Nigella Sativa in Egyptian Culture: The Black Seed of Blessing and Healing
- Nada Emad Eldin
- Aug 18
- 4 min read
Editor’s Note
At Green Sea Shells, we honor how small rituals carry centuries of meaning. In this essay, Nada Emad Eldin takes us from her grandmother’s kitchen to Egyptian apothecaries, tracing the story of the black seed (Nigella sativa), known as the “seed of blessing.” From pharaohs’ tombs to prophetic sayings, from honey cures to beauty rituals, Nada shows how this tiny seed has nourished body, spirit, and culture for generations.
To preserve the strength of the author’s storytelling, we have kept all her ideas and details intact. Only light edits were made to grammar and sentence structure to improve clarity, while ensuring Nada’s voice and intent remain fully present.
One day I was playing in my grandmother’s kitchen as she spread tiny black grains on the bread she was baking. I asked her, “Why do you stain the bread with that black dirt?”
She laughed and told me it wasn’t dirt, but a magical seed. Just like the pixie dust of Tinker Bell, which made people fly, these magical black seeds could make people fly too — not like birds or planes, but by making them feel good, healthy, and strong. That, she said, is how humans shine and fly.
When I grew up, I saw my mother buying this black grain every time she went to the grocery. Anything else on her shopping list was negotiable, but not these seeds. Even with inflation and rising prices, she always made sure to buy them.
In Arabic, it is called habet el baraka, meaning “seed of blessing.” Its official name is Nigella sativa. A name that truly lives up to its meaning — it carries blessings that humans have long relied on. The Prophet Muhammad is said to have remarked that “the black seed can cure any illness, except death.” Tradition tells us that he once advised a sick friend to smash seven seeds, mix them with olive oil, and apply the mixture to his nostrils — with remarkable results.
The Romans were also fans of these seeds, calling them “Greek Coriander.” In the 1st century, the Greek physician Dioscorides recorded their benefits, recommending them for toothaches, headaches, and even as a daily tonic for wellbeing. Many ancient civilizations found ways to use the seed in daily life.
In India, black seed became central to the Unani system of medicine, where harmony between the body’s humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile) was believed to be the key to health. Within Ayurveda, it was known as Kalojira or Krishna jiraka, treasured for restoring balance to the doshas and easing ailments of the stomach, skin, and lungs.
But my heart pulls me most toward Egyptian traditions. I went to an apothecary in my neighborhood in Alexandria and asked the old seller about the customs tied to this seed. I realized my modern family had missed some of these remarkable old rituals — and I decided I wanted to bring them back to my own life. Old is truly gold.
The importance of black seed stretches back to ancient Egypt. The strongest evidence came from Tutankhamun’s tomb, where archaeologists found black seed oil among his belongings — still usable thousands of years later. It was believed to aid him in the afterlife. The seller told me it was an addiction for queens like Nefertiti and Cleopatra. If they lived today, he joked, they might have been skincare influencers promoting black seed products. This “addiction,” he said, was passed down through generations of Egyptian women.
Bread is the backbone of our diet — we can hardly eat without it. That makes it the perfect host for black seed every day. But the seller insisted that before eating anything, one must mix the seeds with raw honey and eat them on an empty stomach to gain incredible health benefits and energy. A black seed a day keeps the doctor away, he smiled — black seed is the new apple.
He explained that both a cold fever and postpartum fatigue could be treated with the same simple drink. His mother, he recalled, always cured his fever with black seed mixed into a warm drink like mint tea. The same drink, he said, helped new mothers recover and stimulated breast milk.
By then, I felt there was no need to keep asking about health benefits — the list seemed endless. So I asked about spiritual traditions. He became nostalgic, remembering how his grandfather mixed black seeds with salt and burned them to protect the home from evil and envy. In Upper Egypt and in the countryside, the same mixture was used during the newborn’s soboa (the ritual held one week after birth) to protect the baby. Old generations believed the blessings of the seed were infinite, and they found any possible way to use it — whether logical, scientifically proven, or not.
As I was leaving the shop, I noticed a jar labeled “black seed honey.” I was surprised — my mother had always used only the seeds, never honey. The seller explained that bees can make honey from the flowers of Nigella sativa. This golden-black honey is both rare and potent, used as a healthy alternative to sugar. He told me it could be mixed with seeds and fenugreek to make a warm paste for cold winter nights. Newborns, he added, must taste a bit of this honey to bless their health and future.
At home, I tried combining them in a face mask. I crushed the seeds to powder, mixed them with raw honey and crushed garlic, and left the paste on my skin for 20 minutes. When I washed it off, my face felt smoother and brighter.
he human experience of exploring nature is inherited in our genetics and unconscious. No matter the nationality, culture, or religion, we all share the same curiosity to test nature’s gifts. Now, science confirms what ancient wisdom always knew — the amazing benefits of this tiny, magical seed.
As we say in Egypt: “God puts His secrets in His tiniest creatures.”
