روي أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن هاتين الشجرتين وقال من أكلهما فلا يقربن مسجدنا وقال إن كنتم لا بد من آكليهما فأميتوهما طبخا. قال: يعني: البصل والثوم.
It is narrated that the Prophet (sws) directed people to refrain from these two trees and said: “Whoever eats of these two trees should not come near our mosque.” He also said: “If you must eat of these, then kill their odour by cooking.” The narrator says that onions and garlic are implied1.
Notes on the Text of the Narrative
This narrative or a part of it with some variations has been reported in Tirmidhī (nos. 1808, 1809), Abū Da’ūd (nos. 3827, 3828), Bayhaqī (no. 4844), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (no. 16292), Nasā’ī’s Al-Sunan al-kubrā (no. 6681). The preferred text has been reported in Abū Da’ūd (no. 3827).
In some narratives, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal (no. 16292), the word الخبيثتين (vicious) has been added after the phrase هاتين الشجرتين (these two trees).
In some narratives as in Abū Dā’ūd (no. 3828), the narrative is reported as: عن أكل الثوم إلا مطبوخا نهي (stopped from eating garlic, except in a cooked form), while in Tirmidhī (no. 1809) the words نهى عن أكل الثوم (stopped from eating garlic) have been replaced with لا يصلح أكل الثوم (it is not appropriate to eat garlic).
A similar content has also been reported in Muslim (no. 567) as a part of ‘Umar (rta) Friday address, in which he is reported to have said:
روي أن عمر بن الخطاب خطب الناس يوم الحمعة وذكر نبي الله وقال فيه: إنكم أيها الناس تأكلون شجرتين لا أراهما إلا خبيثتين هذا البصل والثوم لقد رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا وجد ريحهما من الرجل في المسجد أمر به فأخرج إلى البقيع فمن أكلهما فليمتهما طبخا.
It is narrated that ‘Umar ibn al-Khatāb addressed people on a Friday and in that address he mentioned the Prophet of God. In his address, he said: “People, you continue to eat [from the fruits of] two trees, which I see as vicious [in their stench]. It is this onion and garlic. Indeed, I saw the Prophet (sws), when their odour was sensed from a person, he directed him to exit to the Baqī‘. Therefore, whoever eats of these should kill their stench by cooking them.”
This narrative or a part of it with some variations has also been reported in Muslim (no. 567), Ibn Mājah (nos. 1014, 3363), Nasāī (no. 708), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Nos. 89, 341), Ibn Hibbān (no. 2091) Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1666), Nasā’ī’s Al-Sunan al-kubrā (nos. 787, 6682, 6684), Bayhaqī (nos. 4843, 16355) and Ibn Abī Shaybah (nos. 8658, 24488 and 37062), Musnad Abū Ya‘lā (nos. 184 and 256) and Musnad al-Humaydī (no. 10).
In some narratives, as in Nasā’ī’s Al-Sunan al-kubrā (no. 6684), the words إنكم أيها الناس تأكلون شجرتين لا أراهما إلا خبيثتين (People, you continue to eat [from the fruits of] two trees, which I see as vicious [in their stench]) have been reported as إنكم تأكلون طعاما خبيثا هاتين الشجرتين (you eat a vicious food: these two trees); in some narratives, as in Humaydī (no. 10), these words have been reported as إني أحسب أنكم تأكلون شجرتين (I think that you eat these two trees).
In some narratives, as in Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1666) the phrase لا أراهما إلا خبيثتين (I only see them as vicious) have been rendered as ما أراهما إلا خبيثتين (same meaning).
In some narratives, as in Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1666), the words هذا البصل والثوم (this onion and garlic) have been reported as هذا البصل وهذا الثوم (this onion and this garlic); in Nasā’ī Al-Sunan al-kubrā (no. 6682), these words have been reported as الثوم والبصل (garlic and onion).
In some narratives, as in Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1666), the words لقد رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا وجد ريحهما من الرجل في المسجد أمر به فأخرج إلى البقيع (indeed, I saw the Prophet (sws), when their odor was sensed from a person, he directed him to exit to the Baqī‘) have been reported as وقد كنت أرى الرجل يوجد ريحه فيؤخذ بيده فيخرج به إلى البقيع (I used to see a man, from whom its odour was sensed, he would be held by his hand and taken out to the Baqī‘); in Nasā’ī’s Al-Sunan al-kubrā (no. 6682), these words have been reported as إن كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ليأمر بالرجل يوجد منه ريحهما فيخرج إلى البقيع (indeed the Prophet (sws) would direct the person from whom he would sense their odour to exit to the Baqī‘); in some narratives, as in Ibn Mājah (no. 1014), these words have been reported as ولقد كنت أرى الرجل على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يوجد ريحه منه فيؤخذ بيده حتى يخرج إلى البقيع (while indeed I used to see that, during the times of the Prophet (sws), a person from whom its odour was sensed would be held by the hand till he was led out to the Baqī‘) while in Ibn Mājah (no. 3363), حتى يخرج إلى البقيع (till he was led out to the Baqī‘) have been rendered as حتى يخرج به إلى البقيع (till he was taken out to the Baqī‘); in some narratives, as in Bayhaqī (no. 16355), these words have been reported as قد كنت أرى الرجل على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يوجد ريحهما منه فيؤخذ بيده فيخرج إلى البقيع (I used to see that a person, during the times of the Prophet (sws), from whom their odour was sensed was held by the hand and led out to the Baqī‘); In some narratives, as in Ibn Abī Shaybah (no. 24488), these words have been reported as كنت أرى الرجل على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يوجد ريحه منه فيؤخذ بيده حتى يخرج إلى البقيع (same meaning); in some narratives, as in Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (no. 89), these words have been reported as وأيم الله لقد كنت آرى نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يجد ريحهما من الرجل فيأمر به فيؤخذ بيده فيخرج به من المسجد حتى يؤتي به البقيع (By God, I used to see the Prophet of God sensing their odor from a person and directing him, while holding his hand, leading him out of the mosque and bringing him out to the Baqī‘); in some narratives, as in Ibn Hibbān (no. 2091), these words have been reported as وإن كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يأمر بالرجل يوجد منه ريحها فيخرج إلى البقيع (the Prophet (sws) used to direct the person from whom its odour was sensed to be led out to the Baqī‘); in some narratives, as in Abū Ya‘lā (no. 184), these words have been reported as لقد رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا وجد من الرجل ريحهما في المسجد أمر به فأخرج إلى البقيع (I saw the Prophet (sws), when he sensed their odour from a man in the mosque, he would direct him to be led out to the Baqī‘); while in some narratives, as in Abū Ya‘lā (no. 256), these words have been reported as وإن كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يمر بالرجل يوجد منه ريحهما يخرج إلى البقيع (the Prophet (sws) would pass by a man from whom their odor was sensed, and would lead him out to the Baqī‘).
In some narratives, as in Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 1666), the words إن كنتم لا بد من آكليهما فأميتوهما طبخا (if you must eat of these, then kill their odour by cooking) have been reported as ومن كان آكلهما فليمتهما طبخا (whoever has to eat of them should kill their odour through cooking); in Nasā’ī Al-Sunan al-kubrā (no. 6682), these words have been reported as فمن كان منكم آكلهما لا بد فليمتهما طبخا (thus, whoever among you has to eat of them, he must kill their odour through cooking); in Nasā’ī Al-Sunan al-kubrā (no. 6684), these words have been reported as فإن كنتم آكليهما فاقتلوهما بالنضج (if you are going to eat of them, you must kill their odour by cooking); in some narratives, as in Ibn Mājah (no. 1014), these words have been reported as فمن كان آكلها لا بد فليمتها طبخا (thus, whoever must eat of it, he must kill its odour by cooking); while in Ibn Mājah (no. 3363), these words have been rendered as فمن كان آكلهما فليمتهما طبخا (thus, whoever must eat of these, he should kill their odour by cooking); in some narratives, as in Ibn Abī Shaybah (no. 8658), these words have been reported as فمن كان آكلهما لا بد له فليمتهما طبخا (thus, whoever must eat these, it is imperative for him that he kills their odour through cooking); in some narratives, as in Ibn Hibbān (no. 2091), these words have been reported as فمن كان لا بد آكلهما فليمتهما طبخا (thus, whoever must eat these, he should kill their odour through cooking); in Humaydī (no. 10), these words have been reported as فإن كنتم لا بد فاعلين فاقتلوهما بالنضج ثم كلوهما (if you must do it, you should kill their odour by cooking and then eat these).
(This write-up has been prepared by the Hadīth Cell of Jāved Ahmad Ghāmidī which includes Moiz Amjad, Izhār Ahmad, Muhammad Aslam Najmi and Kaukab Shehzad)
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1. The contents of this narrative
have already been explained under the previous narratives.