Day 19: "What's with all the dates?"

"What's with all the dates?"; this is a question which has popped up throughout my Ramadan experience. As you would imagine, the people asking this question would be those who do not have a scooby-doo about Islam, or Ramadan; much like myself about three weeks ago. I too had to ask my Muslim friends what the deal was with all the dates at the start of my journey. 

Since then, I've been continuing my reading and researching of dates (yeah, my social life is wild right now) and this is a brief collection of what I've learned so far.

Why are dates so important in Islam/Ramadan?

Dates are a very important part of the diet during Ramadan, especially when breaking fast. It is suggested (in numerous online articles) that the Prophet Muhammad was known to advise his followers to eat them when breaking fast, accompanied by water. According to the Daily Sabah website the Quran mentions dates 23 times. There are many other links between the Prophet Muhammad and dates, but I'm cautious to list many of them, as it is difficult to find sources which I am confident that I can rely upon.

It has been suggested that the Prophet Muhammad said that dates have abundant features because they have everything inside them. If I can quote a 16th century Imam, Ahmad Sirhindi, who said, "When dates are eaten, they become part of the person. Those who eat dates [...] benefit from it spiritually and earthily."

If you are reading this and are aware of any other useful quotes from the Quran, or important historical and reliable writings specific to the relationship between Islam and the date palm fruit, please share them with me and I will update this section of post after publishing.

Where do dates come from?

Dates grow on a date palm tree (which sounds slightly obvious, I know), called Phoenix Dactilyfera. The date palm is predominantly grown and harvested in abundance in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. It is said that the plant originates from the lands of ancient Arabia and archaelogical evidence from the Arabian Peninsula suggests dates were being cultivated by humans as far back as 8000 years ago. Some fossil records even go as far to suggest that date palms have been on earth for at least 50 million years, so their exact point of origin would be hard to predict, one would imagine.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, in 2019 the top three producers of dates were Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran. In fact every country in the top 10 list of date producers were countries which have Islam as the primary religion, or where Islam is the religion of the state.

Why should I eat dates, as a non-Muslim?

Erm, because they are delicious?! I say this now as someone who had never even heard of a Medjoul date 10 days ago, let alone eaten one. 

Like I said in yesterday's post, Medjoul dates have changed my whole Ramadan experience and I thoroughly look forward to them each day. I will definitely be keeping them in my diet when I return to my preferred predominantly carnivorous diet (including blueberries and now, dates too). Dates are obviously very high in sugar and would be quick cure to low blood sugar. It is also suggested that they can ease headaches and lethargy associated with fasting during Ramadan.

Many of the references I found for considering the nutritious value of dates state that they are rich in Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Iron and various B Vitamins. Historically, it seems dates were of utmost importance to travellers or desert farmers who would have to travel hundreds of miles in the sort of heat that you'd associate with most Arabic-speaking countries. Dates don't spoil easily after being picked and presumably would be found in abundance along the journey. They sound like the original Middle Eastern superfood!

As I learned from the carnivorous writers (namely, Michelle Hurn and Dr. Paul Saladino) that I have championed numerous times on this blog page already, all vegetables and fruits have an abundance of micronutrients, but the bio-availability (the percentage to which a micronutrient is absorbed from any given food after consumption) of those micronutrients is of greater importance than the quantity of which they contain. 

Despite searching long and hard online, I could not find a resource to help me understand what the bioavailability is of the nutrients which are commonly reported to be found in abundance in all species of date palm fruit. I will keep looking, but if you are a bigger geek than me and can shed any light on this for me, please do!

OK. I think I'm done writing about dates! Who knew there was this much to say? If I had more time, I could definitely have learnt more about the religious and spiritual relationship between dates and Islamic culture. 

I am very glad that I have picked up this ritual for breaking my fast, as I am sure to miss my nightly three dates and water when Ramadan is over. I'm a very addictive person. Once I start doing something that I enjoy, or that I believe is good for me, it is very hard to stop doing it. I yearn for it, and get anxious if I can't fulfill that habit. 

I'll definitely be finding a way to keep Medjoul dates in my life forever more. 

PS. Everytime I read or say Medjoul, I can only see and hear 'Ali G' referring to "me Julie". Just me?! Probably.