The Pomegranate

“I once heard Aba ‘Abdillah (a.s.), saying, ‘ 'You should eat pomegranate, for no one who is hungry eats it except that it will satisfy him, and no one who is full eats it except that it will make him feel more fulfilled.'"

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Fruits are of one hundred twenty colors [kinds] and the best of them is the pomegranate.’”

“I once heard Aba Ja‘far, and Aba ‘Abdillah AS, saying, ‘No other fruit on earth was as much desirable to the Messenger of Allah SAW, as pomegranate and by Allah, he [the Messenger of Allah] preferred to not share it with anyone.’”

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), has said, ‘Of the matters that Adam said in his will to Hibbatullah was his saying, ‘You must eat pomegranate; if you eat it when you are hungry, it is sufficient; and if you eat when satisfied it is pleasant to you.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘There is nothing I hate sharing more than pomegranate and in every pomegranate there is one seed from paradise, thus when an unbeliever eats it, Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, sends an angel to take it from him.’”

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), state this Hadith. ‘I like to share with someone every food that I eat,’ or that he (the Imam) said, ‘A human being shares with me except pomegranate. In every pomegranate there is a grain from paradise.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that ’Amir al-Mu’minin when eating pomegranate would spread a handkerchief. He was asked about it and he replied, ‘There is a grain from paradise in it.’ It was said that Jews, Christians and others eat it. He (the Imam) said, ‘When that happens Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, sends an angel to remove it thereof so he will not eat it.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If one eats a grain of pomegranate it makes the Satan of temptation sick for forty days.’”

“I once visited abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), and there was a pomegranate in his hand. He (the Imam) said, ‘O Mu‘attib give him a pomegranate; sharing of no other thing is more hateful to me than sharing a pomegranate.’ He (the Imam) then applied cupping and I also applied cupping. He (the Imam) then asked for another pomegranate. He (the Imam) then said, ‘O Yazid, if any believing person eats a pomegranate completely, Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, dispels Satan from the brightness of his heart for forty days. If one eats two pieces completely Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, dispels Satan from the bright part of his heart for one hundred days. If one eats three pomegranates completely, Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, removes Satan from the brightness of his heart for one year. One from the brightness of whose heart Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, removes Satan, he does not commit sins and one who does not commit sins enters paradise.”’*

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘You must eat sweet pomegranate. Every grain that reaches the stomach of a believing person; it abolishes the illnesses and extinguishes the temptation of Satan thereof.’”

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘If one eats a pomegranate before breakfast his heart remains bright for forty days.’”

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘Eat pomegranate with its flesh; it tans (cleans) the stomach and increases the brain’s ability.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Eat sour-sweet pomegranate with its flesh; it tans (cleanses) the stomach.’”

“Once sweet pomegranate was mentioned and abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said, ‘Sour-sweet pomegranate is more suitable for the stomach.’” Muhammad ibn ’Isma‘il has narrated from al-Fadl ibn Shadhan from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Ibrahim ibn ‘ Abd al-Hamid from al-Walid ibn Sabih from abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has narrated from a similar Hadith.”

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘If one eats pomegranate his heart becomes bright and whosoever’s heart Allah brightens Satan is kept away from him.’ I then asked, ‘What kind of pomegranate is this? I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause? He (the Imam) said, ‘It is the one from Sur (name of a place near Baghdad), this one?”

“I once heard abu al-Hassan, al-Awwal (a.s.), saying, ‘If one eats pomegranate on Friday before breakfast his heart becomes bright for forty mornings. If one eats two pomegranates, it then is eighty days, if one eats three pomegranates, it then is three hundred and twenty days and temptation of Satan is kept away from him. One from whom temptation of Satan is kept away he does not disobey Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, and one who does not disobey Allah is admitted in paradise?”

“He (the Imam) (a.s.), has said, ‘Eating sweet pomegranate increases one’s seed and forms the child well?”

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), has said, ‘Smoke from the tree of pomegranate dispels vermin?”