Q&A: A Hadeeth that Identifies Olive Oil as a Cure for Hemorrhoids?

In the Name of Allaah…

Can you tell me if the following hadeeth is authentic?  ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir narrates that the Prophet (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace) said, “You have the olive oil from this Holy (mubaarak) tree, treat yourself with this, since it cures the Anal fissure (Basoor).”

This is not a hadeeth from the Prophet (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace).  Rather it is mowdhoo’ (fabricated, invented).   It was collected by at-Tabaraanee in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer (17/281), as follows:

حدثنا يحيى بن عثمان بن صالح، حدثني أبي، ثنا ابن لهيعة، عن يزيد بن أبي حبيب، عن أبي الخير، عن عقبة بن عامر، عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: عليكم بهذه الشجرة المباركة زيت الزيتون فتداووا به، فإنه مصحة من الباسور
“Yahyaa ibn ‘Uthmaan ibn Saalih narrated from his father that Ibn Lahee’ah narrated from Yazeed ibn Abee Habeeb, from Abul-Khayr, from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir, who narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace), who said, “Use this blessed tree – the olive oil (from it), and treat yourselves with it, as it cures al-baasoor.”

Some older older manuscripts of hadeeth have the word “an-naasoor” instead of “al-baasoor“.

An-Naasoor: Fistula – an abnormal connection or passageway between two organs or vessels that normally do not connect.  It may appear as a lump in the stomach or other areas.

Al-Baasoor: Hemorrhoids

Whatever the wording, the narration is a lie, as identified by the great imaam of hadeeth and thier hidden defects, Aboo Haatim ar-Raazee, in his son’s book on hadeeth defects, as quoted in al-Haafith al-Haythamee’s Majma’ az-Zawaa’id (5/100).

You may also refer to a detailed study of the hadeeth done by Shaykh Al-Albaanee in his amazing work, Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth adh-Dha’eefah (no.194).  His conclusion was that the narration is a lie. 

Additional benefit: Al-Haythamee mentions a similar report attributed to the Messenger of Allaah (may Allaah raise his rank and grant him peace):

استنجوا بالماء البارد فإنه مصحة للباسور
“Clean yourselves (after using the bathroom) with cold water, since it cures hemorrhoids.”

This narration is dha’eef jiddan (extremely weak).  It was collected by at-Tabaraanee in al-Mu’jam al-Awsat, supposedly from the report of ‘Aa’ishah.  Al-Haythamee said (5/100), “‘Ammaar ibn Haaroon is in the chain, and he was abandoned.”

And Allaah knows best.

Written by: Moosaa Richardson

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