The Story of a Prophetic Ḥadīth on Mushrooms: Transmission and Commentary

This study analyzes prophetic ḥadīths about mushrooms, particularly the ḥadīth that we refer to as “the mushroom ḥadīth.” The ḥadīth reads, “The mushroom is part of manna and its water is a cure for the eyes.” The beginning of the article explains the reasons the Prophet uttered these ḥadīths. Since companions held negative opinions about mushrooms—some of which can be traced back to Jāhiliyya—the Prophet intended to correct them. Mushrooms were familiar in Arab culture, hence the existence of negative opinions about them. As a widely encountered food among Arabs both before and after the emergence of Islam, information on identifying various species of mushrooms, making distinctions between poisonous and non-poisonous species, cooking methods, and references in stories and poems are plentiful and easily accessible.