CHAPTER OF DRINKS · 11 – HONEY SHERBET
3714 – It is narrated from ʿAṭāʾ (may Allah be pleased with him): He heard ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr say: I listened to ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), reporting: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) would stay with Zaynab bint Jaḥsh among his wives and would drink honey sherbet at her place. Ḥafṣa and I agreed between ourselves: Whichever of us the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) enters upon, let her say, “I perceive the smell of maghāfīr (a resin with an unpleasant odor) from you.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon one of them (Ḥafṣa). She said to him, “I perceive the smell of maghāfīr from your mouth.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I drank honey sherbet at the house of my wife Zaynab bint Jaḥsh. I will never drink it again.” Thereupon, the following was revealed: “O Prophet! Why do you prohibit (for yourself) that which Allah has made lawful to you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an, al-Taḥrīm, 66:1) up to “If you two turn in repentance to Allah, (it will be better for you), for your hearts have deviated.” (Qur’an, al-Taḥrīm, 66:4). And because the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Ḥafṣa that he drank honey sherbet, the verse was revealed: “And (remember) when the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives…” (Qur’an, al-Taḥrīm, 66:3). [391]
3715 – It is narrated from ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) loved sweets and honey. The narrator mentioned part of the report here. It was very distressing for the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) to be perceived as having an unpleasant odor. In this hadith, Lady Sawda said to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), “You have eaten maghāfīr.” In the narration of Lady ʿĀʾisha, she continued: I also said, “The bee that made that honey had grazed on the urfud tree (which produces the resin called maghāfīr).” Urfud is a type of plant from which the honeybee collects nectar. Abū Dāwūd said: Maghāfīr means resin. Cereset means ‘has grazed’. Urfud is a plant on which the honeybee grazes.
EXPLANATION
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed longer than usual during the turn of Lady Zaynab. Lady ʿĀʾisha and Lady Ḥafṣa, out of jealousy, collaborated and said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) has drunk honey sherbet at Zaynab’s place. Whichever of us he enters upon, let us say, “You smell of maghāfīr, the foul-smelling resin of the urfud tree.” When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Lady Ḥafṣa, she said, “O Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), you smell of maghāfīr.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “I drank honey sherbet at Zaynab’s place; perhaps the bee collected nectar from the resin of the urfud plant.” He then said he would not eat honey again. Thereupon, the first four verses of Sūrat al-Taḥrīm were revealed. Here, the collaboration between Lady ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and Lady Ḥafṣa (may Allah be pleased with her) stemmed from the trait of jealousy that Allah Most High has placed in women regarding their husbands. In reality, the actions of our mothers were not an insult to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), but were intended to have the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) stay with them longer. [392]