Question
What is the food which gives you the strength on 40 men?
Answer
Yes one such Hadith has been found which states hareesa (a sweet dish) as the dish which gives a person the power of forty men. hareesa is made from wheat flour, Ghee and Honey or Sugar. However, the Hadith is Mawdhoo’ (ie. Fabricated). Therefore, do not pay any attention to it. Below is an in-depth scrutiny of the Hadith provided by Molvi Salman & Hussain, students of Darul Uloom, Bury.
The Ulama have classified the Hadith in question as Mawdoo’. Below we have sufficed with 2 references:
- Sheikh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah writes in his footnotes on the Masnoo’ of Mulla Ali al-Qari: “Hafiz Haithami states in his Majmauz Zawaid (page 38 volume 5) after mentioning this Hadith, (Hadith 465 in the text of al-Masnoo’ of Mulla Ali, not the Hadith in question) “In it’s chain of transmission is Muhammad ibn al-Hajjaj al-Lakhmi, and he is the one who has fabricated this Hadith”. Hafiz al-Dhahabi states in his Mizaanul I’tidaal under the biography of Ibn al-Hajjaj, “He was a hareesa seller. He died in the year 181 AH. Ibn Adi states, “He fabricated the Hadith of hareesa”. Daraqutni has said, “He is a liar”. Ibn Ma’een has said “He is a liar, and evil.” Hafiz ibn Hajar in Lisaanul Meezaan states regarding Ibn al-Hajjaj’s biography (page 117 volume 5), “Uqaili has transmitted this hadith from Muaz bin al-Muthanna from Saeed bin al-Mualla from Muhammad ibn al-Hajjaj from Abdul Malik ibn Umar from Rib’iy from Muaz bin Jabal radhiallahu anhu who says, “I said, “O prophet of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, have you been given any food from paradise?” He (sallalahu alaihi wasallam) replied,
“Yes, hareesa was given to me, so I eat it. Hence there has been a forty-fold increase in my strength and libido.”
Thereafter Muaz radhiallahu anhu would not begin making food but with hareesa.” End of hadeeth, corrected from the distortions that have occurred in the Mawdhoo’at of Ibn al-Jawzi.” (Page 16/volume 3) (Footnote 4 of Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah upon the Al-Masnoo’ fi Ma’rifatil Hadeethil Mawdhoo’ of Mulla Ali al-Qari – page 260)
- Shaykh ul Islam Ibn al-Qayyim, whilst recounting the signs of a fabricated Hadith in chapter 14 of his book Al Manaarul Muneef fis Saheeh wad Daeef, brings the following as an example:
“Jibril (alaihis salaam) brought hareesah to me from Jannah, so I ate it. Hence, I have been given the libido of 40 men.”
Here, the Shaykh elaborates that the words of the hadith seem more reminiscent of being that of doctors and members of religious sects than those of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). According to Ibn al-Qayyim this indicates that the hadith is fabricated.