2. It is narrated from the narrator of the previous Hadith from his father from ibn Sinan from Ibrahim ibn Mehzam from ‘ Anbasah ibn Bijad who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘Whenever food was brought to the Messenger of Allah in which there were dates, he began with dates.’”

3. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Hanan ibn Sadir from his father who has said the following: “Ali ibn al-Husayn, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, loved to see a man who liked (worked with) dates because of the love of the Messenger for Allah for dates.’”

4. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu ‘ Urn ay r from abu al-Mighra’ from certain persons of his people from ‘Uqbah ibn Bashir who has said the following: “Once we visited abu Ja‘far , and he (the Imam) asked for dates which we then ate with him (the Imam), but quite a lot of it. The Imam then said that the Messenger of Allah has said, ‘I like a man who is a man of dates (likes dates).”’

5. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman from abu ‘Amr from a man who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘The best of your dates is al- Barniy (a certain kind of date) which removes illnesses and there is no illness in it. It takes away fatigue, there is no harm in it, and it dissolves phlegm. With every date there is one good deed.’ In another Hadith it is said that dates give one delight, palatability, take away fatigue and satisfy one’s hunger.’”

6. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn ’Isma‘il al-Raziy from Sulayman ibn Ja‘far al- Ja‘fariy who has said the following: “Once I visited abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ , and there were barniy dates in front of him. He (the Imam) seemed assiduous in eating it with zest. He (the Imam) said, ‘O Sulayman come close and eat.’ I then went close and ate thereof saying, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, I see you eat it with great zest.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, because I love it.’ He (the narrator) has said, that I asked, ‘Why is it so?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is because the Messenger of Allah liked dates. Ali , liked dates. Al-Hassan liked dates, abu ‘Abd Allah, al-Husayn liked dates, Zayn al-‘Abidin liked dates, Abu Ja‘far, liked dates, abu ‘Abd Allah, liked dates, my father liked dates, I like dates and our followers like dates because they are created from our clay; and our enemies, O Sulayman like intoxicants because they are created from smokeless fire.’”

7. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ’Isma‘il ibn Marrar from Yunus from Hisham ibn al-Hakam from Zurarah who has said the following: “Abu ‘ Abd Allah , has said, ‘ Al-Barniy dates give one delight, and palatability. It is a medicine without illness. It takes away fatigue and with every date there is one good deed.’”

8. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from Muhammad ibn Ali from Ali ibn Khattab al-Hallal from al-‘ Ala’ ibn Razin who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , once said to me, ‘O ‘Ala’, do you know what was the first tree that grew on earth?’ I replied, ‘Allah, His Messenger and the child of His Messenger know best. He (the Imam) said, ‘It was al-‘Ajwah. What is pure is al-‘Ajwah (a certain kind of date) and whatever is other than this they are only of the similar one’s.’”

9. It is narrated from the narrator of the previous Hadith from his father from Hammad ibn ‘Isa from Rib‘iy from ‘Abd Allah ibn al- Fudayl who has said the following: “Abu Ja‘far , has said, ‘Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, sent al-‘Ajwah and al-‘Atiq from the sky.’ I then asked, ‘What is al-‘Atiq ?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is the male.’”

10. Muhammad ibn Yahya One Hundred and Twenty Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from ‘Abd al- Rahman ibn abu Hashim from abu Khadijah who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘al-‘Ajxvah is the mother of dates which Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, sent for Adam from paradise.’”

11. Al-Husayn from Muhammad has narrated from Mu‘alla’ ibn Muhammad from al-Washsha’ from Ahmad ibn ‘A’idh from abu Khadijah who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘al-‘Ajwah is the mother of dates. It is the date that Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, sent from paradise for Adam , as mentioned in His words, ‘. . . whatever you cut down of palm trees and left standing on their trunks’ is a reference to al-‘Ajwah.’”

12. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Mu’ammar ibn Khallad who has said the following: “Abu al-Hassan, al-Rida’ , has said, ‘The palm tree of Mary was al-‘Ajwah which was sent in the month of Kanun (one of the months of winter). With Adam al-‘Atiq and al- ‘Ajwah were sent, from these other kinds of palm trees spread.’”

13. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn abu Hashim from abu Khadijah who has said the following: “Once we took date-stones of al-‘ Ajwah from al-Madinah and a friend of us planted them in a garden. What grew thereof was al-Sukkar, al-Hirun, al-Shahriz and al-Sarfan (names of certain kinds of dates) and all kinds of dates.’”

14. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn al-Hakam who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘Al-Sarfan is the master of your dates.’”

15. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Ahmad ibn Ishaq and Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Muhammad ibn Tsma‘il all from Sa‘dan ibn Muslim from certain persons of our people who has said the following: “When abu ‘ Abd Allah , went to al-Hirah, he (the Imam) rode a stumper and with him (the Imam) was a black slave. A man from al-Kufah who had bought a garden of palm trees saw him (the Imam). The man asked the slave, ‘Who is he?’ He replied, ‘He is Ja‘far ibn Muhammad .’ He then brought a large tray and placed it before him (the Imam). He (the Imam) asked, ‘What is this?’ He replied, ‘It is al-Barniy .’ He (the Imam) said, ‘In it there is a cure/ He (the Imam) then looked at al-Saberiy and asked, ‘What is this?’ He replied, ‘It is al-Saberiy .’ He (the Imam) said, ‘We call it al-Biyd .’ About al-Mushan he (the Imam) asked, ‘What is this?’ He replied, ‘It is al-Mushan .’ He (the Imam) said, ‘We call it ‘Umm Jirdhan.’ He (the Imam) looked at al-Sarfan and asked, ‘What is this?’ He replied, ‘It is al-Sarfan .’ He (the Imam) said, ‘We call it al-‘Ajwah and in it there is a cure.”’

16. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn al-Hakam who has said the following: “Once dates were mentioned before abu ‘Abd Allah , and he said, ‘One with you is better than one with us and all which are with us are better than all that are with you.’”

17. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Hajj al from abu Sulayman al- Hammar who has said the following: “Once we were with abu ‘Abd Allah , and Mudayrah (a certain sauce) was brought then food, then a basket of dates of several colors was brought. He (the Imam) then picked up one by one and asked, ‘What do you call it?’ and we said that we call it so and so, until he (the Imam) picked up one more and asked, ‘What do you call this?’ We replied, ‘We call it al-Mushan .’ He (the Imam) said, ‘We call it ‘Umm Jirdhan. A certain amount of it was brought to the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, and he ate a few from it and prayed because of it; therefore, no other palm tree bears as much dates as this.’”

18. Abu Ali al-Ash‘ariy has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar from ibn Faddal from Tha’labah ibn Maymun from ‘Ammar al-Sabatiy who has said the following: “I once was with abu ‘Abd Allah , when fresh dates were brought. He (the Imam) began to eat, drink water and gave to me the bowl of water and I disliked to decline. Therefore, I drank until he (the Imam) did it several times. I then said, ‘I experience increased phlegm, and I complained about it before Ahran, the physician of al-Hajjaj and he asked me, “Do you have palm trees in the garden?” I replied, “Yes, there are.” He asked me to name them and I named until I mentioned al- Hirun (a certain tree) and he said, “Eat seven dates thereof when going to bed and do not drink water.” I followed his instruction and I did not have any moisture in my mouth to spit. I complained before him and he said drink a small amount of water and hold back from drinking more until your condition is balanced.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah , said, ‘I without water do not even mind if I did not taste it.’”

19. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Dihqan from Durust ibn abu Mansur from ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘If one eats seven dates everyday of al-‘Ajwah of al-‘Aliyah (name of a place in al-Madinah), poison, magic and Satan do not harm him.’”

20. It is narrated from the narrator of the previous Hadith from Ya’qub ibn from Ziyad ibn Marwan al-Qandiy from ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah , has said, ‘Eating seven dates of al-‘Ajwah at bed time kill the worms in one’s belly.”’