“We administered medicine to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, during his illness. He signalled to us not to administer it to him, but we thought it was a sick person’s aversion to medicine. When he regained consciousness, he said:
‘No one among you is to be left without being administered it, except al-ʿAbbās, for he was not present with you.’”
This is Muslim’s wording. Al-Bukhārī added—after the words, “When he regained consciousness, he said”—:
“Did I not forbid you to administer it to me by the side of my mouth?!” We said: “A sick person’s aversion to medicine!” He then said ...
Al-Bukhārī also narrated it under nos. 5712 and 6897.
Note: One of the errors of the annotator of Musnad Abī Yaʿlā is that, under the hadith at hand, he cited this abridged version from al-Bukhārī and Muslim without giving its wording, making clear that it does not contain what is found in the hadith at hand, or at least saying, “... in abridged form,” as we did!!!
Similar is the Ḥāfiẓ’s statement regarding the hadith at hand: “It is established in the Ṣaḥīḥ ...” This gives the impression that it is found in one of the two Ṣaḥīḥs, as I pointed out in al-Ḍaʿīfah under hadith 6626, where I cited Ibn Lahīʿah’s rejected report, which contradicts this hadith, with the wording:
“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, died of pleurisy.”
However, the Ḥāfiẓ’s statement may be understood to mean that he intended “the authentic hadith,” rather than its immediately apparent meaning—namely, one of the two Ṣaḥīḥs in the technical sense.
Unfamiliar Terms in the Hadith
- Al-khāṣirah: that is, pain in the flank. It has been said that this is pain in the kidneys. Thus stated in al-Nihāyah.