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.