Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 3444
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا بَكْرُ بْنُ يُونُسَ بْنِ بُكَيْرٍ، عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ رَبَاحٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ عَامِرٍ الْجُهَنِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تُكْرِهُوا مَرْضَاكُمْ عَلَى الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُطْعِمُهُمْ وَيَسْقِيهِمْ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir al-Juhanī reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Do not force your sick to eat or drink, for Allah feeds them and gives them drink.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The final clause is rendered directly as stated; no further explanation of how Allah provides for the sick is added.
قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " لاَ تُكْرِهُوا مَرْضَاكُمْ عَلَى الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُطْعِمُهُمْ وَيَسْقِيهِمْ " .
The report says that Allah feeds and gives drink to the sick, without explaining whether this is figurative nourishment or another sense.
Should ‘Allah feeds them and gives them drink’ be understood figuratively or literally?