Honey in Islam: The Quran, the Hadith, and the Scholarship
Honey holds a place in Islam that almost no other food can claim. It is one of only two physical substances that the Quran explicitly calls shifa — healing — by name. An entire surah of the Quran, Surah An-Nahl, takes its name from the bee. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ named honey among the sources of healing in authentic Hadith and personally recommended it. And the great classical scholars of Islam — Ibn Kathir in his tafsir, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya in his work on Prophetic medicine — devoted careful attention to honey's place in the religion. This article is a deep look at honey in Islam: the Quranic verses and what the classical commentators said about them, the authentic Hadith, the scholarship, and the meaning of honey as shifa in the Islamic tradition — treated with the depth and seriousness the subject deserves.
Sidr & Stone produces prophetic foods for the modern table — see our cold-pressed Ethiopian black seed oil and our cold-pressed organic olive oil from Marrakech.
The Short Answer
- Honey is one of only two physical substances the Quran explicitly calls shifa (healing) — the other being the Quran itself
- An entire surah, Surah An-Nahl ("The Bee"), is named after the bee; verses 68-69 describe the bee's inspiration and honey as a healing for people
- Classical commentators including Ibn Kathir noted a precise point of language: the Quran says honey is "a healing," not "the healing" for all things
- The Prophet ﷺ named honey among three sources of healing (Sahih al-Bukhari 5681) and prescribed it for an abdominal complaint (Sahih al-Bukhari 5684, Sahih Muslim 2217a)
- Honey is also described in the Quran among the rivers of Paradise (Surah Muhammad 47:15)
- Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya devoted a chapter of his work on Prophetic medicine to honey
- Honey is honoured in Islam as a blessed food and a shifa — understood by Muslims on the terms of the Quran and Sunnah themselves
Honey in the Quran: Surah An-Nahl
The central Quranic treatment of honey is found in Surah An-Nahl — and the surah's very name is significant.
The surah named after the bee
The sixteenth surah of the Quran is called An-Nahl — "The Bee." That an entire chapter of the Quran carries the name of the bee is itself a mark of significance. The surah is one of the great surahs enumerating the signs and blessings of Allah in creation, and the passage on the bee and its honey sits among these signs.
The verses: An-Nahl 16:68-69
The key verses read, in summarised translation:
"And your Lord inspired the bee, saying: 'Take for yourself dwellings in the mountains and in the trees and in that which they construct. Then eat from all the fruits and follow the ways of your Lord made easy.' There emerges from their bellies a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought."
(Quran 16:68-69)
Several elements of these verses have drawn the attention of the classical commentators.
"Your Lord inspired the bee"
The verse uses the verb awha — "inspired" — for what Allah conveys to the bee. The classical commentators noted that this is the same verb used elsewhere in the Quran for revelation to the Prophets, here applied to the instinctive guidance Allah places in His creation. The bee's intricate, ordered behaviour — building, gathering, producing — is presented as something divinely inspired, a sign of Allah's design.
"A drink of varying colours"
The verse describes honey as mukhtalifun alwanuhu — of varying colours. Ibn Kathir, in his Tafsir al-Quran al-'Azim, explained this as referring to honey being white, yellow, red, and other colours, depending on what the bees feed upon. The classical commentators read this as an accurate observation woven into the verse — honey genuinely does vary in colour by floral source.
"In which there is healing for people"
The phrase fihi shifa'un lil-nas — "in which there is healing for people" — is the heart of the verse. It is one of the very few places in the Quran where a physical substance is called shifa, healing, by name.
The Precision of the Language: "A Healing"
One of the most important contributions of classical scholarship on this verse is a precise point of language — and it is a point that matters for understanding honey in Islam honestly.
What Ibn Kathir noted
Ibn Kathir, in his commentary on this verse, recorded an observation made by scholars of Prophetic medicine. The verse says shifa'un lil-nas — "a healing for people" — using the indefinite form. It does not say ash-shifa' — "the healing." Ibn Kathir noted the scholars' point: had Allah said "the healing for people," it would indicate honey as a remedy for every disease. But the verse uses the indefinite — "a healing" — indicating that honey is a healing, a source of cure, for some conditions and people, not a universal cure for everything.
Why this precision matters
This is a significant point, and it reflects the care of the classical scholarly tradition. The Quran's language is precise, and the commentators read it precisely. Honey is honoured by the Quran as a genuine shifa — but the verse itself, read carefully, does not claim honey cures all things. The classical scholars understood this fourteen centuries before modern debates about health claims.
For Muslims today, this offers a model of how to hold the tradition: honey is honoured as a healing in the Quran — a real and serious status — while the precise language of the verse, as the classical scholars read it, does not overclaim. Honouring the verse and being measured are not in tension; the verse itself, carefully read, is measured.
Honey in the Hadith
The Quranic honouring of honey is deepened by the authentic Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Honey among the three sources of healing
In a Hadith recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (5681), narrated from Ibn Abbas (RA), the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Healing is in three things: a gulp of honey, cupping, and cauterisation with fire. But I forbid my Ummah from cauterisation."
Honey is named first among the three. This Hadith is frequently cited alongside the verse of Surah An-Nahl, the Quran and the Sunnah together establishing honey's honoured status.
The Prophet ﷺ prescribing honey
One of the most discussed Hadith concerning honey is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (5684) and Sahih Muslim (2217a), narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA). A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said his brother was suffering from an abdominal complaint. The Prophet ﷺ told him to give his brother honey. The man did so, then returned, saying it had not helped. The Prophet ﷺ again told him to give honey. This happened a third time. Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Allah has spoken the truth, and your brother's stomach has lied. Give him honey."
The man gave his brother honey again, and he recovered.
The classical commentators discussed this Hadith with care. Its meaning is not that honey mechanically cures; it is a deeper lesson about trust in the truth of Allah's word — the verse of Surah An-Nahl — and about persistence. Ibn Kathir cites this very narration in his tafsir of the honey verse, linking the Quranic text and the Prophetic practice directly.
The Prophet's ﷺ love of honey
It is also recorded in the two Sahih collections, from Aishah (RA), that the Prophet ﷺ loved sweet things and honey. This simple narration tells us that honey was not only honoured in principle but genuinely part of the Prophet's ﷺ own life and taste.
Honey and Paradise
Honey's honoured status in Islam extends beyond this world. In Surah Muhammad (47:15), the Quran describes the rivers of Paradise — and among them, rivers of pure honey:
"...and rivers of honey, purified..."
(from Quran 47:15)
That honey is named among the delights of Paradise — alongside rivers of water, milk, and wine — places it among the most honoured of foods in the Islamic conception. A food described both as a shifa in this world and as a delight of the next holds a rare and elevated place.
The Classical Scholarship on Honey
The honouring of honey in Quran and Hadith was taken up and developed by the great classical scholars of Islam.
Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH / 1373 CE)
In his monumental Tafsir al-Quran al-'Azim, Ibn Kathir's commentary on Surah An-Nahl 16:68-69 brings together the linguistic precision discussed above, the explanation of honey's varying colours, and the citation of the authentic Hadith — including the narration of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA). His commentary is a model of how the classical scholars integrated Quran and Sunnah, reading each in the light of the other.
Ibn Jarir at-Tabari (d. 310 AH / 923 CE)
The earlier master commentator Ibn Jarir at-Tabari also addressed these verses. On a point of interpretation concerning the verse, at-Tabari took the view that more than one valid reading could stand together — an example of the breadth and balance of the classical exegetical tradition.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE)
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya devoted a dedicated chapter to honey in the section on Prophetic medicine within his work Zad al-Ma'ad (the relevant section also circulated as At-Tibb an-Nabawi, "The Medicine of the Prophet"). Ibn Qayyim discussed honey's qualities, its uses in the medical understanding of his time, and its place in the Prophetic tradition. His treatment is one of the most substantial classical discussions of honey in the Islamic scholarly heritage.
What unites these scholars is seriousness and care. They did not treat honey's Quranic status casually, nor did they overclaim. They examined the language, integrated the texts, and discussed honey with the same rigour they brought to all subjects of the religion.
The Meaning of Honey as Shifa
What does it mean, then, to say that honey is shifa — healing — in Islam?
It means, first, that Allah has honoured honey in His Book. The Quran names honey as containing healing for people; this is a statement of the Quran, and for a Muslim it is true because the Quran says it. Its truth does not depend on laboratory confirmation. The verse stands on its own authority as the word of Allah.
It means, second, that this honouring is precise. As the classical scholars read the verse, honey is "a healing" — a genuine source of cure and benefit — not a claimed universal remedy for every ailment. The Quran's own language is measured, and the scholarly tradition preserved that measure.
It means, third, that honey is woven into both the Quran and the Sunnah — named in the Book, recommended by the Prophet ﷺ, loved by him, and described among the delights of Paradise. Honey is, in the fullest sense, a blessed food of the Islamic tradition.
And it means, finally, that honouring honey as shifa is a matter of faith, held alongside — not against — the ordinary seeking of medical care. The Prophet ﷺ himself instructed his companions to seek treatment when ill. A Muslim honours the verse of Surah An-Nahl as the word of Allah, takes honey as a blessed food, and also sees a doctor when unwell. There is no contradiction; the tradition itself holds both.
An Honest Word on Honey and Health
It is worth being clear and honest, separately from the religious tradition, about honey in a practical and regulatory sense.
Honey is a food. In the modern peer-reviewed literature, the most developed body of research on honey concerns wound care, and honey has documented antibacterial and antioxidant properties. But none of that research establishes honey as a cure for any specific disease, and nothing in the religious tradition should be read as a modern medical claim.
The Quranic status of honey as shifa is a matter of faith, honoured by Muslims on the terms of the Quran itself. Modern science is a separate kind of knowledge, with its own standards and its own language. The two need not be forced together. A Muslim can honour the verse fully as revelation while understanding that, in the clinical and regulatory sense, honey is a wholesome food and not a medicine — and that anyone who is unwell should seek proper medical care. Honey should also never be given to infants under twelve months, due to the risk of infant botulism — a point of ordinary food safety that applies to all honey.
Honey Alongside the Other Prophetic Foods
Honey does not stand alone in the prophetic tradition. It belongs to a small group of foods explicitly honoured in Quran and Sunnah — and it pairs naturally with the others.
Honey and black seed are a long-traditional combination — the pungent black seed oil of the Hadith taken with honey, the honey softening the oil's sharpness, two honoured foods of the Sunnah together. Honey and olive oil are the two substances most directly honoured for healing across Quran and Hadith — honey named as shifa in An-Nahl, the olive sworn by in At-Tin and called blessed in An-Nur. And honey is the natural sweetener of the prophetic table — used to sweeten talbina, taken with bread, eaten with dates. For a fuller treatment of the foods of the Sunnah together, see our guide to prophetic foods.
Sidr & Stone and the Prophetic Foods
Sidr & Stone exists to bring prophetic foods to the modern table, made with genuine quality and integrity. Honey is one of the most honoured of all the prophetic foods, and while we don't currently offer honey, it belongs to the same tradition that shapes everything we do — the tradition our brand is named for and built around.
Our current products are two other honoured prophetic foods. Our cold-pressed Ethiopian black seed oil is the black seed of the Hadith — sourced from Ethiopian highland seeds, cold-pressed below 40°C, independently tested at 2.67% thymoquinone (see the lab certificate), in UV-protective glass, halal, with 10% of profits given to charity. Our cold-pressed organic olive oil from Marrakech is the blessed-tree oil of the Quran — single-estate, rain-fed, extra virgin, cold-pressed within hours of harvest, unfiltered, organic, and halal. First harvest, estimated shipping from November 2026.
Both are honoured prophetic foods, made the way a quality food deserves — and both pair naturally with honey in the Sunnah tradition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is honey mentioned in the Quran?
Yes. Honey is described in Surah An-Nahl (16:68-69) — the surah named "The Bee" — where the bee is described as inspired by Allah and the drink that emerges from it as one "in which there is healing for people." Honey is also described among the rivers of Paradise in Surah Muhammad (47:15). It is one of only two physical substances the Quran explicitly calls shifa (healing) by name.
What does the Quran say about honey?
Surah An-Nahl 16:68-69 describes Allah inspiring the bee, and the honey that emerges from it as a drink "of varying colours, in which there is healing for people." Classical commentators including Ibn Kathir noted that the verse says honey is "a healing" (indefinite), not "the healing" — indicating it is a genuine source of cure for some conditions, not a claimed universal remedy.
What did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ say about honey?
In Sahih al-Bukhari (5681), the Prophet ﷺ named honey among three sources of healing: "a gulp of honey, cupping, and cauterisation." In Sahih al-Bukhari (5684) and Sahih Muslim (2217a), he prescribed honey three times for a man's brother suffering an abdominal complaint, saying "Allah has spoken the truth, and your brother's stomach has lied." It is also narrated from Aishah (RA) that the Prophet ﷺ loved honey.
Why is honey called shifa in Islam?
The Quran, in Surah An-Nahl 16:69, describes honey as containing shifa (healing) for people. For a Muslim, this status is true because the Quran states it — its authority is revelation, not laboratory confirmation. Classical scholars noted the verse's precise language: honey is "a healing," a genuine source of cure and benefit, rather than a claimed cure for every disease.
What did Ibn Qayyim say about honey?
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE) devoted a dedicated chapter to honey in the section on Prophetic medicine in his work Zad al-Ma'ad (also circulated as At-Tibb an-Nabawi). He discussed honey's qualities, its uses, and its place in the Prophetic tradition — one of the most substantial classical scholarly treatments of honey.
Is honey a cure for diseases in Islam?
The Quran honours honey as shifa — and Muslims hold this as true on the authority of the Quran. But classical scholars including Ibn Kathir noted the verse says "a healing," not "the healing," and does not claim honey cures all things. Separately, in a practical and regulatory sense, honey is a food, not a medicine, and no one should replace medical care with it. The Prophet ﷺ instructed his companions to seek treatment when ill; honouring the verse and seeking medical care go together.
Can honey be given to babies in Islam?
Honey should not be given to infants under twelve months of age, due to the risk of infant botulism — this is a matter of ordinary food safety and applies to all honey. While honey is an honoured food in Islam, the prophetic tradition also emphasises the preservation of life and health, and this modern food-safety guidance should be followed.
What is the surah named after the bee?
Surah An-Nahl — the sixteenth surah of the Quran — is named "The Bee." The verses concerning honey (16:68-69) sit within this surah, which enumerates many of the signs and blessings of Allah in creation.
Final Thoughts
Honey occupies a place in Islam that few foods can match. It is named in the Quran as a shifa — a healing — one of only two physical substances so described. An entire surah carries the name of the bee. The Prophet ﷺ named honey among the sources of healing, prescribed it, and loved it. Honey flows among the rivers of Paradise. And the greatest scholars of the Islamic tradition — at-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Qayyim — examined its place in the religion with depth and care.
What stands out, looking at this tradition closely, is its combination of reverence and precision. Honey is genuinely honoured — and the classical scholars read the Quran's language exactly, noting that honey is called "a healing," not a universal cure. The tradition honours honey fully while remaining measured. That is a model worth carrying: a Muslim can hold the verse of Surah An-Nahl as the word of Allah, take honey as a blessed food of the Sunnah, and still understand that honey is a food rather than a medicine, and seek proper care when unwell. The tradition itself holds all of this together.
Honey is, in the truest sense, a blessed food — honoured in the Quran, the Sunnah, and the scholarship of fourteen centuries.
Sidr & Stone brings other prophetic foods to the modern table. Our cold-pressed Ethiopian black seed oil — independently tested at 2.67% thymoquinone — is available now. Our cold-pressed organic olive oil from Marrakech is available to pre-order. First harvest, estimated shipping from November 2026. Both honoured prophetic foods, and both natural companions to honey in the tradition of the Sunnah.
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References — Primary Quranic Sources
1. Qur'an, Surah An-Nahl (Chapter 16, "The Bee"), verses 68-69 — the inspiration of the bee and honey as a healing for people.
2. Qur'an, Surah Muhammad (Chapter 47), verse 15 — rivers of honey among the delights of Paradise.
References — Primary Hadith Sources
3. Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5681, Book 76 (Kitab at-Tibb / Book of Medicine) — healing in three things, including a gulp of honey; narrated from Ibn Abbas (RA). Compiled by Imam Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH / 870 CE).
4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5684, Book 76 — the Prophet ﷺ prescribing honey for an abdominal complaint; narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA).
5. Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2217a — parallel narration of the prescribing of honey. Compiled by Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 261 AH / 875 CE).
6. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim — narration from Aishah (RA) that the Prophet ﷺ loved sweet things and honey.
References — Classical Tafsir and Scholarship
7. Ibn Kathir, Imad ad-Din Isma'il (d. 774 AH / 1373 CE). Tafsir al-Quran al-'Azim — commentary on Surah An-Nahl 16:68-69, including the "a healing" linguistic point and the citation of the Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narration.
8. Ibn Jarir at-Tabari (d. 310 AH / 923 CE). Jami' al-Bayan 'an Ta'wil ay al-Quran — commentary on Surah An-Nahl.
9. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE). Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad, Section on Prophetic Medicine (also circulated as At-Tibb an-Nabawi) — dedicated chapter on honey.
References — Modern
10. Cochrane systematic reviews on honey for wound care.
11. Samarghandian S, Farkhondeh T, Samini F. (2017). Honey and health: A review of recent clinical research. Pharmacognosy Research, 9(2), 121-127. PubMed.
Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes about honey's place in Islamic tradition — the Quran, the Hadith, and classical scholarship. Quranic translations are summarised renderings; Hadith translations follow authenticated Sunni sources verified through sunnah.com. The Quranic description of honey as shifa is a matter of religious faith. In a practical and regulatory sense, honey is a food, not a substitute for medical treatment of any disease. Honey must never be given to infants under twelve months of age due to the risk of infant botulism. For any health condition, consult a qualified medical professional.