In 7th-century Medina, meals were not served in courses: a leather or palm mat (the sufra) was spread on the ground, and everyone ate from a large communal dish with the right hand. There was no starter or dessert, but a rhythm: bread and dates were always present, the meat or broth dish arrived when available (rarely), and milk or date water was passed around. One began in the name of God, ate from what was in front of one, and shared with the neighbor and the orphan. Frugality was a virtue, abundance a feast day.

The date was the pillar of the Medinan table: survival food, sweetness, alms currency, and symbol of blessing. Combined with samn (melted camel or goat butter) and aqit (dried curdled milk), it formed the fat-sweet-sour trio that structured all Hejazi cuisine before the arrival of Eastern spices.