The ḥadith is also authentically transmitted through another route from Abū Thābit with a different wording; consult the report that opens with, “Whoever wrongfully usurps a handspan of land….”

243 – “Allah has spoken the truth, whereas your brother’s stomach has lied.”

Muslim narrates it (7/26) from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī who said:
“A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘My brother has diarrhea.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, ‘Give him honey to drink.’ He gave him honey, then came back and said, ‘I gave him honey, but it only increased the looseness.’ Three times the Prophet ﷺ told him, ‘Give him honey.’ The fourth time he again said, ‘Give him honey.’ The man protested, ‘I have already done so, yet it only increased the looseness.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said the above statement, so he gave him honey and the man recovered.”

Al-Bukhārī also recorded it (10/115/137-138) in abridged form, while al-Ḥākim included it in his Mustadrak (4/402) on the two Ṣaḥīḥs, and adh-Dhahabī concurred with him!

Ibn al-Qayyim writes in Zād al-Maʿād (3/97-98) after listing many of honey’s benefits:

“The man for whom the Prophet ﷺ prescribed honey was suffering from diarrhea caused by indigestion brought on by over-eating. He therefore instructed him to drink honey so as to expel the excess substances that had accumulated in the regions of the stomach and intestines, for honey has a cleansing effect and drives out such excess. The stomach had been afflicted by viscous humors that prevented food from settling because of their stickiness. The stomach is lined with villi like the nap of a towel; when these sticky humors cling to them, they corrupt the stomach and spoil the food. Its remedy lies in something that scours those humors away, and honey is among the finest treatments for this ailment, especially when mixed with hot water. In the repeated administration of honey there is a subtle medical insight: every remedy must be given in a quantity proportionate to the illness—if it falls short it will not eliminate it completely, and if it exceeds the needed amount it will weaken…"