"PROPHET MOHAMMED (PBUH) & FOOD RELATED HADITH"

"PROPHET MOHAMMED (PBUH) & FOOD RELATED HADITH"

Authentic and unauthentic Hadith.

By Mohammed Asif Ali.

   There is many website and videos on youtube circulating/ sharing information in the Name of “Prophet Favorite food”.  I come across most of the sites and youtube videos sharing blindly without checking it authenticity, sharing unauthentic, baseless, fabricated Hadith as well.  I am listing out few foods connecting to Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) with Authentic Hadith and refuting the unauthentic narrations.

1)   Barley:

This is one of the common foods available in Arab and Prophet Use to eat, barley food.

Hadith:

“Talbeenah soothes the heart of the sick and takes away some of the grief.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5365; Muslim, 2216 

Talbeenah is a broth that is made from two spoonfuls of barley flour with bran, then a cup of water is added to that and it is cooked over a low fire for five minutes. 

2)   Dates:

Hadith:

Al-Bukhaari (5445) and Muslim (2047) narrated from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever eats seven ‘ajwah dates in the morning, will not be harmed by any poison or witchcraft that day.”

“In them (both) will be fruits, and date- palms and pomegranates”

[ar-Rahmaan 55:68]. 

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The date-palm and pomegranate are singled out for mention because of their superiority over other fruits.  Dates  is the common food, prophet Mohammed(pbuh) use to eat.

3)   Figs:

No Hadith related “Prophet Loves Fig”; there is only a Qur’an verse Ch 95 Verse 1“By the fig and the olive”

“Al- Awfi reported f rom Ibn `Abbas that what is meant by At -Tin is the Masjid of Nuh that was built upon Mount Al-Judi. Mujahid said,

"It is this fig that you have. ''[Tafsir Ibn Kathir page No: 5607]

 Ibn `Umar said, "You know that we used to rent our farms in the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) for the yield of the banks of the water streams (rivers) and for certain amount of figs.

[Sahi Bukhari  Hadith 2344]

But there is no direct Hadith which says “Prophet love Fig”, there is one Hadith circulating online narrating by  Abu Darda(r.a) without any reference, so we should not trust this as source is untraceable, could be a fabricated.  Allah knows the best. 

“Eat figs! If I would say a certain type of fruit was sent down to us from the heavens I would say it’s a fig because it has no seeds. It ends the piles and is useful for rheumatism.”(Narrated by Abu Darda [RA])[Unreliable, Could be Fabricated]

4)   Grapes”

No Hadith found that Prophet fond of grapes:

As for the Hadeeth that said, “He(pbuh) was fond of grapes,” Al-Albaani classified it as weak in his Hadeeth collection As-Silsilah Adh-Dha‘eefah, Hadeeth no. 4265, and in the Dha‘eef Al-Jaami’, Hadeeth no. 10014. Al-Haafith Al-‘Iraaqi also declared it weak in his revision of the Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom Ad-Deen.

Narrated By Ibn Umar: In our holy battles, we used to get honey and grapes, as war booty  which we would eat and would not store.

[Sahi Bukhari Vol 4 Ch 53 Hadith 382]

One Fabricated Hadith found:

“They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Salmaan al-Farsi when he was eating grapes, “Du, du,” meaning eat them two by two. These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); this is baatil (false).”

5)   Honey: 

Have lots of Hadith about it benefits and Quran Verse Ch 16 Verse 68-69.

“Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, related that a man came to the Prophet and said: "My brother has some abdominal trouble." The Prophet said to him "Let him drink honey." The man returned to the Prophet and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I let him drink honey, but it caused him more pain.” The Prophet said to him:“Go and let him drink honey!” The man went and let his brother drink honey, then returned back and said: “O Messenger of Allah, it did not cause him except more pains.” The Prophet then said: "Allah has said the truth, but your brother's abdomen has told a lie. Let him drink honey." So he made him drink honey and he was cured.”

[Sahi Al Bukhari 5684 ]

The Prophet  also said: "Make use of the two remedies: honey and the Quran." [At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and Al-Bayhaqi] Modern medicine is only just learning of this fact.

Note Link: http://www.islamweb.net/en/article/135567/the-healing-of-honey

Note Link: http://www.islamweb.net/en/article/138095/the-miracle-of-honey-as-an-alternative-medicine

6)   Water Melon: 

“The Prophet (Peace be upon) said “None of your women who are pregnant and eat OF WATER MELON will fail to produce off spring who is good in countenances and good in character.”

Fabricated Hadith.

As regards the Hadeeth about watermelon, then we have not come across it in the resource books of Sunnah that we have at hand, not even in the books that are compiled to contain Dha’eef Ahaadeeth. Indeed, the scholars may Allaah have mercy upon them stated that all the Ahaadeeth that are reported about the virtues of watermelon are Dha’eef. For instance, Ibn Al-Qayyim may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his book entitled Al-Manaar Al-Muneef: "Imaam Ahmad said that no Hadeeth is authentic about the virtues of watermelon except that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) used to eat it."

There are many reports all are unauthentic except this one.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to eat melon with fresh dates, and he used to say: The heat of the one is broken by the coolness of the other, and the coolness of the one by the heat of the other.

[Sunna Abu Dawood Hadith 3836]

7)   Milk: 

There are many Qur’an verse talks about the Milk qur’an ch 16 Verse 66, Ch 23 Verse 21.

Regarding Hadith normally quoted baseless and unauthentic.

Hadith mentioned about milk, “Chew Libaan (a kind of gum), for it wipes away sadness from the heart as the finger wipes away sweat from the forehead. It strengthens the heart, augments the mind, increases the intelligence, polishes the sight, and expels forgetfulness." This was reported by Ali ibn ‘Arraaq Al-Kinaani, the author of Tanzeeh Ash-Sharee’ah Al-Marfoo’ah ‘an Al-Ahaadeeth Ash-Shanee’ah Al-Mawdhoo’ah, and he commented on it saying: "In its chain of narrators, there is Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem ibn ‘Amr ibn Yoosuf about whom Ibn Mandah said: “He narrated Munkar (rejected) Ahaadeeth."

Note:  Libaan is not Milk.

But there is Hadith we have related to the Milk:

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever is fed by Allaah, let him say, ‘Allaahumma baarik lana fihi, wa at’imna khayran minhu (O Allaah, bless it for us and feed us with better than it).’ And whoever is given milk to drink by Allaah, let him say, ‘Allaahumma baarik lana fihi wa zidna minhu (O Allaah, bless it for us and give us more)’.” [ Tirmidhi, 3455; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 2749]. 

We did not find any Hadeeth that reads "The Prophet(pbuh) loved milk" in the Hadeeth literature or references at hand.

8)   Mashroom:

   We have not come across the Hadeeth with the wording “Mushroom is a cure for the eye.”  Fabricated.

   But there is a Hadeeth which reads: “The truffle is of Manna (i.e. it grows naturally without man's care) and its water is a healing for the eye.” [Sahi Muslim Hadith 5088].

    The truffle is a known plant; it has neither leaves nor stem, and it grows in the earth without cultivation.

9)   Olive Oil:

“Allah has said of the OLIVE tree: “And a tree that grows out of Mount Sinai which produces oil and a condiment for those who eat. For OLIVE OIL is the supreme seasoning”

As for what you have mentioned about olive oil and the verse from the Quran, we apparently do not mean that this is a statement attributed to the Prophet(pbuh) but you are asking whether it has benefits. If this is the case, then olive oil is without doubt beneficial for human health, and the Sunnah encourages its consumption and use. ‘Umar(r.a)  related that the Prophet(pbuh).

At-Tirmidhi (1851) narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Eat olive oil and anoint yourselves with it, for it comes from a blessed tree.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi. 

Olive oil in the Qur’an mentioned :  Qur’an ch 6 Verse 99, Ch 6 Verse 114, Ch 16 verse 11, Ch 23 Verse 20, Ch 24 Verse 35, Ch 80 Verse 29, Ch 95 Verse 1.

10)               Pomegranate:

Fabricated Hadith:

 “You should eat pomegranate with its pulp because it coats the stomach and there is no single seed of pomegranate that enters a person's stomach except that it enlightens his heart and repels the whispering of the devil for 40 days." This Hadeeth was narrated by Ibn ‘Adiyy among the Dha‘eef (weak) Ahaadeeth in his book entitled Al-Kaamil, and he ruled that it is fabricated.

There is another Fabricated Hadith on pomegranate:

The hadith “There is not one of your pomegranates but it is pollinated with a grain from the pomegranates of Paradise” is a fabricated Hadith Declared by  a) Ibn ‘Adiyy  b) Adh-Dhahabi c)  Ibn al-Jawzi etc..

The pomegranate is one of the fruits of Paradise. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“in them (both) will be fruits, and date- palms and pomegranates”

[ar-Rahmaan 55:68]. 

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

The date-palm and pomegranate are singled out for mention because of their superiority over other fruits. End quote. 

Tafseer Ibn Katheer (7/507) 

11)               Vinegar:

Vinegar is allowed in Islam but there is no specific Hadith says  “Prophet use Vinegar with Olive oil”  but there are many Hadith talk about the Vinegar.

Prophet(pbuh) said: "The best of meals is vinegar."

It was narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh (2051), and by at-Tirmidhi (1840) and Ibn Maajah (3316), from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “What good condiment vinegar is.” 

12)               Water:

The Hadeeth about water being the best drink reads, “Water is the best drink in this world and the Hereafter.” [Al-Haakim and Ath-Thahabi who graded it Saheeh]

There is another Hadeeth that reads, “When you drink water, drink it in sips and without guzzling, for guzzling produces sickness of the liver.” [Ad-Daylami] Al-Albaani declared it very weak in his book As-Silsilah Adh-Dha‘eefah because its chain of narration includes Moosa ibn Ibraaheem Al-Marwazi whom Imaam Yahya ibn Ma‘een declared a liar. Ad-Daaraqutni and others declared him Matrook (one whose reports are not accepted).

He(pbuh) also describes the intensity of fever by saying: “Fever is coal from hell, get rid of it by using cold water.” [Ibn Majah]

The Prophet(pbuh) forbade the cursing of fever by saying: “Do not curse a fever because it abolishes sins like fire abolishes dirt from iron.” [Ibn Majah]

13)               Meat:

There is no such Hadith saying “Meat is the king of foods” it fabricated.

'Abdullaah ibn Ja'far(r.a) narrated: 'I heard the Prophet(pbuh) saying: "The best meat is the meat of the back (the meat that is along the backbone of the animal)". [Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim]

There are many verses of the Qur’an allowed to have meat Qur’an ch 16 Verse 7, Ch 23 Verse 21, Ch 5 Verse1.

14)                Pumpkin:

The statement about pumpkin is authentic. The Prophet(pbuh) loved gourd (pumpkin).

Anas b. Malik reported that a person invited Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to a meal. I also went along with him. He brought soup containing pumpkin. Allah's 'messenger (ﷺ) ate that pumpkin with relish. He (Anas) said:

When I saw that I began to place it before him, and did not eat it (myself). Anas said: It was since then that pumpkin was always my favourite (food).

[Sahi Muslim Hadith 2041]

Anas (ra) reported that “The Prophet used to like pumpkin. He was brought some food and invited to eat. I picked up the pumpkin in the plate and put it before him because I knew he liked it.” (Tirmidhi)

Anas b. Malik reported that a tailor invited Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to a feast. There has been an addition to this that Thabit said: I heard Anas saying that any meal that was prepared for me after that I tried that it should contain pumpkin. ( Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 5069)

15)    Cucumber 

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would eat snake cucumber with fresh dates.

[Trimidhi Hadith 1844]

Comments: From Hadith Trimidhi Hadith 1843.

    According to Eastern traditional medicine, property-wise, watermelon and

Different varieties of cucumber are cool while fresh dates are hot. Mixing the

Hot with cold would make anything temperate in nature.