Discover the Wonders and Health Benefits of Watermelon

Foods of the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

Watermelon

Hamid Siraj

A glimpse into the wonderous life of the best of creation, our master Muhammad صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, reveals that he was not fussy about food and drink. As long as the food was halal, he ate it without complaining. Amazingly, the foods that shaped his diet not only delight the taste buds but are full of health benefits. Today, after 1400 years, medical studies confirm this.

One of the foods which the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم ate or encouraged is watermelon. Sayyidatunā ʿĀʾisha al-Siddīqa رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا narrates that the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم would eat watermelon with fresh dates.^[1]

Watermelon is said to be of African origin but was spread across the world by travellers.^[2] It is widely enjoyed due to its taste, coolness, and other specialities it offers. When growing, its vines spread across the floor, and when fully ripe, it can weigh up to 15 kg. As soon as the warm season arrives, stores and markets are full of this delicious fruit.

Watermelon’s natural qualities

Watermelon commonly inclines towards being cold and moist. Some say it is moister than it is cold.^[3]  Its flesh is red, whilst its seeds can be white, red, black, or spotted.^[4] Watermelon is effective in reducing inflammation of the digestive system and also helps calm temperamental disposition. Nutritional experts mention that it contains 92% water, which itself is vital for human health. A watermelon weighing half a kilo contains up to 30 grams of sugar, and around 150 calories.

How to recognise a sweet watermelon

The darker the circles or outer shell of a watermelon are, the redder and sweeter the inside will turn out to be. It is also said if a watermelon is hit by one’s hand and produces a hollow sound, this is a sign of it being sweet and ripe.^[5]

Hadith about watermelon

In many hadith, watermelon has been mentioned alongside other foods, whereas, other hadith mention it on its own.

1.   Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه says:

I was once sat with King ʿAbd al-Malik Marwān. I was about to leave when he stopped me. Food was then laid out. When I finished eating, a servant served watermelon. Seeing this, I said, “A hadith has reached me, in which some aunts of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم reported him to have said, ‘Eating watermelon before other food cleanses the stomach and removes illness from its root.’”

The King heard this and said, “If you had mentioned this hadith earlier, we would have eaten watermelon before the food.” The King then called his treasurer and whispered something in his ear. The latter returned after a short while with one hundred thousand dirhams and gave them to me, by order of the King.^[6]

2.   Imam Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣfahānī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه relates in his book that the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was reported to have liked grapes and watermelon more than any other fruit.^[7]

3.   Sayyidatunā ʿĀʾisha al-Siddīqa رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا narrates:

کَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صلَّی الله علیہ وسلَّم یَاکُلُ البِطِّیْخَ بِالرُّطَبِ فَیَقُوْلُ: نَکْسِرُ حَرَّ ھٰذَا بِبَرْدِ ھٰذَا، وَبَرْدَ ھٰذَا بِحَرِّ ھَذَا

“The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was eating watermelon with ripe dates whilst saying, ‘We counter the heat of the dates with the coolness of the watermelon, and we counter the coolness of the watermelon with the heat of the dates.’”^[8]

4.   Sayyidunā Anas رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ reports that the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم would take a fresh date in his right hand and watermelon in his left and eat them together. He also mentions that watermelon was one of the favourite fruits of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.^[9] Mulla ʿAli al-Qārī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه comments, “The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم holding the watermelon in his left hand does not necessitate him eating it with the left hand too. Rather, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم would switch hands before eating.”^[10]

*   It is more beneficial to eat watermelon at the start of a meal.

*   Dates are sweeter than watermelon. By eating them together, the watermelon is sweetened by the date, whereas the date becomes comparatively less sweet.^[11]

*   Another benefit is that watermelon is naturally cooling and dates cause heat. So, eating the two together causes them to balance each other out.^[12]

*   The beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم already mentioned the natural qualities of watermelons and dates. Modern research has only begun to acknowledge the hidden benefits found in foods recently, whilst the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم had already informed us of them around 1450 years ago; this is undoubtedly from the perfection of his knowledge.

The benefits of watermelon

New research has highlighted many benefits of consuming watermelon. Some of these include:

*   Protecting the heart from diseases.

*   Normalising blood pressure.

*   Lowering cholesterol.

*   Containing appropriate amounts of compounds which are beneficial for the liver.

*   Containing minerals which prevent excess fat gathering in the body and which remove excess fat.

*   Opening blocked arteries and veins.

*   Reducing high blood pressure.^[13]

*   Its seeds getting rid of stomach parasites.^[14]

*   Eating watermelon before other food has been digested can disturb the digestive system. It can also be harmful to eat watermelon on an empty stomach.^[15]

*   The renowned spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ writes:

Take black pepper, black cumin, and salt. Finely grind them and store them together in a bottle. When eating watermelon, sprinkle this mixture on top. Not only will its taste become more delightful, it will prove to be very beneficial in aiding digestion, and one’s appetite will also increase.^[16] By consuming it in this manner, the watermelon shall offer a warm and moist effect, and anyone suffering from indigestion will find this useful.