The Palm, Science and Islam

On June 19, I attended a dinner, Ladies Nite of the Ministry of Finance 2009 at MOF, Putrajaya. I was very impressed with the way the dinner was organised in accordance with the theme, ie Arabian Night. Most of the attendees really took the trouble to dress up ala Arabian, some even to the extent of wearing harem pants and Ali Baba caps to suit the occasion! What impressed me most was the props and decor on stage, the paste-on cuttings of camels, Palm Trees, brightly-coloured scatter cushions piled all along the stage front. I must say the ambiance created was truly Arabian! The nite was graced with the prescence of the First lady of Malaysia and other top-ranking PUSPANITA members.
But what impressed me most was the nostalgia it brought me when I saw the Palm Trees lining the stage. Of course, the palms in this case, refers to the Date Palms which bear the dates or 'buah kurma' in Bahasa Melayu. In the Holy Quran, the Palm Trees and its Fruits are mentioned in many of the Surahs and Ayats, all denoting the importance of these palms in the livelihood of the early inhabitants of the Earth, especially the Arabic world.
There are 2 types of tropical palms and 1 main type of desert-climate palm. Phoenix dactylfera (dactylfera meaning bearing dates) is the date palm, considered sacred in Saudi Arabia, North Africa and the surrounding regions. The 2 main types of tropical palms are the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera - nucifera meaning bearing nuts)
Hence, the Palm species (date, oil and coconut collectively) is truly a gift from God. From time immemorial, the Palm greens the Earth and feeds the World.