Benefits of Eating Dates

The most important benefit of eating dates is that it is a sunnah... that said, here are some other benefits of eating dates:

01. The Prophet Sallalahu 'alaihi wasallam has said, �The �Ajwah (the best type of date) of �Aliyah (the name of a place in Madinah Munawwarah towards Masjid-e-Quba) is a cure for all illnesses.� According to a narration, �To eat seven �Ajwah dates daily for seven days protects against leprosy.� (�Umda-tul-Qaari, pp. 446, vol. 14, Hadith 5768)

02. The Beloved and Blessed Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam has said, �The �Ajwah date is from Heaven; it is a cure for poison.� (Jami� Tirmizi, pp. 17, vol. 4, Hadith 2073) A Hadith in Bukhari states, if anyone eats seven �Ajwah dates in the morning (before eating anything else) he will remain safe from magic and poison that day. (Sahih Bukhari, pp. 540, vol. 3, Hadith 5445)

03. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah RadiAllahu anh has said, �Dates protect against appendicitis.� (Kanz-ul-�Ummal, pp. 12, vol. 10, Hadith 24191)

04. The Beloved and Blessed Rasool Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam has said, �Eating dates in the morning before eating anything else kills stomach worms.� (Al-Jami�us-Saghir, pp. 398, Hadith 6394)

05. Sayyiduna Rabi� Bin Khasim Rahmatullah alaih has said, �To me, dates and honey are the best cures for a pregnant woman and a sick man respectively.� (Ad-Dur-rul-Mansoor, pp. 505, vol. 5)

06. Sayyidi Muhammad Amad Zahabi Rahmatullah alaih has said, �If a pregnant woman eats dates she will give birth to a baby-boy who will be handsome, tolerant and polite, Insha-Allah�

07. Dates are very beneficial to the one who has become weak due to hunger because dates are full of vitamins and revive energy quickly. This is the wisdom of doing Iftaar with dates.

08. Doing Iftaar with very cold water may cause stomach problems and the swelling of the liver. Eating dates before drinking cold water reduces this risk but remember that drinking extremely cold water is always harmful.

09. Eating dates with melon or cucumber or dates with watermelon is a Sunnah. A Hadith states that eating butter with dates is also Sunnah. (Sunan Ibn Majah, pp. 41, vol. 4, Hadith 3334)

10. Eating fresh and dry (old) dates together is also a Sunnah. Ibn Majah mentions, �When the devil sees someone eat fresh and dry (old) dates together, he regrets that man has become strong by eating fresh dates with dried ones.� (Sunan Ibn Majah, pp. 40, vol. 4, Hadith 3330)

11. Dates are a cure for chronic constipation.

12. Dates are useful for asthma and other diseases related to heart, kidney, gall bladder, bladder and intestine. They treat phlegm and dried skin, strengthen a man�s virility, and help the flow of urine.

13. Eating grinded dates with their seeds is beneficial to heart problems and cataract (eye disease).

14. Drinking dates-soaked water cures liver problems. This water is also effective for treating diarrhoea. (Leave the date to soak in water at night and then drink it in the morning before eating anything else but don�t store it in a freezer).

15. Dates-boiled milk is a very powerful nutrient. It is very useful to overcome the weakness caused by an illness.

16. Wounds heal quickly by eating dates.

17. Date is an effective medicine for jaundice.

18. Fresh and fully ripe dates cure bile problems and acidity.

19. Using the burnt dates-seeds as a tooth powder makes the teeth shiny and removes mouth bad odours.

20. Applying the powder of burnt dates-seeds onto wounds stops bleeding and helps the wounds heal.

21. Burning date seeds in fire and inhaling its smoke dry the warts of piles.

22.Using burnt date tree roots or leaves as a tooth powder is beneficial to treating toothache. Boiling the roots or leaves in water and rinsing mouth with it is also effective for treating toothache.

23. If eating dates causes any side effect to someone, he should eat them with pomegranate juice, poppy seeds or black pepper seeds.

24. Eating half ripe and old dates together is harmful. Similarly, eating dates with grapes, currants, raisins or figs, eating a large quantity of dates immediately after recovering from an illness in weakness and eating dates whilst suffering from an eye infection are all harmful.

25. Not more than approximately 60 grams of dates should be eaten at a time. When eating old dates one should open them up and check them for small red insects and clean them. It is Makrooh (disliked) to eat such dates, without cleaning them, which are suspected to have insects inside them. (�Unul Ma�bood, pp. 246, vol. 10)

26. Some street Vendors rub mustard oil on dates to make them look shiny, so it is better to soak them in water for a few minutes to remove any fly droppings and dirt and then wash them before eating. Fresh ripe tree dates are the most beneficial.

27. Do not throw away the seeds of dates brought from Madina-tul-Munawwarah. Instead, keep them in a respectful place or put them into a river. Furthermore, one can gain their blessings by cutting them into tiny pieces which can be kept in a small tin and eaten like nuts. No matter which part of the world any thing comes from, when it enters the atmosphere of Madina-tul-Munawwarah it belongs to Madinah, and therefore it becomes an object of respect for devoted lovers of Madinah.