Who wants a Date?

The idea about writing a post about Dates came after reading a news story in Al Bayan about UAE President donating 400 tons of Dates to various muslim countries. This is an annual affair here in UAE before the advent of Holy Month of Ramadan. According to the article, this year the dates will be sent both by air & land to Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Thailand & Indonesia.

Date fruit provides approximately 3,000 Calories per Kg while Orange gives you 480 Calories, Banana 970 Calories & Apricot 520 calories for the same quantity. According to the website of Al Marfa Dates Factory:

Dates are free from cholesterol and have very low level of fats(0.2%) and sodium . Thus, eating of dates is important to prevent heart and blood veins diseases. Besides, regular eating of dates by pregnant women guarantees easy delivery and maintenance of the health of mother and child before and after delivery.

Date fruit being good for pregnant women reminds me of the story mentioned in Quran about the birth of Jesus. It is mentioned in Chapter 19, verses 23 - 26.

And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She said: "Would that I had died before this, and had been forgotten and out of sight!"

Then [the babe Jesus or Gabriel] cried unto her from below her, saying: "Grieve not! Your Lord has provided a water stream under you;

"And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe-dates upon you."

"So eat and drink and be glad, and if you see any human being, say: 'Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Beneficent (Allah) so I shall not speak to any human being this day.'"

If you want to read more about the fruit, you can check the following two sites:

1. Date Palm R & D Program of UAE University
2. Saudi Dates market
   

So who wants a Date? ;-)