Question:
Is there a hadith stating the benefits of watermelon?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Everyone has their own likes and preferences on certain things or food. In hadiths, there are mentions of food that the Prophet PBUH is partial to or food that he has eaten. Among them is watermelon as stated by Imam al-Tirmizi in his book Sunan al-Tirmizi and al-Syamail al-Muhammadiyyah:
- From Aisyah R.Anha, she said:
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ البِطِّيخَ بِالرُّطَبِ
"The Prophet (ﷺ) would eat melon with fresh dates."
Sunan al-Tirmizi (3836) [Imam al-Tirmizi said the hadith is hasan gharib. While Syeikh Syu’aib al-Arna’outh state the hadith is hasan]
According to the above question, there are hadiths from the Prophet PBUH that state the benefits of eating watermelon. Some of them are:
- It is said that the Prophet PBUH stated:
مَا مِنْ امْرَأَةٍ حَامِلَة أَكَلَتِ البِطِّيخ، إِلَّا يَكُوْن مَوْلُودها حَسُنَ الوَجْهِ وَالخُلُقِ
“There is not a single woman who eats watermelon while are pregnant unless their child will be born with a beautiful face and character.”
- It is said, the Prophet PBUH stated:
الْبِطِّيخُ قَبْلَ الطَّعَامِ يَغْسِلُ الْبَطْنَ غَسْلًا وَيَذْهَبُ بِالدَّاءِ أَصْلًا
“Eating watermelon before any meal will cleanse one’s stomach and prevent illness.”
Scholars’ Opinions on the Hadiths About the Benefits of Watermelon:
- Imam Ahmad (241 H) said that there is no authentic hadith that mentioned the benefits of watermelon except that the Prophet PBUH ate watermelon. (See al-Asrar al-Marfu’ah, 486)
- Imam Ibn al-Jauzi (597 H) state that there is no authentic narration on the benefits of watermelon. (See al-Mawdhu’at, 2/286)
- Imam al-Nawawi (676 H) also said there is no authentic hadith that mentioned it (the benefits of watermelon). (See Fatawa al-Nawawi, 266)
- Imam al-Zarkashi (794 H) affirmed that there is no thabit hadith (from the Prophet PBUH) regarding the benefits of watermelon. (See al-Masnu’ fi Ma’rifah al-Hadith al-Mawdhu’, 77)
- Imam al-Qawuqji (1305 H) cited the words of Ibn al-Daiba’ that Abu ‘Amr al-Tuqani wrote about the benefits of watermelon in a part of his book with false hadiths.
- Imam al-Fattani (1343 H) said the hadiths that state the benefits of watermelon is false (unauthentic). (See Tazkirah al-Mawdhu’at, 148)
Considering the above opinions of scholars, we are inclined to state that there are no authentic hadiths that state the benefits of watermelon except a hadith that mentioned that the Prophet PBUH ate watermelon during his life, as stated by Aisyah R.Anha.
Conclusion
To conclude, there is no authentic hadith that state the benefits of eating watermelon except that the Prophet PBUH ate watermelon. Furthermore, if a scientist or dietitian state that there are benefits of eating watermelon, then it is not a problem for us to believe it, although there aren’t any hadiths that state this. This is in accordance with a statement of Allah SWT:
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“So, ask the people of the message if you do not know.”
Surah al-Nahl (43)
Thus, it is prohibited for us to state or spread this without telling others that it is false. Furthermore, verifying the authenticity of a hadith is crucial for the Prophet PBUH warns against those who lie in his name as the Prophet PBUH said:
مَنْ حَدَّثَ عَنِّي بِحَدِيْثٍ يُرَىْ أَنَّهُ كَذِبٌ فَهُوَ أَحَدُ الْكَاذِبِيْنَ
"Whoever narrates a Hadith from me thinking it to be false, then he is one of the two liars."
Muqaddimah Sahih Muslim
Lastly, may Allah SWT protect us and our tongues from saying any lie in the name of Prophet PBUH. Amin.
Wallahua’lam.