Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "My brother has some abdominal trouble." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Let him drink honey." The man came for the second time and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Let him drink honey." He came for the third time and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Let him drink honey." When he came for the fourth time, he said: "I have done that", and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah has spoken the truth, and your brother's abdomen has lied. Let him drink honey." So he made him drink honey and he was cured.
Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 5684, 5716), Muslim (No. 2217a), At-Tirmidhi (No. 2082) and Ahmad (No. 10719, 11438).
A man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and told him that his brother was suffering from an abdominal disorder. Other narrations of this Hadīth mention that this disorder was diarrhea. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to give his brother honey to drink, so he gave him some but he did not recover. He went to the Prophet again, and the Prophet ordered him to make him drink honey again, and he did, but his brother did not recover. Then he went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for the third time and the same thing happened. On the fourth time, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ''Allah has spoken the truth and your brother's abdomen has lied. Let him drink honey."
The Prophet's statement has two possible interpretations:
1. He was informed about a matter of the unseen through revelation, that the cure for the man's disorder is to drink honey, so he repeatedly ordered him to drink honey so that what he was promised through revelation would come true.
2. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was referring to the Qur'anic verse about honey: {in it is a cure for mankind} [Sūrat An-Nahl: 69], and he knew that this type of sickness can be cured by drinking honey. Hence, when he ordered him for the fourth time to make his brother drink honey, the man did so and his brother was cured with the permission of Allah, the Almighty.
Explanation in Arabic
جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبره بأن أخاه يتألم من مرض في بطنه، وهذا المرض هو الإسهال، كما اتضح من روايات أخرى للحديث، فأمره النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يسقي أخاه عسلا، فسقاه فلم يُشف، ثم أتى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبره، فأمره أن يسقيه عسلا مرة أخرى، فسقاه فلم يُشف، ثم أتى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبره، فأمره أن يسقيه عسلا مرة ثالثة، فسقاه فلم يُشف، فأتى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأخبره، فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم: «صدق الله وكذب بطن أخيك اسقه عسلا» وهذا فيه احتمالان: أحدهما: أن يكون النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أخبر عن غيب أطلعه الله عليه، وأعلمه بالوحي أن شفاء ذلك من العسل، فكرر عليه الأمر بسقي العسل ليظهر ما وعد به. والثاني: أن تكون الإشارة إلى قوله تعالى: {فيه شفاء للناس} ويكون قد علم أن ذلك النوع من المرض يشفيه العسل.
فلما أمره في المرة الرابعة أن يسقيه عسلا، ذهب الرجل فسقى أخاه عسلا فشُفي بإذن الله تعالى.
ولا يلزم حصول الشفاء به لكل مرض في كل زمن وبأي نوع من أنواع العسل، لكن (لكل داء دواء إذا أصيب دواء الداء برئ بإذن الله) كما قال صلى الله عليه وسلم ، رواه مسلم (4/ 1729، ح2204).
فيه أن ما جعل الله فيه شفاء من الأدوية قد يتأخر تأثيره حتى يتم أمره وتنقضى مدته المكتوبة فى اللوح المحفوظ.
الصدق صفةٌ ذاتيةٌ ثابتةٌ لله عَزَّ وجَلَّ بالكتاب والسنة، قال تعالى: (ومن أصدق من الله حديثا).
العسل فيه شفاء للناس، ولا يلزم حصول الشفاء به لكل مرض في كل زمن وبأي نوع من أنواع العسل، لكن (لكل داء دواء إذا أصيب دواء الداء برئ بإذن الله)كما قال -صلى الله عليه وسلم-، رواه مسلم (4/ 1729، ح2204).
