A cool, sweet infusion: dates are left to soak in water for a few hours, just long enough to release their sugar and perfume the water, but not long enough to ferment. Clear, golden, slightly sweet — the drink of the desert and the humble.

Why this dish? Rābiʿa drank only water, refusing any pleasurable beverage. Non-fermented nabīdh — simply dates soaked in water overnight — was the most common licit drink in Basra to sweeten often brackish water, without ever becoming wine.

You are thirsty? Here is all I drink. In the evening, I throw a handful of dates into my water jug and let the night do its work; by morning, the water has become sweet as grace. Drink it the same day, before it turns, for what lingers spoils — and no one drinks what intoxicates in my home. A sip for the body's thirst, and let the heart remain thirsty for its Lord alone.

How it was made : Nabīdh referred to any drink made from soaked fruits. Drunk quickly, it remained non-alcoholic and licit; left to ferment, it became forbidden. Sources mention that the remainder was thrown away before it turned. It was the simplest way to sweeten and purify often unpleasant well water.

The contemporary twist : Served over ice with a sliver of date on the rim of the glass, date water becomes a natural, sugar-free alternative to sodas — the "iced tea" of medieval Iraq.

Sources : Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitāb al-Ashriba (Book of Drinks), traditions on date nabīdh · Lilia Zaouali, La grande cuisine arabe du Moyen Âge, 2007 · Peter Heine, Food Culture in the Near East, Middle East and North Africa, Greenwood Press, 2004

Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya · Charactorium