03/02/2019
Sidr Honey
Even more expensive than manuka honey, Sidr honey has gained a lot of popularity these days. The Arabian world doesn’t trust it for nothing. It was mentioned in the Qur’an, and the prophet recommends it for any kind of illness of the body.
‘Honey is a remedy for every illness and the Qur’an is a remedy for all illness of the mind,
therefore I recommend to you both remedies, the Qur’an and honey.’
It is claimed to be good for liver problems, stomach ulcers, respiratory infections, diseases resulting from malnutrition, digestive problems, constipation, eye diseases, infected wounds and burns, surgical wonds (lice C-section), promote speedy recovery after childbirth, facilitates menstruation, (with various herbs). It can be used against epilepsy, strengthened the immune systems, to promote general health and vitality.
• Sidr honey benefits for health
The honey is a monofloral honey. The bees collect the nectar of an ancient tree, the Sidr tree.
sidr tree
The SIDR tree
• Also known as Lote tree, Christ’s Thorn, Jujube, Nabkh, Elb, Ber, Bairi tree. Quite a lot of names!
Sidr is the formal Arabic name and comes from the name of the Sidr tree that is mentioned in the Holy Quran.
Elb – is the local name of the tree and is most commonly used in Arab world.
Ber or Bairi Honey it is called in Urdu.
Sidr tree is also called Jujube tree. But surely is not the same. The Jujube tree is Ziziphus jujuba and the Sidr tree is Ziziphus spina-christi. They are indeed related, both subspecies of Ziziphus.
• Botanical name: Ziziphus spina-christi
• It’s an evergreen tree that grows in coastal, desert, and semi-desert areas. It is native to Northern and tropical Africa and Southern and Western Asia.
In Palestine grows in valleys up to an elevation of 500 m. We can meet it in India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
It grows extensively in the eastern part of Yemen. Which is why sidr honey is known by many, only as Yemen honey.
fruit of Yemen tree• The Sidr tree is a sturdy and deep-rooted tree which has withstood the devastating floods of Eram at Ma’arib Yemen along two other trees: Tamarisk and Mustard Tree. Sidr belongs to the “Ziziphus” family of plants. The average tree size normally between 7-8 meters hight.
• The branches are soft with gray-yellow color and the flowers are yellow.
• The fruits of sidr trees are round and yellowish but turn to a more reddish color when mature. They have a very high-energy value, though there are other fruits more valuable: dates, figs, raisins, and few other dried fruits.
The sidr fruit was the first thing Prophet Adam (pbuh) ate when he was made to descend to earth. The tree was used during the time of King Suleiman (pbuh) and the Pharaohs used it to build palaces and temples.
• It is an ancient tree, mentioned four times in the Qur’an. In Sura Saba, it is mentioned as an earth tree while in other Suras, it is mentioned as a paradise tree (Sidrat al-Muntaha). Allah has mentioned this tree to emphasize its beauty, strength and grandeur (Saba 15,16; Waqia 27-33; Najm 7-18).
According to some traditions, Jesus’s Crown of Thorns was made from the branches of this tree.
Jesus' thorn crown was made of sidr branchesHealth benefits of sidr tree
The whole tree has medicinal values:
– The leaves are used as a herbal shampoo, to treat dandruff, head lice, swollen eyes, abscesses, furuncles and counter obesity. Mixed with warm water the leaves are used to clean the body since they are a disinfectant and the oil from the resin is deodorant.
– The wood ash is used for the treatment of snakebites.chemical composition of sidr tree
– The fruits have a very high energy value.
– The seeds are rich in protein;
– The leaves are rich in calcium, iron and magnesium.
– The root, stem bark are also used in various medicinal preparations.
Other known medicinal uses include as a stomachic, an appetizer, an astringent and also as a cough medicine.
Famous areas for producing sidr honey
Among the most famous areas in Yemen for producing Sidr honey are Doan in Hadramout, Gardan, Bayhan in Shabwa. In all these areas honey bees feed themselves exclusively on the nectar of the Sidr trees.
Perhaps the best known place, which produces the most famous honey is the Do’an Valley, in the valley of the Hadramaout desert, east of Yemen. Every year, thousands of semi nomadic beekeepers come here, to offer their bees plenty of food to make the best honey in the country.
The sidr honey
It’s a thick honey with a rich, lavish and buttery sweet taste. It has a golden light color, which darkens and tends to redness over time. While fresh and newly produced, it reminds you of the same aromatic smell of Sidr tree in the month of October, the season when Sidr tree is flowering.
There are different types of sidr honey, differing from one region to another, with diferences in taste, color, aroma and density. But all of them share the exquisite tast
