Faisal Mandi

Foods of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

Dates: The Prophet (SAW) said that a house without dates has no food. It should also be eaten at the time of childbirth.

 English Name: Date
Local Name: Khajoor
Arabic Name: Tamr
Family: Arecaceae
Habit & Habitat: Cultivated tree, may be found self grown.
Part used: Fruit
Medicinal uses: Heart diseases, skin diseases,antidote, swelling of kidney,intestinal pain, heart attack, wound healer, diarrhea, labour pain, sexual weakness, stomach pain, piles, physical strengthing, shrill the voice, liver disorders.

Hadith:

The Prophet used to break his fast by eating some dates before offering Maghrib prayer, and if ripe dates were not available, he used to substitute them with some dried grapes. When they too were not available, he used to have a few sips of water, according to some reports.

Hadith from our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

(1) The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Break your fast by eating dates as it is purifying.” (Narrated by Ahmad)

(2) The Prophet (PBUH) said: “ Whoever finds dates should break his fast with them and the one who does not should break his fast with water because it is pure”

The Prophet (Peace & blessings of Allah be on him) said: (Whoever eats seven date fruits of the high land “Medina Munawwarah” in the morning, no poison or sorcery shall hurt him that day.)

The Prophet (Pbuh) used to combine dates with bread sometimes. At other times he mixed ripe dates with cucumber, or dates combined with ghee. He used to take all varieties of dates, but he preferred the variety called Ajwah.

Sayyidah Ayisha, (R.A.) wife of Prophet (Pbuh), used to prescribe dates for those suffering from giddiness.

In Quran, Surah Maryam (19), Verse number 23 ..

(1) In the Qur’an when Maryam(as) the mother of Prophet Jesus(as) was giving birth to him and she was experiencing pain, she was told to: ” Shake the trunk of the palm towards you and fresh, ripe dates will drop down onto you.”

(2) And in the earth are tracts (diverse though) neighboring, and gardens of vines and fields sown with corn, and palm trees – growing out of single roots or otherwise: watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who understand! (Qur’an, 13:4)

(Shake also to thee the palm-trunk, and there shall come tumbling upon thee dates fresh and ripe. Eat therefore, and drink, and be comforted;)

And thereby He brings forth for you crops, and olives, and palms, and vines, and all kinds of fruit. Surely in that is a sign for a people who reflect.)

'A'isha (Radi Allah Anha) reported Allah's Messenger (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) as saying: A family which has dates will not be hungry. [Sahih Muslim : Book 23, Number 5078]

'A'isha (Radi Allah Anha) reported Allah's Messenger (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) as saying: 'A'isha a family which has no dates (in their house) its members will be hungry; (or) 'A'isha the family which has no dates its members may be hungry. He said this twice or thrice. [Sahih Muslim : Book 23, Number 5079]

“Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) never proceeded (for the prayer) on the Day of ‘Id-ul-Fitr unless he had eaten some dates.” Anas (radiallahu ‘anhu) also narrated,

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said: "if anyone of you is fasting, let him break his fast with dates. In case he does not have them, then with water. Verily water is a purifier."

The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) used to eat odd number of dates. Bukhari (Hadeeth 2.73)

The date fruit and tree were dear to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the word “date” is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an more than 20 times.

While the date palm tree is called “nakhl,” the fruit is called “tamr” in Arabic.

The date palm, mentioned more than any other fruit-bearing plant in the Qur’an, is a symbol often associated with Islam and Muslims. Throughout the month of Ramadan, dates are a common ingredient in the Muslim diet.

The Prophet said: “Break your fast by eating dates as it is purifying,” (Ahmad).
On the basis of this Hadith, Muslims insist on breaking their fasts with dates.

However, in another Hadith, the Prophet said, “If you have a date, break your fast with it, if you don’t have it, break the fast with water as it is purifying.” (Abu Dawood)

According to another Hadith, “The Messenger said: Ajwah dates are from Paradise.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

In Surah Maryam of the Holy Qur’an, Allah provided Prophet Isa’s (peace be upon him) mother Maryam (peace be upon her) with fresh dates when she was experiencing discomfort and pain during the final stages of her pregnancy.

“Shake the trunk of the palm toward you and fresh, ripe dates will drop down onto you.” (Surah Maryam: verse 25)

The significance of the date palm as a source of nutrition and sustenance is evident in the statement narrated by Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet said there is a tree among the trees which is similar to a Muslim (in goodness), and that is the date palm tree.” (Bukhari)

In another Hadith, the Prophet stressed the importance of dates as a major food item, saying, “People in a house without dates are in a state of hunger.” (Muslim)
The excellence of date palms is also referred to in the following verse of the Holy Qur’an: “And in the earth are tracts (diverse though) neighboring, and gardens of vines and fields sown with corn, and palm trees — growing out of single roots or otherwise: watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who understand.” (Surah Al-Raad, verse 4)

The date is also referred to in the Holy Qur’an as one of the blessings that would be offered in Paradise.

In several traditions the Prophet ate dates with some other fruits and vegetables. “Abdullah ibn Jaafar, may Allah be pleased with him, said the Messenger ate cucumbers with dates.” (Al-Tirmidhi) According to two other traditions recorded by Al-Tirmidhi, the Prophet ate dates with watermelon or muskmelon.

The Prophet also taught his disciples that the date was not only an antidote to poison but also an effective defense against black magic. “Whoever eats seven dates of the High Land of Madinah in the morning will not be hurt by poison or sorcery on that day.” (Bukhari)

“Rubay bint Mu’awwidh ibn Afraa said: ‘I took a plate of fresh dates and small cucumbers to the Messenger. He gave me a handful of jewelry, or a handful of gold.’” (Al-Tirmidhi)

In another Hadith, the Prophet exhorted the believers that “you should defend yourselves from the hellfire even with a piece of date.”

It has also been reported that the Prophet used to put chewed dates or honey into the mouths of newborn babies.

Reference to the palm tree could also be seen in chapter Qaf, Al-Shuara and Al-Nahl of the Holy Qur’an. In early descriptions of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, historians state that the leaves of the date palm were used as a roof covering.
In the Islamic hadith literature, Ajwa dates are afforded a great position for their health and protective benefits. "Whoever has seven Ajwa dates every morning he will not be harmed on that day by poison or magic." Sahih al-Bukhari nos. (5445) (5768) (5769) (5779). And also, "Ajwa dates are from paradise. Tirmidhee no. (2068). And referring to eating seven Ajwa dates, the Prophet Muhammad (upon him be prayers and salutations), "He will not be harmed by anything until he reaches the evening." Sahih Muslim no. (2047).

Ajwa (عجوة) is a soft dry variety of date fruit from Saudi Arabia. It is cultivated at the city of Madinah. It is a delightfully soft and fruity date with fine texture.


Benefits & Facts of Dates:

Dates contains calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, magnesium, volatile oils, vitamin B6 & other Vitamins, folic acid, proteins, sugar, and are rich in natural fibers which contribute to a healthy body and mind.

Child Birth: Eating dates eases the pain of childbirth, helps produce milk for nursing mothers and also prevent blood loss after childbirth.

Constipation: Date is termed to be a laxative food. This is the reason that dates are beneficial for people suffering from constipation. For getting the laxative effect from dates, you need to soak dates for one full night in water. You should consume these soaked dates in the morning like syrup to get their actual advantages.

Intestinal Disorders: The nicotinic content that is present in the dates is said to be beneficial for curing any kinds of intestinal disorders. Continuous intake of dates helps to maintain a check on the growth of the pathological organisms and thus, helps in the rise of friendly bacteria in the intestines.

Weight Gain: Dates are said to be a part of healthy diet. They consist of sugar, fats, proteins as well as many essential vitamins. If the dates are consumed with the paste of cucumber, one can easily come out from the problem of over-slimming. One kilogram of dates contains almost 3,000 calories. These calories alone are sufficient to meet the daily requirements of a human body.

Healthy Heart: Dates are quite helpful in maintaining your heart in a healthy condition. When soaked for a night and crushed in the morning and consumed, they prove to be quite advantageous for weak hearts. They help in fortifying the heart, if taken twice in a week.

Sexual Weakness: Dates are even beneficial for increasing sexual stamina in the human body. A handful of dates, when soaked in fresh goat's milk for the night and then grinded in the same milk with the mixture of cardamom powder and honey, becomes a very useful tonic for increasing sex endurance and sterility caused due to functional disorders.

Diarrhea: Ripe dates contain potassium. Potassium is beneficial for controlling diarrhea. They are easily digestible, which helps to cope up with the problems of diarrhea.

Intoxication: Dates are known as an excellent remedy for alcoholic intoxication. Dates provide quick relief in the case of alcoholic intoxication. They should be rubbed and soaked overnight for getting more nutritious values from them.

Abdominal Cancer: Dates are beneficial for curing abdominal cancer. They work as useful tonic for all age groups. They work as better as the medicines, and are natural and do not bear any side effects in the body. They can be easily digested and used for supplying extra and needed energy.

Energy Booster: Dates are power packed with 29 grams of natural sugars (glucose, sucrose and fructose), 3 grams of dietary fiber and 31 grams of carbohydrates. Therefore, the tiny date fruit can be appropriately described as an energy boosting dry fruit.

Strengthens Tooth Enamel: Dates contain fluorine, which is an essential mineral to slow down the process of early tooth decay. Fluorine is also known to keep plaque at bay by strengthening the tooth enamel. However, many people are of the misconception that tooth enamel can magically reverse tooth decay. This is not true. Tooth enamel consists of hydroxyapatites, which when brought in contact with fluorine forms hydroxyfluoroapatites, which is resistant to decay. This clearly means that fluorine helps prevent further tooth decay, but cannot reverse the decay process.

Treats Anemia: Dates have a high content of iron in them, which makes them great home remedies for reducing iron deficiency. Anemia patients are advised to eat several dates on a daily basis to raise their level of iron in the blood.

Dates are one of the most nourishing fruits and It’s called sometimes “Bread of Desert”, More than two third of dates’ weight is natural sugar. This fruit was highly esteemed by the ancient civilizations more than 5000 years ago; ancient Egyptians considered dates as a symbol of fertility, while the Romans and the Greeks used it to ornament their stately triumph pageants [1]. Today, dates are widely-grown in the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Spain, Italy and the United States. There are more than 600 varieties of dates [2].

Next, we are going to explore the usefulness of dates to humans throughout the different stages of their lives.

Dates and the Pre birth period: Dates stimulate the uterus by regulating And brisking it's contractions which facilitate delivery. The uterus is a relatively large muscular organ and it urgently requires an adequate supply of natural sugar during labor and delivery. Being laxative, dates are essential for pregnant women before delivery in order to purge the colon and intestine and to facilitate delivery. The miraculousness of the Quranic verse shows evidently as Allah tells Mary: (And shake the trunk of the palm tree towards thee – thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee) [Mariam – 25]
Nutriment and medicine for children: Dates contain natural sugar which is easily absorbed and digested, thus, it is safe and comforting for children’s stomach and intestine. And the dates juice is useful especially if we mix it with Milk to become very nourishing and restorative drink for children and adults. Dates and honey paste is used for the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery in children but it should be taken three times a day.

This paste also comforts and hardening the gums during teething and facilitates the process.

It is advisable to purchase the good varieties of dates and to wash them thoroughly before use especially when used as food or remedy for children. Here, we should mention the prophetic tradition of (Al Tahneek); rubbing the newborn’s mouth with a well-chewed date and feeding him with it. Science has proved that giving the newborn some sugar dissolved in water provides the child with the necessary nutrition and improves their immunity against diseases. And when we know that sugar in dates is the most easily absorbed and digested type of sugar so it will be suitable nutriment for newborns but the dates should be well-chewed or soaked in water to be easy for the newborn to take. This proves that the great prophet (PBUH) preceded today’s doctors to this type of nutrition. It’s no wonder that he preceded them as he is the messenger of their God.


An effective treatment for constipation: Dates can be used in the treatment of intestinal disturbances and it also helps the intestine perform their function effectively, and helps establishing a colony of friendly bacteria in the intestines. Dates are also highly beneficial in the treatment of constipation as the roughage provided by it stimulates sluggish bowels. They should be immersed in water at night and taken after making them into fine syrup the next morning to secure laxative effect [3].
A Remedy for Sexual Debility: Date syrup can be used as a treatment for weak heart. It can also be use for the treatment of sexual weakness. When it’s mixed with milk and honey, dates can be used as a tonic for the treatment of sexual disturbances for both sexes, And such syrup strengthens the body and raises its energy levels. The elderly would benefit from this syrup too. It improves their stamina and purges their bodies from the toxins that have accumulated in their cells along the years.

An Ideal Nutriment for Fasters: It was very weird that western physicians who treat their patients by fasting advise them by taking the natural sugar in fruits and water when breaking the fast [4]. And when we know that dates contain a high ratio of such easily-absorbed sugar then dates and water are the best nutriments for fasters.
Here we remember the Hadith of our prophet (PBUH) : (When any of you breaks his fasting he should eat dates cause dates are blessing, if he didn’t find dates then drink water cause water is purifying) [Narrated by Abo Dawood].Here we see that the prophet (PBUH) showed us the principles of effective fasting, by eating dates and drinking water at breakfast centuries before Westerns.

The prophetic wisdom out of having Dates for breakfast might be reduce the hunger and consequently, reduce the amounts of food consumed; therefore the fasting will be effective and useful. And if we remember that fasting consider the best weapon to excise toxics out of the body, then having dates ( toxin-resistive ) when you break your fast represent a real integrated treatment against weakness and fatigue resulted from the accumulation of toxic chemicals and heavy metals in the cells of the body.

A Treatment for Obesity: The wide variety of nutritious elements in dates makes it hunger-resistive! And when we know that the cause behind Obesity is a persisting feeling of hunger and an appetite for food which drives a person to consume larger amounts of fats and sugar when he eat his meal. So treatment by eating few dates when feeling hungry helps reduce hunger and be filled. These dates will provide the body with the necessary sugar and stimulate the intestine which reduce hunger greatly, and eventually, reduce food consumption. The miraculousness of the prophet’s saying shows as he said: (A household that has dates doesn’t feel hunger) [narrated by Muslim]. We can conclude that dates can be used to treat Obesity!.

A Remedy for Lever and Inflammations: Dates remedy Lever and purge it from toxins, Breaking the fast with dates, is one of the most magnificent of natural remedies for the maintenance and purging the Lever from accumulated toxins. And also drinking dates juice could be used in the treatment of sore throat, various types of fever, rhinorrhia and common cold [5].

A Remedy for Intoxication: Dates are an excellent remedy for alcoholic intoxication. In such a case, drinking water in which fresh dates have been rubbed or soaked will bring quick relief[3]. Here we’d like to mention one of the prophet’s (PBUH) Hadith in which he referred to dates as a remedy for intoxication. Prophet (PBUH) said: (Who eats 7 pressed dates in the morning, will not be inflected with witchcraft or poisoning that day) [Narrated by Abu Dawood]. If we deeply study the medical implications of the Hadith, we realize its miraculousness:

1- The prophet (PBUH) used the number 7. This number has significance in the universe, the Quran and the prophetic tradition. It’s enough to know that the first number mentioned in the Quran was Number 7.

2- Seven dates weigh approximately 100 grams which provides a sufficient intake of a wide variety of minerals, salts and vitamins for the body.

3- This amount is sufficient to purge the body from the accumulated toxins in the cells; like heavy metals, lead as an example. The accumulation of toxins has increased nowadays due to widespread water, air and food pollution.

4- The Hadith implicitly referred to the toxins entering the body as (Poison). He also indicated that eating dates reduces the dangers such toxins impose the body to.

5- As for the word (Witchcraft); only God knows what was meant with it.

6- The Hadith doesn’t imply that taking poison after eating seven dates would be completely harmless, In fact, doing this deliberately is considered as harming one’s self on purpose and this is forbidden in Islam. But we have to undersand that Hadith means that eating seven dates each morning reduces the harmful effects of toxicants. In order to make the process more effective, regularity with eating seven dates in the morning should be maintained. As our Prophet (PBUH) asked us to do.

And we should understand from the Hadith that eating dates everyday regularly And in order will effect our psychological state and make it more stable, God only know the truth.

Date in numbers: Having high medical and nutritious value, dates are expected to be the best food for the future. Dates contain as high a percentage as 88% of carbohydrate (starch), (2.5-5%) of fat, (2.3-5.6%) of Protein and (6.4-11.5%) of Vitamins and dietary fibre. The flesh contains (0.2 – 5%) of oil, whereas the seed’s weight is (7.7 -9.7%) oil. The weight of the seed is (6.6 – 14.2%) of the date’s weight.

Dates contain Vitamins A, B1 and B2, And contain Fluorine who defeats teeth decay. Other minerals that are found in various proportions in dates include boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorous, sodium and zinc. Additionally, the seeds contain aluminum, cadmium, chloride, lead and sulphur in various proportions. Selenium, element believed to help prevent cancer and important in immune function, is also found in dates.

For all of the previously mentioned benefits, date is the ideal food for the future. The fruit’s production has increased 3 times over 40 years, whereas the world population has only doubled, an indication to the rapid growth of the production of this ideal fruit[1].

Conclusion: Dear Believer if you are feeling weak, don’t hesitate to take 7 dates in the morning as the prophet (PBUH) recommended. those Seven dates weigh around 70 gm, so if you take them, then you actually took 70 milligrams of calcium- which is very useful for the bones, joints and nerves, 35 milligrams of phosphorus which is nutritious to the brain and 7 milligrams of iron which is strengthens the body in general and the heart in particular.

Dates Nutrition Facts-Main Nutrients

Nutrients Amount %Daily Value // Carbohydrates 18 gm 6% // Protein 0.4 gm 1% // cholesterol 0 gm 0% // Dietary Fiber 1.6 gm 6% .

Dates Nutrition Facts-Vitamins and Minerals

Type of Nutrient Nutrient Quantity %DV // Vitamin A 35.8IU 1% // Vitamin K 0.6mcg 1% // Vitamins Niacin 0.4mg 2% // Vitamin B6 0.1mg 3% // Folate 3.6mcg 1% //
Calcium 15.4mg 2% // Iron 0.2mg 1% // Magnesium 13.0mg 3% // Minerals Phosphorus 14.9mg 1% // Potassium 16.7mg 5% // Sodium 0.2mg 0% //
Zinc 0.1mg 1% // Copper 0.1mg 4% // Manganese 0.1mg 4% .