Ajwa dates hadith: what the narrations say

Which ajwa reports are in the major collections?

A hadith is a report attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (what is a hadith?). Ajwa is the name the reports give to a kind of date. The reports do not describe it. Two wordings name it as ajwa of al-Aliyah. Sahih, hasan and weak are grade labels that graders give, and a lower label is weaker, and graded differently means the graders split. Eight reports are set out below. Their texts and numbers were read on dorar.net, and seven of the eight were confirmed in printed editions of the collections; Sahih al-Jami' 4262 and the sunnah.com numbering are not yet checked. The table gives each grade label only; the sources list names the graders.

Two sahih labels rest on one grader's verdict. For Sunan Abi Dawud 3876, the collection records silence, which we do not count as a grade. Sahih al-Jami' 4262 has one grader in two works. Neither is in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim.

What do the seven-date reports say?

Four reports name seven dates: Sahih al-Bukhari 5445, Sahih al-Bukhari 5769, Sahih Muslim 2047 and Sunan Abi Dawud 3876. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas narrates each one. In our words, Sahih al-Bukhari 5445 says that whoever eats seven ajwa dates first thing every morning, no poison or magic harms him that day (source 1).

1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 5445

Sahih al-Bukhari 5769, Sahih Muslim 2047 and Sunan Abi Dawud 3876 say that day, and do not use the words every day (source 2, source 4, source 5).

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 5769

4AuthenticSahih Muslim 2047

5AuthenticSunan Abi Dawud 3876

Does the report say to eat seven dates every day?

The reports describe what happens to someone who eats ajwa dates in the morning. None of them says that everyone must do it. Only two reports use the words every day: Sahih al-Bukhari 5445 and Sahih al-Bukhari 5768 (source 1, source 3).

Sahih al-Bukhari 5768 is a special case. Its main wording gives no number. The report then adds that another transmitter said seven dates (source 3). The text does not name that transmitter, so neither do we.

The reports differ on the number and on the words every day. Each wording is kept as recorded, without choosing between them.

3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 5768

What do the healing reports say?

Three reports mention healing: Sahih Muslim 2048, Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2066 and Sahih al-Jami' 4262. Sahih Muslim 2048 says that in ajwa of al-Aliyah there is healing, or it is an antidote, first thing in the morning (source 6).

6AuthenticSahih Muslim 2048

The report names ajwa of al-Aliyah and does not describe al-Aliyah. The Arabic word for or gives two terms, healing or an antidote, and the report does not say which one applies to a given situation.

Sahih al-Jami' 4262 has a wider wording: healing from every magic or poison, first thing in the morning, on what the Arabic calls the saliva of the self (source 8). The report does not explain that phrase.

8AuthenticSahih al-Jami' 4262

The Paradise report: why is it graded differently?

Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2066 says that ajwa is from Paradise and that in it is healing from poison. The same sentence says that mushroom is from manna and that its water is healing for the eye (source 7).

7Graded differently ›Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2066

This is the only ajwa report here that is graded differently. dorar.net lists several wordings of this report; we have grouped them as one, pending a human check. Five gradings call it hasan (one of them hasan sahih). Three call its chain sound or list it as sound. One says it is not established. Three entries are remarks about the chain or the report, and they do not grade it. The collection's own grade reads hasan gharib in one printed copy and hasan sahih gharib in two others. The sources list gives each grading with its wording.

What do the reports leave unsaid?

The reports state a wording. The explanation here keeps to that wording and does not add to it. The reports do not say:

• how many ajwa dates a person should eat, beyond the number in the wording;
• what healing or an antidote refers to, or which illness, if any, is meant;
• whether a packed date, a product or a supplement labelled ajwa is the same as the dates the reports describe;
• anything about children, pregnancy or people taking medicines.

Explaining the wording is a separate task. A classical commentary on these reports, for example on what healing means, is interpretation. None is quoted here, because the sources list holds no commentary for these wordings. Any commentary added later needs its named work, volume and page.

Practice

1. Which two reports use the words every day? Sahih al-Bukhari 5445 and Sahih al-Bukhari 5768 (source 1, source 3).
2. Who narrates the four seven-date reports? Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, in each of them (sources 1, 2, 4 and 5).
3. Which report is graded differently? Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2066, which says ajwa is from Paradise (source 7).

Where can I get personal advice?

For a health question about yourself, see your GP. For a ruling on whether to eat ajwa dates for any reason, ask a scholar you trust. Neither question is answered here.