One of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reported that during the journey of the year of the Conquest, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered the people to break their fast, saying, "Strengthen yourselves for your enemy." Yet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself was fasting.Abu Bakr said, the one who narrated this to me said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at al-Arj pouring water over his head out of thirst or from the heat."Then it was said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "Messenger of Allah, a group of people have continued fasting because you were fasting."When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached al-Kadid, he called for a cup and drank from it, and the people then broke their fast.
عن بعض أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ، أن رسول الله ﷺ أمر الناس في سفره عام الفتح بالفطر. وقال: تقووا لعدوكم وصام رسول الله ﷺ. قال أبو بكر: قال الذي حدثني: لقد رأيت رسول الله ﷺ بالعرج يصب الماء على رأسه من العطش أو من الحر. ثم قيل لرسول الله ﷺ: يا رسول الله، إن طائفة من الناس قد صاموا حين صمت. قال: فلما كان رسول الله ﷺ بالكديد دعا بقدح فشرب، فأفطر الناس.
Malik narrated it in the chapter on Fasting (22), from Sumayy, the freedman of Abu Bakr bin Abdul-Rahman, from Abu Bakr bin Abdul-Rahman, from one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Abu Dawud (2365), Nasai in Kubra (3017), Ahmad (15903), and Hakim (1/432) all narrated it from the hadith of Malik, through this same chain, likewise, except that Nasai narrated it in abridged form.Hakim also narrated it through two paths, Abdul-Samad bin Fadl and Ishaq bin Hayyaj, both from Muhammad bin Nuaym Saadi, who said, Malik bin Anas narrated to us, from Sumayy, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurairah, who said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at Araj pouring water over his head because of the heat, while he was fasting."Hakim said, "This hadith has a basis in the Muwatta. If Muhammad bin Nuaym preserved it correctly in this form, then it is sahih according to the standard of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim)."Hafiz said in Lisan, in the biography of Ishaq bin Hayyaj Balkhi, regarding Muhammad bin Nuaym Saadi Basri... Daraqutni said, "He erred in it in two places. It appears in the Muwatta from Malik, from Sumayy, from Abu Bakr, from one of the companions, unnamed."Hafiz bin Abdul-Barr said in Tamhid (22/47), "This is a musnad, sahih hadith. There is no difference, in terms of the obligation to act upon his hadith, between whether the follower names the companion who narrated to him or does not name him, because all the companions are upright, well regarded, trustworthy, and reliable. This is a matter on which the scholars of hadith are in agreement."What can be learned from this hadith is that there is no harm in pouring water on the head because of heat or thirst. Ibn Umar used to wet his garment with water to relieve the intensity of heat and thirst. The same applies to someone who bathes frequently, or puts his feet in a pool, or stays for a long time in air-conditioned rooms. None of this affects the fast, because the water does not reach the stomach.