Hadith on Drinking Water on an Empty Stomach

Question:

What is the status of the Hadith narrated by Imām Tabarānī "Whoever drinks water on an empty stomach, his strength will decrease"?

Answer:

The Hadith in reference is narrated by al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat in two places:

In the first place, he narrates it via Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) and then says, "Abu Aslam is alone in transmitting these hadiths."[1]

In the second place, in a lengthier narration, he narrates it via Abu Hurayrah (Allah be pleased with him) and then says, "'Abd al-Awwal al-Mu'allim is alone in narrating this."[2]

Regarding the first chain, al-Haythami states, "In the chain of transmission, there is (Abu Aslam) Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-Ru'ayni and he is weak."[3]  Although Ibn Abi Hatim[4] and al-Khalili[5] are more lenient in their assessment of Abu Aslam Muhammad ibn Makhlad, many others like Ibn 'Adi[6] and al-Dāraqutni[7] have impugned him severely.

Regarding the second chain, al-Haythami states, "There are narrators in the chain of transmission who I do not recognize."[8] After narrating it through this same chain with slight variations in the wording, Ibn 'Asakir mentions, "The chain and the text are strange."[9] Al-Dhahabi said that 'Abd al-Awwal al-Mu'allim (a narrator in the chain) narrates extremely weak hadiths.[10] Najm al-Din al-Ghazzī said that both chains are weak.[11]

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[1] Al-Tabarānī, al-Mu’jam al-Awsat, vol.5, p.51, 4646

[2] Ibid, vol.6, p.334, 6557

[3] Al-Haythamī, Majma' al-Zawa'id, vol.5, p.86

[4] Al-Rāzī, al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil, vol.8, p.93

[5] Al-Khalīlī, al-Irshad, vol.1, p.264

[6] Ibn ‘Adī, al-Kamil, vol.7, p.503

[7] Al-Dāraqutni, Gharā’b Mālik, check Lisan al-Mizan, vol.5, p.375

[8] Al-Haythamī, Majma' al-Zawa'id, vol.10, p.302

[9] Ibn ‘Asākir, Tārīkh Dimashq, vol.24, p. 456

[10] Al-Dhahabī, al-Mughnī, vol.1, p.365

[11] Al-Ghazzī, Itqan Ma Yahsun, p.698


NOTE: The answer provided above is in reference to the specific question.