Eating seven dates in the morning and the impact of believing in that on the healing effect

Firstly:

Al-Bukhaari (5445) and Muslim (2047) narrated from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever eats seven ‘ajwah dates in the morning, will not be harmed by any poison or witchcraft that day.”

Most of the scholars are of the view that this applies only to the dates of Madinah, and specifically to a particular type of the dates of Madinah, namely ‘ajwah dates, which grow in ‘Aaliyat al-Madinah. This is most likely to be correct, and it is the apparent meaning of the hadith.

Some scholars are of the view that it is general in meaning, and that all types of dates are efficacious against poison and witchcraft. Among those who were of this view among contemporary scholars are Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sa‘di, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, and Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on them). This has been discussed previously in question no. 205041.

Some of the scholars are of the view that the hadith applies specifically to the people of Madinah and those in the vicinity, because of their physical makeup which is accustomed to that environment.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This hadith is addressed to a specific audience, such as the people of Madinah and those in the vicinity.

End quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad (4/90).

Secondly:

The hadith clearly states that eating dates in the morning is efficacious in warding off witchcraft before it occurs, but it is not far-fetched to suggest that they would also have the effect of removing it after it occurred, especially since it is well-known that witchcraft may be undone by means of treatment with remedies and ruqyah as prescribed in sharee‘ah, so the sorcerer would have to repeat the spell that he cast on that person. For that reason, the sick person should persist in eating seven dates every morning until he is fully recovered and so that he may be safe in the future – by Allah’s leave – from the harm of sorcerers and devils.

Thirdly:

The one who acts in accordance with these hadiths may find the effect of protection against poison and witchcraft, even if he does not believe in it, as it says in the story of the one who was stung by a scorpion [who was a disbeliever], who was treated with ruqyah by reciting Soorat al-Faatihah over him.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This hadith refers to achieving healing by reciting al-Faatihah over the person who had been stung, so that he no longer needed regular medicine, and perhaps it healed him far better than regular medicine could have done, even though the recipient of the treatment was not the best candidate, either because the people of this tribe were not Muslim or because they were miserly and mean people. So how about if he had been a good candidate for such treatment?

End quote from Madaarij as-Saalikeen (1/79).

But having faith in the remedy will make it more effective and will make one more receptive to healing. This applies to all types of medicine, but in the case of psychological disease it is more effective than in the case of physical disease.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Many remedies are more effective if one has faith in them and takes them willingly and happily. People have seen wonders in that regard, because in that case human nature is highly receptive to medicine, and  the soul feels joy in having it, which revives the patient’s strength and reinforces his natural defences, causing his body’s resources to come together to resist disease and ward off the harm. On the other hand, many medicines may be effective for a particular disease, but what nullifies their effect is if the patient does not believe in the remedy and his body does not accept it, so it does not help him at all.

You may think of the greatest medicines and remedies, and the most beneficial for hearts and bodies, and the most useful in this world and the hereafter, namely the Qur’an which is healing for every disease, and how it does not benefit hearts that do not believe that it contains healing and benefit; rather it only increases them in (spiritual) sickness. There is no medicine that could heal hearts more effectively than the Qur’an, for it brings complete healing for hearts that does not leave any sickness behind, but it cures it, and it preserves (spiritual) health in perfect order, granting full protection from every harmful thing.

In spite of that, the fact that most hearts turn away from it (the Qur’an) and do not have firm belief in it, when there is no doubt that it is a healing, and they fail to use it and ignore it in favour of other medicines that are put together by human beings, prevents hearts from attaining healing; habits and customs take over, aversion becomes greater, chronic diseases and sickness become entrenched in people’s hearts, and patients and doctors become accustomed to human remedies and what their shaykhs and those whom they venerate and hold in high esteem prescribe for them, thus the calamity is exacerbated and the disease worsens.

Zaad al-Ma‘aad (4/92).

And Allah knows best.