All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If the conditions are met for the authenticity of a Hadeeth according to the Hadeeth scholars, among which are being void of inconsistencies that warrant rejecting it; and the conditions are met for the obligation of acting in accordance with it, which, in addition to the above, is being void of abrogation, then it is obligatory to accept it and act in accordance with it, and it is not permissible to deny its affirmedness, whether it is reported in both Al-Bukhari and Muslim, or only in one of them, or is reported by anyone other than them, or whether its affirmedness is by way of a small number of transmitters (Aahaad) or a large number (Mutawaatir); and it is not permissible to deny it or reject it under any circumstances.
The scholars especially consider the Ahaadeeth reported in Al-Bukhari and Muslim to be of great status and degree because these Ahaadeeth have been widely accepted by the Muslim Ummah, as stated by An-Nawawi and Ibn As-Salah.
It is not at all acceptable to leave the matter in such cases to the mind, as it opens the door for anyone to reject what does not suit one's interests on the grounds that it is not in conformity with one’s mind. Indeed, the mental abilities of people differ, so by whose mind are we going to judge?
Ibn Taymiyyah said in Al-Fatwa Al-Hamawiyyah: “I wish I know with which mind the Quran and the Sunnah can be weighed. May Allaah be pleased with Imaam Maalik ibn Anas, who said: Should we, every time that a more argumentative man comes, leave what the Angel Gabriel revealed to the Prophet Muhammad for the argumentation of those people?” [End of quote]
Indeed, the mind has its limit, and it should stop at that, because the mind is incomplete. Proof enough for the incompleteness of the mind is that it is incapable of knowing some facts about the human being himself.
As regards the Hadeeth which you referred to in the question, its chain of narrators is confirmed and its wording (content) is not objectionable to those whose hearts Allaah enlightened with knowledge and Eamaan (faith), and whose minds He beautified with accurate understanding; so they do not consider this as demeaning to the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, or detracting from his high status but instead as one of his miracles, and something by which he is praised for.
Here are some of the statements of such people concerning it:
Ibn Hajar said: “The Hadeeth is evidence of the quality of sexual power that the Prophets were particularly endowed with, which is evidence of their healthy and strong bodily structure, strong virility and superior masculinity, despite the fact that they engaged in worship and in teaching the knowledge (that was revealed to them).
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was miraculous in this aspect as, despite his preoccupation with the worship of his Lord and his teaching others the knowledge that was revealed to him and interacting with others, he ate little and drank little, and this necessitates the weakness of the body and its inability to have much sexual intercourse; nevertheless, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went around to all his wives in a single night with one Ghusl (major ablution) while they were eleven. It is said that the desires of a person who is especially fearful of Allaah are stronger, because the one who does not fear Allaah glances at women (who are not lawful to him) and so on.” [End of quote]
Ibn Al-Atheer said in Jaami‘ Al-Usool: “The Prophets married many wives because of their bodily strength. If the chest is filled with light, it overflows in the veins; the soul and the veins find enjoyment; and so, it arouses one’s desire, and when the desire becomes strong, it becomes strong from both the heart and the soul, so it becomes forceful.”
As regards these so called “academics” or “thinkers”, don't be surprised if they have such an attitude, because even if we think good of them and consider that they intend good with their statements, they are drowning in ignorance of the prescriptions of Islam and at the same time are imposters when it comes to this law. It was said a long time ago: “If a person engages in a discipline other than his own, he will come up with very strange things.”
It should be noted that many of these people have special interests; through their actions, they aim to discredit the religion and cast doubts to people about the revealed way of the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Not only do they try to discredit the Sunnah, they even go as far to do so with the Quran. If you do some research, you will find many such examples.
Finally, we warn people against visiting these sites except those who are well-grounded in knowledge, able to refute the misconceptions in them and not be affected by them. Allaah says (what means): {And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him]}[Quran 6:121]