Dates the fast-breaker of choice for centuries

This year’s Ramadan has coincided with the summer, making it even more difficult for fasters to endure hunger and thirst. Believers prefer to break their fasts with dates as they meet the body’s need for sugar after the daylong abstinence from water and food. With their sugary taste, dates immediately relieve fasters’ weakness.

Days before the advent of Ramadan, market stalls are piled high with all sorts of dates, and in countries like Turkey that don’t normally consume dates during the rest of the year, dates are the harbinger of the spiritual feast of Ramadan.

Though dates are usually consumed during Ramadan in Turkey, they are an essential food consumed at every meal by people in the Arabian and North African deserts. Its fibers are used in fabric weaving, and its seeds are also put to use as fuel. Dates contain more than 10 elements that are vitally important for the human body to stay healthy and energetic. Some scientists argue that a human being can survive on only dates and water for years. A renowned expert in this field, V.H.W. Dowson, says a date and a glass of milk are enough to meet a human’s daily nutritional needs.

Dates in the Muslim tradition

Muslims are urged to eat dates in general, and to partake of them when breaking the day’s fast in Ramadan in particular. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said: “Break your fast with dates, or else with water, for it is pure.”

In addition, Muslims believe dates are recommended by God himself, as the fruit is mentioned in the text of the Holy Quran in the chapter on Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

“And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried [in her anguish]: ‘Ah! Would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!’ But [a voice] cried to her from beneath the [palm-tree]: ‘Grieve not! For thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee’.” (Quran 19:23-25)

The importance and benefits of dates for pregnant women and those who have given birth are scientifically sound. With a sugar content of 60-65 percent, dates are among the most energy-rich fruits. Doctors advise giving new mothers foods that contain fructose -- fruit sugar. The aim of this is to provide the weak and tired body of the mother with the required amount of energy and to activate the milk hormones so that the newborn may suckle.

The blood loss that occurs during birth causes the amount of sugar in the body to decline. Dates provide the body with the sugar it needs and may help control blood pressure. A calorie-rich fruit, dates are particularly beneficial for tired people and convalescents.

The benefits of dates

The fructose found in dates is a type of sugar that gives the human body plenty of energy and heat, as it is easily soluble in the bloodstream. Glucose, on the other hand, rapidly raises blood sugar. A rapid increase in blood sugar negatively impacts many organs, particularly the eyes, kidneys, cardiovascular system and nervous system. One of the main reasons for blindness due to sickness, heart attack or kidney failure is high blood sugar.

Dates are also very rich in terms of vitamins, minerals, fiber and proteins. They contain sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, sulfur, phosphate and chlorine as well as vitamin A, beta carotene and vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6. We can enumerate the benefits of the vitamins and minerals found in a date for the human body as follows:

Dates contain vitamin B1, and this vitamin helps maintain the nervous system. It is instrumental in transforming carbohydrates in the body into energy and in the utilization of proteins and fats. The vitamin B2 dates contain helps burn proteins, carbohydrates and fats, which is an essential process for the provision of energy to the body and the rejuvenation of cells.

A pregnant woman’s need for vitamin A is increased, and dates can help meet this need. Dates also contain folic acid, which should be taken by pregnant women. Folic acid (vitamin B9) assumes an important role in the formation of new blood cells in the body and in the synthesis of amino acids, which are the building blocks of the body. Therefore, the importance of folic acid during pregnancy increases notably, and the daily need for it is doubled. Folic acid is the only element for which the need is doubled during pregnancy, as it plays a major role in the formation of the genetic structure of the cell.

Women gather for ‘mukabele’ sessions

Ramadan marks the month in which the revelation of the Holy Quran began. One of the seasonal traditions is the hosting of women-only “mukabele” sessions in private homes. This tradition has been nurtured in the community predominantly by stay-at-home moms. Women may set a certain day of the week to gather with friends and neighbors to the Quran together. This has become a frequent practice, especially in new high-rise apartment buildings, with the hostess posting a note on the building bulletin board and inviting other women to come over on a set day and time. Time usually set aside for drinking tea and socializing therefore becomes a time of congregational spiritual reflection. In Turkish, mukabele refers to reciting the entire Quran during Ramadan.

Tasbih: prayer beads you can count on

The sight of tasbih (Turkish tespih), the Muslim prayer beads that are akin to the Catholic rosary, is a common one throughout Turkey. The beads are used by men and women to keep track of repetitions for brief phrases praising God. Tasbih are frequently used after the obligatory prayers, or any time a Muslim wants to set apart some time to remember God. The beads can be made from various materials, and are most frequently seen with either 33 or 99 beads on them. The reason for this is that the dhikr (remembrance of God), recommended to Muslims by the Prophet Muhammad to be performed after the obligatory prayer, consists of the recitation of the phrases SubhanAllah (glory be to God) 33 times, Alhamdulillah (all praise is due to God) 33 times and Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest) 33 plus one times.