He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about the following saying attributed to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“Written on the rind of the melon are these words: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Moses is the one to whom Allah spoke. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Jesus is a spirit from Allah. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’”

And also:

“Whoever eats it with its rind will receive ten good deeds for every bite, and ten bad deeds will be erased from his record. If he eats it with its seeds, then for every thousand, he will receive a rank in Paradise.”

And about the report that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said to Abū Hurayrah:

“Do you have two shirts? Sell one and use the proceeds to buy yellow melon to eat.”

Was it authentically reported that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ate melon with fresh dates? And, if the hadith is authentic, what is meant by eating melon with fresh dates?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. The preceding reports about melon are all fabricated. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not encourage people to eat melon. Everything narrated of this kind is a lie.

As for eating “melon with fresh dates,” this is like eating cucumbers with fresh dates, and the hadith concerning the latter is more authentic. The point is to combine the sweetness of the one with the moisture of the other. His favourite drink was sweet and cool. This explains eating green melon with fresh or dried dates. As for eating it with yellow fresh dates, this has no basis, either in a text or in analogical reasoning. And Allah knows best.