The Saudi Uber driver.

Courtesy Uber Saudi Arabia

I had just finished a meeting that ended about an hour before Iftar. Taxis were scarce. So were Ubers; within 20 minutes, three canceled on me as I stood baking in the sun. Then, AbdulRahman, my fourth attempt, messaged me in Arabic to say he was on his way. A while later, I stepped into his clean, air-conditioned vehicle. Dressed in his traditional white Saudi garment, he welcomed me with the broadest, most inviting smile of any Uber driver I've been with.

Halfway through my trip, when it became okay to break his fast, he reached for a plastic bottle and politely asked me if he could drink — but not before he gave me a bottle. He continued to steer the cruising vehicle with his left hand. He reached for a plastic bag with his right and offered me dates.

The cordial me tried to resist and respectfully hint that they were his to enjoy.

Ha! It was like trying to turn down a scruffy, proud farmer as he offered you a hand-picked fruit basket from his orchards. Or when your téta serves you that plate (well… more like a pot) of stuffed cabbage, you dare not wipe it clean. Like when you try to pay for lunch when your Lebanese friend insists that he got it as if it was a matter of family honor and national security.

AbdulRahman tilted his rearview mirror, looked at me, and made sure that his smiling eyes meant business. I reached out and grabbed one. "Take more," he said. Three ended up in my hand. This man waited until I started eating to take his first. We ended up feasting on a few. The best dates I've ever tasted. They were semi-sweet, soft, aromatic, unpretentious, filling, melt-in-your-mouth, and heavenly.

Was it his hospitality that made them unforgettable? His warmth? Energy? Maybe it was breaking fast together and appreciating life's gifts bestowed on us. Or was it because the universe was smiling at the two strangers who genuinely connected briefly in eternity? I think it was God watching with enjoyment a follower of Jesus and a follower of Mohammad share their humanity. Share water. And dates.

The moral of the story is? There is nothing like breaking fast with a sweet date :)