Food as Healing

The Prophet Muhammad once said: “Allah did not create a disease for which He did not also create a cure.”

Therefore we are highly encouraged to explore the many ways food, plants, herbs, seeds … act as a prevention and healing agent. Islamic traditions and teachings explore many of the healing ingredients of nature such as honey, fig, olive/ olive tree and the date fruit/ palm tree to name some, they are of major importance and are considered part of God and earth’s blessings.

Focusing on the fruit date – it provides numerous essential health benefits for humans across all age cycles. He (pbuh) advised us to eat dates daily, asserting that it is a prime natural source of holistic nourishment, healing and protection – saying (pbuh):  “He who eats 7 dates in the morning will not be affected by witchcraft or poisoning.”

I am not one who has studied Hadith’s so my words fall short on saying much, however I would like to make mention of the spiritual meaning of the number 7 in the unseen realm.

• the heavens are seven
• the colors are seven
• the days are seven
• the orbits in the atom are seven
• we turn around the Kaaba seven times
• a tradition says: “The Quran has an outward and an inward, as for its inward there is an inward until (it reaches) seven inwards.”
• (…) and many more signs around the number 7

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to eat dates in odd number amounts, such as 1, 3, 5, 7 – and to follow his ways is called the Sunnah.

BENEFITS OF DATES

Dates contains calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, copper, B6 & other vitamins, folic acid, proteins, sugar and are rich in natural fibers which contribute to healthy body and mind.

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

Healthy Heart: Eating dates daily can protect against atherosclerosis, a major cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Prevents Cancer: Modern medicine has shown dates are effective in preventing abdominal cancer.

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.

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 grounded 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.

And the list goes on.

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For many years my sweet tooth got me in trouble, now instead of suffering agitation from excessive sugar intake I have substituted my daily dessert with dates and that has made all the difference in my qi. Our relationship with food has a spiritual dimension thus naturally what we consume affects all three parts of us: the physical, the mental and the emotional. Once we build awareness to the effect of our food choices, we will only then want to make the best ones for what makes us feel well in alignment to all three parts of ourselves.

So let us remember that food is a source of healing, and not a go to source for comfort and emotional numbing. Numbing emotions equals death of our heart, that is the death of our true essence that yearns to shine.