The Prophet ﷺ said about the citron: "The believer who recites the Qur'an is like the citron. Its taste is good and its scent is pleasant."
The citron, whose Latin name is "citrus medica," comes from the citron tree. It belongs to the rutaceae family and is the ancestor of the lemon. It originally comes from the Himalayas and India, then it arrived in the Arabian Peninsula in the Near East, not far from Syria. It is also found in Mediterranean regions, though these vary. There is the sweet-fleshed citron, found widely in Spain or Morocco, and also the sour-fleshed one that existed at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, whose medicinal and culinary uses are well known.
The Prophet ﷺ compares the citron to the believer, since it is indeed a tree that cannot tolerate frost, cold, or direct sun. Its soil must be well-drained, sandy, and watered regularly, just like the believer who must be watered with supplications and the Qur'an. Moreover, it is a tree that does not like stagnant water.
Ibn al-Qayyim says that everything in the citron is beneficial, whether the leaf, the fruit, the peel, or the bark.
The ancients used it as a remedy for seasickness, but especially for lung and intestinal problems.
Today the citron peel is sold candied. It is a stimulant and a tonic, and Africans use it a great deal for rheumatism. Its essential oil and its peel are antibiotics. Its leaves are used to make a distilled oil that is sold in French perfumeries.
In India, its branches are used as agricultural tools. Citron juice is used in medicine in Malaysia, and in Spain it is used as a syrup, because it cleanses the digestive system. It is also found in liqueur, in purifying shower gel, or in shampoo for its hair-growth-promoting properties. In Europe its use is mainly focused on perfumery and cosmetics.
The hadith of the four fruits
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reports that the Prophet ﷺ said: "The believer who recites the Qur'an is like the citron (utrujja): its taste is good and its smell is good. The believer who does not recite the Qur'an is like the date: its taste is good but it has no smell. The hypocrite who recites the Qur'an is like basil (rayhana): its smell is good but its taste is bitter. And the hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an is like the colocynth: its taste is bitter and it has no smell" (al-Bukhari 5427, Muslim 797). The citron is therefore the pinnacle: what is good within (the taste, faith) and spreads outward (the smell, the Qur'an that others hear). The professor adds the image of the tree: fragile to frost, to excess sun, and to standing water, it needs well-drained soil and regular watering, just as the believer needs to be "watered" with the Qur'an and supplications. Commentators also note that the citron is the only one of the four fruits whose every part is useful, and that jinn, it is said, flee the house where it is found.
What the citron is, and what it is not
| Citron | Lemon | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Citrus medica, utrujja in Arabic, the ancestor of cultivated citrus fruits | Citrus limon, a more recent hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange |
| Appearance | Large, often bumpy, 300 g to 2 kg, yellow; very thick rind (half the fruit), pale flesh, not very juicy | Small, smooth, thin rind, very juicy flesh |
| Taste, smell | Intense fragrance from the rind; flesh sweet or sour depending on the variety | Sour |
| Where | Corsica (Corsican citron), Calabria, Morocco, Israel (etrog), India, China (Buddha's hand) | Everywhere in the Mediterranean |
| Use | Candied peel, zest, infusion, essential oil, jam, liqueur | Juice |
The professor points out the two varieties: sweet-fleshed (Morocco, Spain) and sour-fleshed, the one from the time of the Prophet ﷺ. The citron is neither the lemon nor the grapefruit: when a hadith says utrujja, it refers to this large fruit with the thick rind.
Part by part, according to Ibn al-Qayyim
- The rind (the yellow zest and the white pith): hot and dry; scents clothing, repels insects; as an infusion, it warms the stomach, aids digestion, and fights gas; as a powder in dishes, it is a condiment. This is the most used part.
- The flesh: cold and moist; cools, soothes an overheated stomach and thirst, but digests slowly; one should not eat it in excess.
- The juice (sour): cold and dry; soothes yellow bile, stops vomiting, opens the appetite, stops diarrhea; this is the use against seasickness that the professor mentions.
- The seeds: hot and dry; the ancients prescribed them against venoms and stings, as a paste on the sting or swallowed in warm water.
- The leaves and flowers: oil distilled for perfumery, as the professor notes; a calming infusion.
What we know today
- Citrus essential oils, citron included, are rich in limonene and flavonoids; a 2018 review summarizes their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and calming activities, and their safety rules (Int J Mol Sci, 2018). These are the oils that make the rind "antibiotic," as the professor mentions, for external use.
- Citrus flavonoids (hesperidin, naringin, diosmin) have a well-documented antioxidant and vessel-protective action (Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2022); the citron's thick rind is particularly rich in them.
The citron itself has few clinical trials of its own: what is established for citrus fruits is applied to it. Its uses against rheumatism or for hair, which the professor mentions, belong to tradition.
How to use it today
- Finding it: fresh at produce stands from October to January (Corsican citron, or "Buddha's hand") and at Middle Eastern grocers before the feast of Sukkot, when it is in high demand; candied year-round.
- Rind infusion: the zest of a quarter citron, fresh or dried, in a cup of hot water, 10 minutes; after a meal for digestion and bloating.
- The zest grated into dishes, salads, cakes; the flesh in thin slices with salt and olive oil, in the style of Calabrian salads.
- The candied peel: the rind cooked in sugar, the most common form; it is a treat, not a remedy.
- The fragrance: a citron placed in a room or a closet scents it for several weeks and keeps moths away; this is the use most faithful to the hadith, that of the "good smell."
- The essential oil: a few drops in a diffuser; diluted in a carrier oil for the skin, never undiluted, never before sun exposure.
Contraindications and precautions
Fresh citron is a safe food. Citrus essential oils are photosensitizing: not on the skin before sun exposure, and never swallowed. Use untreated citrus peels only for infusions and zest (treated fruit carries fungicides on the skin). Like grapefruit, citron juice in large quantities could interact with certain medications; a zest or an infusion does not reach these quantities. Candied citron is very sweet: diabetics should count it.
Frequently asked questions
What does "citron in Islam" mean?
It is the fruit to which the Prophet ﷺ compares the believer who reads the Qur'an: good within through faith, good without through the recitation that others hear, just as the citron is good in taste and fragrant. A hadith from Bukhari and Muslim.
How do you say citron in Arabic?
Utrujja (أترجة), plural utrujj; in the Maghreb it is also called trunj or tronj, and in Algeria sometimes "lim" for citrus fruits in general. This is the word that appears in the hadith.
Is the citron the same fruit as the lemon?
No: the citron is the ancestor of the lemon, much larger, with a thick rind that makes up half the fruit and flesh that is not very juicy. The lemon is a descendant of it, crossed with the bitter orange.
What are the benefits of the citron?
According to Ibn al-Qayyim, every part serves a purpose: the digestive, fragrant rind, the cooling flesh, the juice that soothes bile and seasickness, the seeds against venoms. Its oils and flavonoids are antioxidant and antimicrobial, like those of other citrus fruits.
Where can I find fresh citron?
At produce stands from October to January, under the name Corsican citron or Buddha's hand, and at Middle Eastern grocers in the fall. The rest of the year, candied or as dried peel.
