Benefits of Eating Sahur with Dates
By : Ali Farkhan Tsani, Senior Editor of MINA
Eating sahur is a sunnah for those who are fasting. From the medical side, it is also emphasized that eating sahur is very important to help someone in sustaining their fast.
Dr Essam Al-Saifi, imam and preacher of the Jami’ Al-Fath Zagazig Mosque, Sharkiya Province, Egypt, said that the blessing in sahur is that this food strengthens the person who is going to fast, gives him energy, and makes it easier for him to fast. In addition to the reward it contains by obeying the guidance of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi Wasallam.
Dr Essam Al-Saifi said sahur should be done with whatever food is available. Even if it’s just dates or a sip of water.
It is also important to end the Suhoor meal, until before the Fajr call to prayer, to help the body and nervous system be able to endure the long hours of fasting during the day. “This is also part of the sunnah of the Prophet and the companions of the Prophet,” he said. Quoted from Almasry Alyoum, May 14, 2019 edition.
According to him, sahur has health benefits that are beneficial for people who fast and help them to live an active and energetic day. Among its benefits are preventing fatigue and headaches, helping reduce excessive hunger and thirst, and preventing laziness and lethargy.
Suhoor also prevents the loss of basic body cells, activates the digestive system, and maintains the level of sugar in the blood during the fasting period.
“Spiritually, this sahur is to help people believe in obeying Allah and His Messenger,” he said.
As for sahur with dates, it’s even more special. Dates are a sweet fruit, and are a great source of energy, rich in fiber, iron, and various nutrients.
Dates can be eaten as is. Some people include it in the preparation of other foods such as juice drinks, or as a kind of jam that is put on white bread.
Miraculously, dates contain a high percentage of sugar but do not cause diabetes. Eating lots of dates is also nothing to be afraid of for those on a diet, because it will not gain weight.
Researchers Zhang Yongli and Muhammad Ali Al-Farsi at Cornell University, New York, United States, in a review they made in 2008 stated that “More than 15% of the daily requirement of minerals such as copper, potassium, magnesium and selenium can be obtained by eating 100 grams or about 4 dates per day.”
His research says, dates contain about 60% -70% sugar, which makes them an ideal energy and health booster.
Dates also provide benefits for people who are fasting, including: increasing activity, containing vitamins that can improve general health and are useful for the nervous system.
The presence of fiber in dates is also beneficial for people suffering from indigestion, as fiber makes digestion of food easier and more efficient. Dates fiber also encourages the growth of good bacteria in the intestines and helps with constipation.
Another, because dates are rich in nutrients and natural sugars that increase blood sugar levels, so eating sahur with dates can reduce hunger. And this is beneficial for the fasting person.
Dates are sweet by themselves, contain no added artificial sugar. It can therefore be used as a sweetener for food, or added to fruit juices or to powdered milk seals.
Enjoy, sahur with dates. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
