regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: “He said: ‘Will you exchange that which is inferior for that which is superior? Then go down to a land, and you will have what you asked for.’”

The questioner : Regarding the denial of the blessing by the Children of Israel, their taking it lightly, and their request for the inferior while the superior was present, what is your opinion of them...?

The Shaykh : By Allah, our statement is that this is an error; this is an error. And the people have relied on a fatwa attributed to some scholars, which I do not think is correct. They say that food only becomes wealth and food when it is eaten and has an effect. This... is not food, but this is what I do not think is correct from the one to whom it is attributed. And I see that in such matters, we should verify, meaning with something specific regarding food, otherwise I do not think they will adhere to it. Otherwise, they adhere to the fact that they mean they pile up these things, they pile them up before... in things such that no effect of the food remains, otherwise this is a problem. And the last problem, the problem now, is that we hear that the sewage systems operating in the cities do not allow them to have gardens...