A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "Abu Qasim, we want to ask you about five things. If you tell us about them, we will know that you are a prophet."Among the things they asked him, they said, "Tell us, what did Israil forbid upon himself?"He replied, "He used to suffer from sciatica, and he found nothing that suited him except the milk of such and such." Ubayy said, "Some of them said, meaning camels." "So he forbade their flesh upon himself."They said, "You have spoken the truth."
أقبلت يهود إلى رسول الله ﷺ، فقالوا: يا أبا القاسم إنا نسألك عن خمسة أشياء، فإن أنبأتنا بهن، عرفنا أنك نبي ومما سألوه قالوا: أخبرنا ما حرم إسرائيل على نفسه؟ قال: كان يشتكي عرق النسا، فلم يجد شيئا يلائمه إلا ألبان كذا وكذا- قال أبي: قال بعضهم: يعني الإبل- فحرم لحومها، قالوا: صدقت.
Narrated by Ahmad (283) and Tirmidhi (3117), both from the hadith of Abdullah bin Walid Ajli - he had a bearing that we found good - from Bukayr bin Shihab, from Saeed bin Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, and he mentioned it. Tirmidhi said, "This is a hasan gharib hadith."I say, and it is as he said, for Bukayr bin Shihab Kufi was not deemed reliable by anyone except Ibn Hibban, and that is why Hafiz said in Taqrib, "acceptable," meaning when corroborated, and indeed he has been corroborated, as mentioned previously in the story of Jibreel in the chapter "He was the guardian of all the prophets."Of similar meaning is what was narrated from a man of the Ansar, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prescribed for sciatica that the fat tail of an Arabian ram be taken, neither too small nor too large, then melted and divided into three portions, with one portion drunk each day on an empty stomach.Narrated by Ahmad (20742, 20743) through two paths from Hammad bin Salama, from Anas bin Sirin, from Mabad bin Sirin, from a man of the Ansar, from his father, and he related it. Its chain is daif due to the anonymity of this man.Tabarani also narrated it in Mujam al-Kabir (13/239) from Muhammad bin Uthman bin Abu Shayba, my father told me, he said, I found in my father's book, in his own handwriting, "Mustalim bin Saeed told us, Mansur bin Zazan told us, from Anas bin Sirin, from Abdullah bin Umar," in similar wording. In it is Tabarani's teacher, who has been criticized, and he was not corroborated in this hadith.His saying, "irq al-nasa" (sciatica), with a fatha on the nun, as in the word for "staff" (asa), refers to a pain that begins in the hip joint and descends from behind along the thigh. It was named thus because its pain makes one forget everything else. See Zad Mad (4/73–75).He also said (4/72), "As for the medical meaning, it has already been established that the speech of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is of two types. One is general, applying regardless of times, places, persons, and conditions. The other is specific according to these matters or some of them, and this falls into the second category, for this is an address to the Arabs, the people of Hijaz, and those near them, especially the bedouin Arabs, for this remedy is among the most beneficial remedies for them. This illness arises from dryness, and may also arise from a thick, viscous substance, so its treatment is through purgation. The fat tail possesses two properties, maturation and softening, so it provides both maturation and expulsion. This illness requires both of these in its treatment."