Please confirm that Muhammad (pbuh) recommended Sa'd bin Abi-Waqqas to eat ajwa dates with seeds when he had a heart attack, such that when he ate the dates with seeds, he got cured. One of my friends is a heart patient and he wants to do the same, so please confirm the above.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

This Hadeeth was reported by Abu Daawood on the authority of Sa’d who said, “I was sick and the Prophet came to pay me a visit. He put his hands on my chest and I felt its coolness at my heart. He said: 'You are a man suffering from heart sickness. So, go to Al-Haarith Ibn Kaladah, the brother of Thaqeef, as he is a man who gives medical treatment. He should take seven 'Ajwah dates of Madeenah and grind them with their kernels, and then put them into your mouth (in one side of your mouth).'”

Shaykh Al-Albaani classified it as Dha’eef [weak] in his “Dha’eef Sunan Abi Daawood". However, some scholars graded its chain of narrators as strong. Shaykh Al-Arna’oot also graded it as strong in his classification of the Ahaadeeth quoted in Zaad Al-Ma’aad, as quoted by Ibn Al-Qayyim while clarifying the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) of the Prophet in treating a patient with a heart disease. He (Ibn Al-Qayyim) said after it, “…and dates have a wonderful effect on this disease, especially the dates of Madeenah, and particularly the 'Ajwah dates.”

In any case, the aforementioned story is about Sa’d who was complaining about his heart, but we do not know whether this complaint was about a heart attack or about another disease. Moreover, we do not know whether or not this prescription that is mentioned in the Hadeeth is suitable for every person who complains about his heart, as there is nothing in the context of the Hadeeth that suggests this. However, if it is proven that 'Ajwah dates are beneficial for such a disease, then it is permissible to use it regardless of whether or not this Hadeeth is authentic because in principle treatment is lawful unless there is evidence that prohibits it.

Allaah Knows best.