Conclusion
The sources do not mention a diet of exactly three dates. They report that the Prophet's household lived on dates and water for a month or more without cooking. They also say this was topped up now and then with gifts of meat and with milk from their Ansar neighbours, so the sources show people getting through long stretches on dates and water, not living on nothing else indefinitely.
Al-aswadan ("the two black things") means dates and water. Only dates are black; Arabs often call a pair by the name of its better-known member, as in "the two moons" for the sun and the moon. C3
Allah fed Maryam with dates and water at her hardest moment and told her to eat, drink and be at ease. Simple provision from Allah is enough comfort. Q2
The Prophet's household lived for weeks on dates and water and accepted gifts of meat when they came. This shows contentment with very little, not a rule to refuse more. H5
Ibn Hajar points out that the Ansar's gifts of milk helped sustain the household, so their survival also rested on neighbours' generosity. Al-Mubarakfuri reads dates and water as blessings people will be asked to give thanks for. C3C2
Sources
Qur'an & Tafsir
Summary
When Maryam (Mary) was giving birth, the Qur'an tells her to shake the palm trunk so that fresh ripe dates fall to her, and then to "eat, drink and cool your eyes." At that moment, dates and water were the food Allah provided for her. Q1Q2T2
Key points
- Maarif-ul-Quran notes that eating is mentioned before drinking because a person normally eats first and then drinks water. T2
References
- Q1Maryam 19:25 · Mary
- Q2Maryam 19:26 · Mary
- T2Maarif-ul-Quran on 19:26
Sunnah
Summary
A'ishah reports that the Prophet's family went a full month without lighting a cooking fire and lived on dates and water, "unless we were given a present of some meat" (Sahih al-Bukhari). She also says that when he died, they had only reached the point of eating their fill of dates and water. H5H3
Key points
- The Prophet said: "A house without dates, its inhabitants will be hungry." Al-Tirmidhi grades it hasan gharib (sound, but with a single chain of narrators). H10
References
- H3Jami At Tirmidhi 2471 · Chapters on the description of the Day of Judgement, Ar-Riqaq, and Al-Wara'Authenticity
- Sahih Ahmad Muhammad Shakir
- Sahih Al-Albani
- Sahih Bashar Awad Maarouf
- Sahih Muslim Zubair Ali Zai
- H5Sahih al Bukhari 6458 · To make the Heart Tender (Ar-Riqaq)Authenticity
- Sahih — the whole collection is accepted as authentic (Sahih al-Bukhari)
- H10Jami At Tirmidhi 1815 · The Book on FoodAuthenticity
- Sahih Ahmad Muhammad Shakir
- Sahih Al-Albani
- Sahih Muslim Zubair Ali Zai
Hadith Commentaries
Summary
Ibn Hajar explains that the household saw three new moons over two months without lighting a fire, and lived on al-aswadan ("the two black things": dates and water). He adds that this was not the whole picture: the Prophet's Ansar neighbours sent him milk from their manayih (animals lent out for their milk). C3
Key points
References