Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: Abu Humaid brought a cup of mix from a place called Al-Naqi. Allah's Apostle said to him, "Will you not cover it, even by placing a stick across its"
Explanation & Benefits
Maulana Dawood Raz
Hadith Commentary:
Placing a stick across (the vessel) is as if invoking the blessing of "Bismillah," so the Shaytan will stay away from it.
The problem with bringing milk or water uncovered is that dust falls into it, and insects may fly and fall into it.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 5605
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Naqi‘ is a large valley (stream) in Hijaz, south of Madinah Tayyibah. It flows through that volcanic tract (harrah) from which the valley of al-Far‘ flows, then Naqi‘ turns northward, and the mountains of Quds are on its left side. Up to the point opposite Bi’r al-Mashi, 38 miles south of Madinah, it is called Wadi al-Naqi‘; then, up to Dhu’l-Hulayfah, it is called ‘Aqiq al-Hasa; then it is called ‘Aqiq al-Madinah until it meets at Majma‘ al-Asiyal. Its length from about 40 kilometers from Madinah to near Far‘, that is, up to its furthest end, is 80 kilometers. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had designated it for the government’s animals. (Mu‘jam al-Ma‘alim al-Jughrafiyyah fi al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, p. 320)
(2)
The benefit of covering a vessel is that it remains protected from dust and insects, and also from those epidemics that descend from the sky.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 5605