Hadith: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) liked sweets and honey, and whenever he finished the ‘Asr prayer, he would visit his wives and stay closely with them, one after another. He once visited Hafsah and remained with her for longer than usual

عن عائشة، قالت: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يحِبُّ الحَلْواء والعسل، فكان إذا صلَّى العصر دارَ على نسائه، فَيَدْنُو منهنَّ، فدَخَل على حفصة، فَاحْتَبَسَ عندها أكثرَ ممَّا كان يحْتَبِس، فسألتُ عن ذلك، فقيل لي: أهْدَتْ لها امرأة من قومها عُكَّةً من عسل، فسَقَتْ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم منه شرْبة، فقلتُ: أمَا والله لنَحْتالَنَّ له، فذكرتُ ذلك لسَوْدَة، وقلتُ: إذا دخل عليكِ، فإنه سَيَدْنُو منكِ، فقولي له: يا رسول الله، أَكَلْتَ مَغَافِيرَ؟ فإنه سيقول لك: «لا»، فقولي له: ما هذه الرِّيح؟ وكان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يشْتَدُّ عليه أنْ يوجد منه الريح، فإنه سيقول لك: «سَقَتْني حفصة شربة عسل»، فقولي له: جَرَسَتْ نَحْلُهُ الْعُرْفُطَ، وسأقول ذلك له، وقولِيه أنتِ يا صفية، فلما دخَل على سودة قالت: تقول سودة: والذي لا إله إلا هو لقد كدتُ أن أبادئه بالذي قلتِ لي، وإنه لعلى البابِ فرقًا منكِ، فلما دَنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، قالت: يا رسول الله، أَكَلْتَ مَغَافِيرَ؟ قال: «لا»، قالت: فما هذه الريح؟ قال: «سَقَتْني حفصة شربة عسل»، قالت: جَرَسَتْ نَحْلُهُ الْعُرْفُطَ، فلما دخل عليَّ، قلتُ له: مثل ذلك، ثم دخل على صفية، فقالت بمثل ذلك، فلما دخل على حفصة، قالت: يا رسول الله، ألا أسْقِيك منه؟ قال: «لا حاجةَ لي به»، قالت: تقول سودة: سبحان الله، والله لقد حَرَمْنَاهُ، قالت: قلتُ لها: اسْكُتِي.
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) liked sweets and honey, and whenever he finished the ‘Asr prayer, he would visit his wives and stay closely with them, one after another. He once visited Hafsah and remained with her for longer than usual. I inquired about it, and it was said to me: ‘A woman from her tribe gifted her a leather vessel containing honey, and she gave some of it to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) to drink.’ I said: "By Allah, we will play a trick on him." So I mentioned the story to Sawdah and said to her: "When he visits you, he will come near you, whereupon you should say to him: 'O Messenger of Allah, have you eaten Maghafīr (bad-smelling gum)?' He will say: 'No.' Then say to him: 'What about this smell then?' It was very hard on the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) that a bad smell would emit from him. He will say: 'Hafsah has given me a drink of honey.' Then say to him: 'Its bees must have sucked from ‘Urfut (a foul-smelling plant).' I too will tell him the same. And you, O Safiyyah, also say the same.’ When the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) visited Sawdah, the following happened, as related by Sawdah, who said: 'By the One other than Whom there is no god, I was about to tell him what you had told me while he was still at the door, out of fear from you.’ But when the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came near her, she said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, have you eaten Maghāfīr?’ He replied: ‘No.’ ‘I said: 'What about this smell then?' He said: 'Hafsah has given me a drink of honey.' I said: 'Its bees must have sucked ‘Urfut.'’ When he visited me, I told him the same, and when he visited Safiyyah, she too said the same. When he visited Hafsah again, she said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, shall I give you a drink of it (the honey)?’ He said: ‘I have no desire for it.’ Sawdah said: ‘Glory be to Allah! By Allah, we have deprived him of it.’ I said to her: ‘Keep quiet!’”
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

In this Hadīth, ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) liked all sweet foods and honey, and that when he finished the ‘Asr prayer, he would visit his wives, one after another, and approach each of them, kissing and caressing her. She goes on to relate that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) once visited Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) and stayed with her for longer than usual. ‘Ā’ishah asked about the reason and learned that one of Hafsah’s female relatives had given her a small vessel of honey as a gift and that she gave the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) a drink of it. ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) felt jealous and planned, together with Sawdah and Safiyyah, that when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) visited any of them, she would ask him whether he had eaten Maghāfīr, which is a foul-smelling gum. The noble Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) hated that any unpleasant odor should ever emit from him. So when he visited Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) again and she offered honey to him, he declined it. In another version: “He swore that he would never drink it again.” Different versions of this Hadīth differ over who gave the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) the drink of honey. It has been mentioned that he had drunk it in the apartment of Zaynab or Sawdah. Some scholars deemed it more likely that Zaynab was the one who gave him the drink of honey and that Hasfah was ‘Ā’ishah’s partner in the plan. Some scholars proposed that the different versions might refer to more than one story.