24 DATEGROWING 



favorite dishes were fresh dates and cucumbers, and 

 dates with milk or butter.* He drank regularly an 

 unfermented liquor, made by pouring water on fresh 

 dates and letting it stand over night; therefore this 

 drink, called nabidh, is still a favorite at Madina 

 and elsewhere. Finally, he declared to his followers: 

 "Whoever eats seven dates of the variety called 

 Ajweh first thing in the morning will not have to 

 fear either poison or treachery that day."t 



With such a history to supplement its physical 

 value, it is not surprising that the palm is held in 

 veneration by Arabs. 



*Father Jaussen (Coutumes des Arabes au Pays de Moab, Paris, 

 1 908) met various individuals who told him they tasted nothing but 

 dates and milk for six months at a time. His testimony can be 

 confirmed by that of almost every traveler. 



fAl Bukhaii, Traditions, Sec. LXX, ch. 43, on authority of 

 Salad b. Abu Waqqas. Burokhnrdt (Travels in Arabia, II, p. 211 f.) 

 followed by Burton (Pilgrimage, II, p. 401) errs in saying the variety 

 thus recommended by Muhammad was Al Birni. Bukhari, who 

 wrote in the third century after Muhammad, is the highest authority 

 on the Traditions. 



