Camphor: Difference between revisions

'''Kāfūr'''(camphor, Arabic: {{ia|کافُور}}) is a white crystalline substance with a cold and dry nature. This aromatic substance is used in performing [[Ghusl of the Dead|ghusl]], [[embalmment]] and [[Shroud|shrouding]] a dead body. The word "kafur" is mentioned in the [[Qur'an]], but there are different views among exegetes about its meaning. It has an important position in Islamic [[hadith]]s, medicine and traditional medicine and has been prescribed for some diseases.

Camphor is a white aromatic and crystalline substance with a bitter smell and taste which is obtained by boiling crumbled pieces of the stalks and stems of a special tree and letting it to evaporate. Camphor does not only exist in the camphor tree, but it is a volatile oil which can be found in many plants and some lexicologists defined it as the blossom or the husk of the palm tree or the nodes of grape tree. Its nature is cold and dry.

The word "kafur" is also mentioned in the Qur'an, "Indeed the pious will drink from a cup seasoned with kafur" (76:5) [[Shi'a]] exegetes have different views about the meaning of "kafur" here. Some considered it used in its lexical meaning referring to any cold and fragrant substance or anything with good smell. Some other exegetes mentioned its extraordinary whiteness and coldness, because it is a perfect example of that. Some others referred to its lexical root in "ka-fa-ra" meaning "to cover" and said that because it is derived from the fruit which is covered in husk, it has been called "kafur".

*'''[[Ghusl of a dead]] person''': based on the [[fatwa]] of most Shi'a authorities, [[ghusl]] is performed to a dead person three times; the second time of which, water mixed with camphor is used and about its amount in water, it has been said that it should not be so much that the water becomes mudaf, nor should it be too little that its mixture with water is not obvious.

In the interpretation of [[verse]] 5 of [[Sura al-Insan]], some exegetes consider "kafur", the name of a spring in the [[paradise]], or a spring mixed with the smell of camphor, because it is famous as a fragrance beside other good smells such as musk and ginger and the righteous and servants of [[God]] drink from it, but it is different from the camphor in this world.

In the interpretation of some topics mentioned in the [[Qur'an]] such as "do not approach this tree" (2:35), it is transmitted from Imam al-Sadiq (a) that the tree in this verse refers to camphor tree. Also, in the interpretation of the verses "and whose seasoning is from Tasnim, * a spring where those brought near [to Allah] drink." (83:28), the spring refers to camphor or a spring with the taste of camphor, from which the righteous and the [[People of the Right Hand]] drink. According to some hadiths, this spring flows from beneath a tree in the paradise the trunk of which is in the house of [[the Prophet (s)]] and its branches spread in all houses of the paradise.

The noble Prophet (s) considered his creation in this world beside perfume and ambergris and also introduced camphor as one of the levels or degrees of the paradise. In another [[hadith]] from the Prophet (s), it has been considered the soil of a tree in the paradise called [[Tuba]], or likening it to the shadow of that tree which is cool like camphor. It has also been described as the mortar for building a house in the paradise. Elsewhere, it has been mentioned as a fragrant smell in the houses of the paradise. In another hadith, in description of the [[pool of Kawthar]], from which believers benefit, its nature has been likened to camphor regarding coolness.

After mentioning his position in the paradise, [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] mentioned that his clothes in the paradise is from camphor.

Beside being a good smell from the paradise, in Islamic hadiths, camphor has also been prescribed as an effective medicine for different diseases. This issue has been mentioned in ''[[Tibb al-A'imma (a)]]'', ''[[Bihar al-anwar]]'' and other hadith books. For example, the book attributed to [[Imam al-Rida (a)]] and also a book in which hadiths from [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] in medicine are collected can be mentioned.

Because of its benefits in medicine, camphor has been focused by most scholars and has been mentioned in different books of medicine since the past till now, where they mentioned its benefits and recommended it for different diseases. This substance is beneficial for some diseases including diseases of hot-natured people and is harmful for cold-natured people.