Ajwa Dates – A Great Haj Gift

If you are choosing dates to bring home from the Haj, Ajwa is the one to consider first, because it comes from Madinah. This post covers where Ajwa comes from, why it carries meaning for Muslims, what a date actually contains, and what research on Ajwa has and has not shown.

Where Ajwa comes from

Ajwa is a date of Madinah, Saudi Arabia. In Malaysia it is also sold under the market name Kurma Nabi. The fruit is small, roundish and near-black, with finely wrinkled skin and a soft bite. For a closer look at the variety, see why kurma Ajwa is different and Ajwa Aliyah compared with standard Ajwa.

Why Ajwa suits a Haj gift

The meaning comes from hadith. In Sahih al-Bukhari, Sa’d reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “He who eats seven ‘Ajwa dates every morning, will not be affected by poison or magic on the day he eats them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5445)

Sahih Muslim has a chapter titled “The virtue of the dates of Al-Madinah”. In it, ‘A’isha reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying: “The ‘ajwa’ dates of ‘Aliya’ contain healing effects and these are antidote in the early morning.” (Sahih Muslim 2048)

That link to Madinah is what makes Ajwa feel right as a gift from the Haj or umrah. In Malaysia, umrah gifts are one of the times demand for dates rises, along with Ramadan, Hari Raya, weddings and kenduri. How the hadith should be understood and practised is a question for a qualified religious teacher.

What is in the dates you bring home

If you are giving Ajwa to family, it helps to know what is actually in a date. The figures here are USDA FoodData Central data per 100 g for Medjool and Deglet Noor dates. They are not measurements of Ajwa, but they give a fair picture of dates in general.

Dates are high in sugar, not low. Medjool has 66.5 g of total sugars and 277 kcal per 100 g. Deglet Noor has 63.4 g and 282 kcal.

They do carry useful minerals and fibre. Medjool has 696 mg potassium, 64 mg calcium, 54 mg magnesium, 62 mg phosphorus and 6.7 g fibre. Deglet Noor has 656 mg potassium, 39 mg calcium, 43 mg magnesium, 62 mg phosphorus and 8.0 g fibre. Sodium is very low, at 1 to 2 mg.

Vitamin C is close to zero: 0 mg in Medjool and 0.4 mg in Deglet Noor. Dates are not a source of it.

Ajwa itself has been measured too. A 2013 lab analysis found Ajwa dates were 39.06% fructose and 26.35% glucose, with 11.01% fibre (Zhang et al., 2013). So Ajwa is a sugary date as well.

Dates and blood sugar

A 2011 study in the UAE measured the glycaemic index of five date varieties (Fara’d, Lulu, Bo ma’an, Dabbas and Khalas) in 13 healthy volunteers and 10 people with type 2 diabetes. In the healthy group the values ranged from 46.3 to 55.1, and the diabetic group’s results were very similar. The authors concluded these dates have a low glycaemic index and did not cause significant blood sugar spikes in the diabetic participants. They added that the findings point to potential benefits of dates for people with diabetes when eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet (Alkaabi et al., 2011). Ajwa was not one of the dates tested.

The sugar content is still high, so anyone with diabetes should check with their doctor about how many dates suit them.

Dates and digestion

In a 2015 cross-over trial at the University of Reading, 22 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to eat seven dates (about 50 g) or a maltodextrin-dextrose control (37.1 g), with each period lasting 21 days. Eating dates significantly increased bowel movements and stool frequency compared with baseline (Eid et al., 2015). The abstract does not name the variety.

What research on Ajwa has and has not shown

These are lab and animal studies of Ajwa extracts. They do not show that eating Ajwa has the same effect in people.

A 2013 study from Michigan State University tested ethyl acetate, methanol and water extracts of Ajwa. At 100 μg/mL the three extracts inhibited the COX-1 enzyme by 30, 31 and 32% and COX-2 by 59, 48 and 45%. At 250 μg/mL they inhibited lipid peroxidation by 88, 70 and 91% (Zhang et al., 2013). The authors class the COX tests as anti-inflammatory assays.

In a 2022 study, 42 male rats were split into six groups. Some received an Ajwa fruit extract (0.25 or 0.5 g/kg) for 21 days and some were given cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug for which kidney damage is a main limiting issue. The extract, especially at 0.5 g/kg, improved kidney function, anaemia and antioxidant markers in the cisplatin-treated rats (Abdelghffar et al., 2022).

Buying Ajwa as a gift

If you would rather buy it once you are home, Ajwa is sold in Malaysia as Kurma Nabi. Two places to compare are Harga Kurma 2023 and Kedai Kurma Green diamond . Check the box for the variety name and origin before you buy.

This article is general information, not medical advice.

References

1. Sahih al-Bukhari 5445 (Book 70, Hadith 74). sunnah.com/bukhari:5445
2. Sahih Muslim 2048 (Book 36, Hadith 215). sunnah.com/muslim:2048
3. USDA FoodData Central. Dates, medjool (FDC ID 168191). fdc.nal.usda.gov
4. USDA FoodData Central. Dates, deglet noor (FDC ID 171726). fdc.nal.usda.gov
5. Alkaabi JM, et al. Glycemic indices of five varieties of dates in healthy and diabetic subjects. Nutr J. 2011;10:59. PMID 21619670
6. Eid N, et al. Impact of palm date consumption on microbiota growth and large intestinal health: a randomised, controlled, cross-over, human intervention study. Br J Nutr. 2015;114(8):1226-36. PMID 26428278
7. Zhang CR, et al. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assays confirm bioactive compounds in Ajwa date fruit. J Agric Food Chem. 2013;61(24):5834-40. PMID 23713661
8. Abdelghffar EA, et al. Ajwa dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) attenuate cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats via augmenting Nrf2, modulating NADPH oxidase-4 and mitigating inflammatory/apoptotic mediators. Biomed Pharmacother. 2022;156:113836. PMID 36242846