Camphor: Difference between revisions

'''Kāfūr''' (camphor, Arabic: {{ia|کافُور}}) is a white crystalline substance with a strong aroma which 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 [[exegete]]s about its meaning. It has an important position in Islamic [[hadith]]s, medicine, and traditional medicine and has been prescribed for some diseases.

The word "kafur" is also mentioned in the [[Qur'an 76]]:5, "Indeed the pious will drink from a cup seasoned with kafur".[[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 a good smell.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 124.</ref> Some other exegetes mentioned its extraordinary whiteness and coldness because it is a perfect example of that.<ref>Qummī, ''Tafsīr al-Qummī'', vol. 2, p. 398; Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 25, p. 349.</ref> Some others referred to its lexical root in "k f r" meaning "to cover" and said that because it is derived from the fruit which is covered in the husk, it has been called "kafur".<ref>Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 25, p. 349.</ref>

* '''Ghusl of the dead''': 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<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 3, p. 139.</ref> and about its amount in water, it has been said that it should not be so much that the water becomes [[Mudaf Water|mudaf]], nor should it be too little that its mixture with water is not obvious.<ref>Ḥillī, ''Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ'', vol. 1, p. 352.</ref>

*'''Hunut [embalmment]''': according to the fatwa of [[Shi'a]] religious scholars, applying camphor on seven parts of the body used in [[prostration]] which are the forehead, palms, the two knees and the tips of the two big toes of feet is [[obligatory]].<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 3, p. 143.</ref>

*'''Shroud''': It is quoted from [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] that upon shrouding a dead person, on every piece of the [[shroud]], some camphor and cardamom should be poured.<ref>Kulaynī, ''Guzīda-yi Kāfī'', vol. 2, p. 131.</ref> In [[hadith]]s, perfuming the shroud of a dead body has only been permitted using camphor;<ref>Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, ''Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl'', p. 165.</ref> because a dead person is considered as a person who has worn [[ihram]] clothes.<ref>Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, ''Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl'', p. 175.</ref>

In the interpretation of verse 5 of [[Qur'an 76]], some exegetes consider "kafur", the name of a spring in the [[paradise]],<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 616.</ref> or a spring mixed with the smell of camphor,<ref>Qarashī, ''Qāmūs al-Qurʾān'', vol. 6, p. 124.</ref> because it is known as a fragrance beside other good smells such as musk and ginger<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 616.</ref> and the righteous and servants of [[God]] drink from it,<ref>Qarashī, ''Qāmūs al-Qurʾān'', vol. 5, p. 40.</ref> but it is different from the camphor in this world.<ref>Sabziwārī, ''Irshād al-adhhān'', vol. 1, p. 584.</ref>

In the interpretation of some topics mentioned in the [[Qur'an]] such as "do not approach this tree",<ref>Qurʾān, 2:35</ref> it is transmitted from [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] that the tree in this verse refers to camphor tree.<ref>Qarashī, ''Qāmūs al-Qurʾān'', vol. 4, p. 7.</ref> Also, in the interpretation of the verse 27 of [[Qur'an 83]], "and whose seasoning is from Tasnim, * a spring where those brought near [to Allah] drink.", 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.<ref>Qarashī, ''Qāmūs al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 157.</ref> 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.<ref>Jurjānī, ''Jalāʾ al-adhhān'', vol. 5, p. 788.</ref>

The Prophet (s) considered his creation in this world beside perfume and ambergris<ref>''Ṣaḥifat al-Imām al-Riḍā'', p. 47.</ref> 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]],<ref>Kūfī, ''Tafsīr al-Kūfī'', p. 212.</ref> or likening it to the shadow of that tree which is cool like camphor.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn'', vol. 1, p. 266.</ref> It has also been described as the mortar for building a house in the paradise.<ref>Kūfī, ''Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī'', p. 594.</ref> Elsewhere, it has been mentioned as a fragrant smell in the houses of the paradise.<ref>Kulaynī, ''Bihisht-i Kāfī'', p. 133.</ref> In another hadith, in a description of the [[Kawthar Pond]], from which believers benefit, its nature has been likened to camphor regarding coolness.<ref>Ibn Qūlawayh, ''Kāmil al-zīyārāt'', p. 102.</ref>