَلاَ أَطْعَمُهُ ‏.

‏ قَالَ فَقَالَ أَنَسٌ فَمَا زِلْتُ بَعْدُ يُعْجِبُنِي الدُّبَّاءُ ‏

Anas ibn Malik (radiallahu anhu) reported that a person invited Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alaihi wasallam) to a meal. I also went along with him. He brought soup containing pumpkin. Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) ate that pumpkin with relish. He (Anas) said: When I saw that I began to place it before him, and did not eat it (myself).

Anas said: It was since then that pumpkin was always my favourite (food). [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth No. 5068]

 عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، خَيَّاطًا دَعَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ وَزَادَ قَالَ ثَابِتٌ فَسَمِعْتُ أَنَسًا يَقُولُ فَمَا صُنِعَ لِي طَعَامٌ بَعْدُ أَقْدِرُ عَلَى أَنْ يُصْنَعَ فِيهِ دُبَّاءٌ إِلاَّ صُنِعَ

Anas ibn Malik reported that a tailor invited Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) to a feast. There has been an addition to this that Thabit said: I heard Anas saying that any meal that was prepared for me after that I tried that it should contain pumpkin. [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth No. 5069]

So, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) loved pumpkins but how many Muslims today actually eat them? And how many of them do what Anas (radiallahu anhu) did and try to put pumpkin in every dish?

Where did the pumpkins go? And why don’t we use them more often?

Unfortunately, many Muslims today don’t think of Yunus (alaihissalam), Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) or Anas (radiallahu anhu) when they heard the word “pumpkin”. They only think of Halloween – or Cinderella’s carriage!!

And sadly, pumpkins seem to be widely available only around Halloween time, and the type that are sold (Jack O-Lanterns) are those that are more suited for carving and are not that tasty, it seems.

So, what do we do? Well, the first thing would be to actually buy a pumpkin. [Note: Try to buy it after Halloween so that nobody thinks that you are celebrating Halloween.]

Here’s a look at some of the varieties of pumpkin and squash:

You can just eat it the way it is, and here’s a guide (ignore the wine part!):

You can also make pumpkin pie (which unfortunately only seems limited to Thanksgiving these days):

Or you could roast the pumpkin:

Or make pumpkin bread:

Or you could make pumpkin spice latte:

Or you could try to make some pumpkin soup:

Or perhaps stuffed pumpkin:

Or you could do something else with it:

Here are some recipes. Many more can be found online, alhamdulillah. Let’s try to incorporate this magnificent fruit into our lives.

As for Halloween, we need to try to use this opportunity to inform people (including children) about the massive food waste as well as about the nutritional benefits of pumpkins. Believe me, this is a great opportunity to show people that Islam is the truth – because those who follow Islam properly will NOT be contributing to this disaster of a festival or to food waste, and they will be using the pumpkins the way that they were meant to be used.

Hopefully, if all of us start implementing this Sunnah (i.e. eating pumpkins), we no longer have to ask where the pumpkins went – because we’ll have plenty in the kitchen.

pumpkinsyunus