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An untraceable Hadith on how honey gains sweetness

Is the following narration authentic?

One day, Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)  was on his way to Jihad with his Companions and after choosing a spot, he said to them “Eat whatever you want to eat here”. As they were about to commence eating, one of the Companions said: “Ya Rasullallah! There is nothing else to eat with bread”.

Then a Companion saw a honey bee zapping noisily nearby and asked the Nabi  (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) “Why is this honey bee making such a noise ?” The Prophet replied “This bee is saying that all its fellow bees are uneasy because the Companions haven’t got anything to eat with bread and the bees have a honey comb nearby in the cave but they cannot bring it to the Companions”

Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) then stated “My beloved Ali, Follow this bee and bring the honey” Hence, Ali (radiyallahu ‘anhu) followed and returned with a bowl of honey which the Companions ate. As soon as they finished eating the bee returned again zapping about noisily. One of the Companions R.A. enquired “Ya Rasulallah ! Why is the bee making noises again ?”

Nabi  (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) replied “I have asked this bee a question and it is merely answering it. I asked the honey bee about what its food is and its answer is that its food is the flowers in the hills and the forests”.

Nabi  (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) continued “I then asked the bee that flowers are also sour, bitter and unpleasant in taste. Then how do they transform into a crystal clean and impeccably sweet honey?”

The bee then replied “Ya Rasulallah ! Amongst our species, there lives a rich Queen. When we suck the juices of the flowers then our Queen sends her Salah and durud  (blessings and salutations) upon you and then all the other bees join in sending our durud to You hence all the sourness, bitterness and unpleasantness from the juices of flowers changes into a most sweet syrup and its because of the mercies from Allah Ta’aala.

Answer

I am unable to locate this Hadith in any authentic Hadith book.

One should be cautious and abstain from quoting a Hadith (like the one in question) when the Hadith is untraceable in any original Hadith source, until its authenticity can be verified.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows best

Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala

Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar

Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar

This answer was collected from HadithAnswers.com. The answers were either answered or checked by Moulana Haroon Abasoomar (rahimahullah) who was a Shaykhul Hadith in South Africa, or by his son, Moulana Muhammad Abasoomer (hafizahullah), who is a Hadith specialist. 

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