By Zahid Ikram
The Date and Its Uses
Dates have a
great many important features. One of the oldest known
species of plant, the date is today a food of preference not
only for its delicious taste but also for its nutritious
properties. New benefits imparted by the date are being
discovered every day and has come to be used as a medicine
as well as a food. These features of the date are noted in
Surah Maryam:
سُوۡرَةُ مَریَم
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلۡمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ قَالَتۡ
يَـٰلَيۡتَنِى مِتُّ قَبۡلَ هَـٰذَا وَڪُنتُ نَسۡيً۬ا
مَّنسِيًّ۬ا (٢٣) فَنَادَٮٰهَا مِن تَحۡتِہَآ أَلَّا
تَحۡزَنِى قَدۡ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحۡتَكِ سَرِيًّ۬ا (٢٤)
وَهُزِّىٓ إِلَيۡكِ بِجِذۡعِ ٱلنَّخۡلَةِ تُسَـٰقِطۡ عَلَيۡكِ
رُطَبً۬ا جَنِيًّ۬ا (٢٥) فَكُلِى وَٱشۡرَبِى وَقَرِّى
عَيۡنً۬اۖ
[019:023-026] And
the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm-tree.
She said: Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become
a thing of naught, forgotten! (23) Then (one) cried unto her
from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a
rivulet beneath thee, (24) And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward
thee, thou wilt cause ripe
dates to
fall upon thee. (25) So eat and drink and be consoled...
پھر درد زہ ان کو کھجور کے
تنے کی طرف لے آیا۔ کہنے لگیں کہ کاش میں اس سے پہلے مرچکتی
اور بھول بسری ہوگئی ہوتی (۲۳) اس وقت ان کے نیچے کی جانب سے
فرشتے نے ان کو آواز دی کہ غمناک نہ ہو تمہارے پروردگار نے
تمہارے نیچے ایک چشمہ جاری کردیا ہے (۲۴) اور کھجور کے
تنے کو پکڑ کر اپنی طرف ہلاؤ تم پر تازہ
تازہ کھجوریں جھڑ
پڑیں گی (۲۵) تو کھاؤ اور پیو اور آنکھیں ٹھنڈی کرو
The date is
an excellent choice of food for the pregnant women and for
those who have just given birth. This is a widely accepted
scientific fact. Maryam was inspired to understand this
point, in order to make her own labor easier. The date has
one of the highest sugar levels, 60-65%, of
all fruits. Doctors recommend that pregnant women be given
foods containing fruit sugar on the day they give birth. The
aim behind this is to energies and
revitalize the mother's weakened body and
at the same time to stimulate the milk
hormones and increase the levels of
mother's milk essential to the new-born baby. In addition,
loss of blood during birth leads to a fall in body sugar
levels. Dates are important from the point of view of
enabling sugar to enter the body and prevent blood pressure
from dropping. Dates high calorific value
strengthens people weakened by illness or suffering from
extreme fatigue.
There is appreciable wisdom in
the way that Allah recommends Maryam to eat this fruit.
The date contains more than ten
elements of vital importance if the body is to remain
healthy and energetic. Modern-day scientists state that
human beings can actually live for years on nothing more
than dates and water. www.geocities.com/SoHo/Easel/3809/hurma.htm
V. H. W. Dowson, a
recognized expert in this field, says that one grain of date
and a glass of milk are enough to meet all of a person's
daily nutritional requirements “Date and Health,” www.sgp-dates.com/date.htm
The substance oxytocin,
which is present in the date, is used in modern medicine to
facilitate birth. In fact, oxytocin means "rapid birth." It
is also known to increase levels of mother's milk after
birth. http://eilat.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/newnyc/DRUGS/OXYTOCIN.HTM#supplied
Dates also contain a form of
sugar that gives the body high levels of
mobility and heat energy and which can be easily broken down
in the body. Furthermore, this sugar is not
glucose, which rapidly raises the level of blood sugar but
the fruit sugar fructose. A rapid rise in
blood sugar levels in diabetics in particular has a damaging
effect on a great many organs and systems, especially the
eyes, kidneys, heart and circulatory system and nervous
system. High blood sugar is one of the main causes of
disorders as serious as loss of sight, heart attacks and
kidney insufficiency.
Dates contain a great many
vitamins and minerals. They are very rich
in fiber, fat and proteins. They also contain sodium,
potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, sulphur, phosphorus and
chlorine, as well as vitamins
A, beta-carotene, B1, B2, B3 and B6. Some of the
benefits of the vitamins and minerals in dates to the normal
human body and especially during pregnancy can be summarized
as follows:
The date is honored
as one of the blessings of Paradise in many verses of Quran
by Allah:
سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنعَام
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَ جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ مَّعۡرُوشَـٰتٍ۬ وَغَيۡرَ
مَعۡرُوشَـٰتٍ۬ وَٱلنَّخۡلَ وَٱلزَّرۡعَ مُخۡتَلِفًا
أُڪُلُهُ ۥ وَٱلزَّيۡتُونَ وَٱلرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَـٰبِہً۬ا
وَغَيۡرَ مُتَشَـٰبِهٍ۬ۚ ڪُلُواْ مِن ثَمَرِهِۦۤ إِذَآ
أَثۡمَرَ وَءَاتُواْ حَقَّهُ ۥ يَوۡمَ حَصَادِهِۦۖ وَلَا
تُسۡرِفُوٓاْۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُسۡرِفِينَ (١٤١)
[006:141] It is He Who produceth
gardens, with trellises and without, and dates, and tilth
with produce of all kinds, and olives and pomegranates,
similar (in kind) and different (in variety): eat of their
fruit in their season, but render the dues that are proper
on the day that the harvest is gathered. But waste not by
excess: for God loveth not the wasters.
اور خدا ہی تو ہے جس نے باغ پیدا کئے چھتریوں
پر چڑھائے ہوئے بھی اور جو چھتریوں پر نہیں چڑھائے ہوئے وہ بھی
اور کھجور اور کھیتی جن کے طرح طرح کے پھل ہوتے ہیں اور زیتون
اور انار جو (بعض باتوں میں) ایک دوسرے سے ملتے ہیں جب یہ
چیزیں پھلیں تو ان کے پھل کھاؤ اور
جس دن (پھل توڑو اور کھیتی) کاٹو تو خدا کا حق بھی اس میں سے
ادا کرو اور بےجا نہ اڑاؤ کہ خدا بیجا
اڑانے والوں کو دوست نہیں رکھتا (۱۴۱)
سُوۡرَةُ النّحل
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
يُنۢبِتُ لَكُم بِهِ ٱلزَّرۡعَ وَٱلزَّيۡتُونَ وَٱلنَّخِيلَ
وَٱلۡأَعۡنَـٰبَ وَمِن ڪُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٲتِۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ
لَأَيَةً۬ لِّقَوۡمٍ۬ يَتَفَڪَّرُونَ (١١)
[016:011] With it He produces
for you corn, olives, date-palms, grapes and every kind of
fruit: verily in this is a sign for those who give thought.
اسی پانی سے وہ تمہارے لیے کھیتی اور زیتون اور
کھجور اور انگور (اور بےشمار درخت) اُگاتا ہے۔ اور ہر طرح کے
پھل (پیدا کرتا ہے) غور کرنے والوں کے لیے اس میں (قدرتِ خدا
کی بڑی) نشانی ہے (۱۱)
وَمِن ثَمَرَٲتِ ٱلنَّخِيلِ وَٱلۡأَعۡنَـٰبِ تَتَّخِذُونَ
مِنۡهُ سَڪَرً۬ا وَرِزۡقًا حَسَنًاۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ
لَأَيَةً۬ لِّقَوۡمٍ۬ يَعۡقِلُونَ (٦٧)
[016:067] And from the fruit of
the date-palm and the vine, ye get out wholesome drink and
food: behold, in this also is a sign for those who are wise.
اور کھجور اور انگور کے میووں سے بھی (تم پینے
کی چیزیں تیار کرتے ہو کہ ان سے شراب بناتے ہو) اور عمدہ رزق
(کھاتے ہو) جو لوگ سمجھ رکھتے ہیں ان کے لیے ان (چیزوں) میں
(قدرت خدا کی) نشانی ہے
[023:019] With it We grow
for you gardens of date-palms and vines: in them have ye
abundant fruits: and of them ye eat (and have enjoyment),-
[026:148] "And corn-fields and date-palms with spathes
near breaking (with the weight of fruit)?
[036:034]
And We produce therein orchard with date-palms and vines,
and We cause springs to gush forth therein:
[041:047]
To Him is referred the Knowledge of the Hour (of Judgment:
He knows all): No date-fruit comes out of its sheath, nor
does a female conceive (within her womb) nor bring forth the
Day that (God) will propound to them the (question), "Where
are the partners (ye attributed to Me?" They will say, "We
do assure thee not one of us can bear witness!"
[055:011] Therein is fruit and date-palms, producing spathes
(enclosing dates);
[055:068] In them will be Fruits,
and dates and pomegranates:
[080:029] And Olives and
Dates,
The
nutritional value of dates stems from the
appropriate mineral balance within them. The date also
contains folic acid, a B
vitamin of great importance to pregnant
women. Folic acid (B9) is a vitamin which serves important
functions in the construction of new blood cells and of
amino acids, the body's building blocks, and in cell
renewal. The need for folic acid thus rises significantly
during pregnancy and the daily requirement doubles. When
folic acid levels are insufficient, red blood cells that are
larger than normal but with lower functionality emerge,
along with the symptoms of anaemia, appear. Folic acid plays
a particularly important role in cell division and in the
formation of the genetic structure of the cell and is the
only substance daily requirements of which double during
pregnancy. The date is exceedingly rich in folic acid.
سُوۡرَةُ النّحل
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
يُنۢبِتُ لَكُم بِهِ ٱلزَّرۡعَ وَٱلزَّيۡتُونَ وَٱلنَّخِيلَ
وَٱلۡأَعۡنَـٰبَ وَمِن ڪُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٲتِۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ
لَأَيَةً۬ لِّقَوۡمٍ۬ يَتَفَڪَّرُونَ (١١) ِ
And by it He makes
crops grow for you and olives and dates and
grapes and fruit of every kind. There is certainly a Sign in
that for people who reflect. (Quran, 16:11)
اسی پانی سے وہ تمہارے لیے کھیتی اور زیتون اور کھجور اور
انگور (اور بےشمار درخت) اُگاتا ہے۔ اور ہر طرح کے پھل (پیدا
کرتا ہے) غور کرنے والوں کے لیے اس میں (قدرتِ خدا کی بڑی)
نشانی ہے (۱۱)
n
the other hand, the long-term nausea and physical reactions
that appear during pregnancy do so because of a lack of
potassium. Levels therefore need to be reinforced. In the
same way that the large quantities of potassium in dates are
of great importance in this regard, they are also important
in regulating the water balance in the body. Moreover, by
helping oxygen to reach the brain potassium enables one to
think clearly. In addition, it provides the appropriate alkaloidal features for body fluids and stimulates the
kidneys to expel toxic bodily wastes. It helps bring down
high blood pressure and the formation of healthy skin. The
Independent Newspaper, 9 June 1995.
The iron contained in dates controls the synthesis of
haemoglobin in the red blood cells and ensures an
appropriate level of red cells in the blood. This is of
vital importance in preventing anaemia during pregnancy and
the development of the baby. Red blood cells play a role in
keeping cells alive by carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide in
the blood. Due to dates' high iron levels, a human being can
meet his or her iron requirements by eating just 15 dates a
day and will thus be protected from disorders arising from
iron deficiency.
The calcium and phosphate in dates
are important elements for skeletal growth and balancing the
body's bone structure. The high levels of phosphorus and
calcium in dates protect the body against bone weakness and
help reduce such disorders.
Scientists also emphasise
the way in which dates reduce stress and tension. Research
by Berkeley University experts has revealed that dates
contain high levels of vitamin B6, which strengthens the
nerves, and magnesium, which is very important for the
kidneys. A person can meet his magnesium requirement by
eating just 2-3 grains of date a day. “Date
and Health,” www.sgp-dates.com/date.htm
The vitamin B1 in dates facilitates the health of the
nervous system, assists the transformation of the
carbohydrates in the body into energy and the use of protein
and fats to meet the body's needs. Vitamin B2 assists in the
burning of protein, carbohydrates and fats for the provision
of bodily energy and cell renewal.
The body's vitamin
A requirement rises during pregnancy. Thanks to the vitamin
A it contains, the date improves vision and bodily
resistance and strengthens the teeth and bones. Dates are
also especially rich in beta-carotene.115 Beta-carotene
helps prevent cancer by controlling molecules that attack
the cells.
[Go
to Top]