Medical Question #2: the hadith about a fly in your food

I had posted a while ago, that alhamdulilah, I had the oppurtunity to pose a few questions to what is considered to be the Islamic World's (and totally world respected in the feild of medicine also, which is quite an accomplishment, mashaAllah) leading authority on medicine and Islam. Alhamdulilah, he happens to be a friend of my old boss (I just recently took time off from working due to my pereptual morning sickness). Hijab is a subject I am pretty knowledgeable on I am told;), enough to engage most of the Sheikhs and Imams that I have been introduced to, but medicine is something I am I am generally pretty clueless on. MashaAllah and alhamdulilah for this man's knowledge of both the science of medecine and Islam.

I am particularily thankful, because this question was my own, and it was something that was bothering me about my faith. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I was doubting Allah subhanahu wa t'ala or anything, but there was a hadith I found particularily weird. So weird in fact, I was hesitent to believe it was even sahih. Which was my first question to the Sheikh. I didn't want to be like some Muslims who pick and choose what they want of Islam by going "oh, I don't believe that hadith was authentic."

My question: Aslaam alaykom brother. Can you tell me if the hadith "The Prophet Mohamed, peace and blessings be upon him, said, 'If a fly falls into one of your containers [of food or drink] immearse it completely before removing it, for under one of its wings is a disease, and other the other, a cure.'" [Sahih Al Bukhari-Narrated by Abu Hurayra and Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri] is Sahih, and if there is any medical evidence to corroborate this?"

His answer, was, of course it was indeed Sahih/authentic.

Duh, I did kind of suspect that, knowing it was IN Sahih Al Bukhari, but something as weird as actually dipping the fly into your food before taking it out was just too weird for me to understand without science. I mean flies hang around poop and rotten meat so why would you ever want to keep them in your food any longer than them grazing it?

See, sometimes, I have difficulty accepting the beauty of Islam, when something is strange or difficult, until Allah subhanahu wa t'ala makes known the beauty of it to me. This is often my failing as a Muslimah I guess.

And YES, there IS scientific evidence to back this hadith up. Amazing, subhanAllah, that all this has just been discovered recently, but Rasoolulah had told us all about it 1400 years ago (ya know, before microscopes). It was only in the last hundred years that people outside of Islam knew that flies actually carried diseases, and it wasn't until medical student Joanne Clarke and her colleagues at the Depatment of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University began to ponder about the flies' amazing immunity, that proof of the flies' use as an antidote was confirmed to Western science in the production of new antibiotics.

Apparently, while the fly does carry parasitic pathogens that can cause diseases such as malaria, cholera, and typhoid, it also carries parasitic bacteriophagic fungi capable of fighting the germs of all these diseases. So it is, indeed, the disease, and the cure. SubhanAllah.

The scientists apparently tested a bunch of species of flies when they were in their larvae stage, and adult stage. Most species had antibiotic properties even as larvae AND ALL did, as adult flies. These properties existed on the surface of the flie. The researches managed to extract the antibiotic from the flies by immearsing them in liquid. Then the antibiotic was tested on harmful disease pathogens E. Coli, and Staph infection. It was successful in combating these diseases.

Neat, no?

Comments

Umm Aaminah said…
Subhanallah sis and jazaki allahu khair for sharing! Like you, I sometimes have difficulty reconciling my analytical mind with some of the things I read. It always strengthens my iman when I can discover either the meaning behind the hadith/ayat or the science. :-)

Once again, thanks for sharing!!!
Boxie said…
Cool, totally did not know that. Inshallah no fly's land in your food any ways :). Inshallah you will be able to ask many more questions in the future.
Christie said…
Assalaamu alaikum :)

Oh neat! I had heard that hadith, but not about the science behind it.
Eta Carinae said…
What does immease mean? I tried looking it up and I didn't get any results. :/
Pixie said…
Hijabi Panda: That's cuz I made a typo, I am so sorry! I meant immearse, not immense:)

Um Aaminah: LOL, no jazzakallhkheir for your post on "But I'm a Convert" :) that really inspired me to get backn on board with alot of things I have been attempting to do on and off like avoid music (which my husband plays on the radio ALL the time so it is hard to escape lol but he's been respecting decision when I remind him of your post and what you said about Sumaiiyyah lol.

I wish I had posted the ayah the Qu'ran says about such signs. I forget its wording exactly as it is a longer surah who I haven't memorized somehwere before the Surah about iron. It says that Allah tests us with his sign and miracles. That it will make the hypocrites go astray, but even to the greatest disbeliever, at the end, it will be made clear, so they can never have had an excuse for denying. I think this fly hadith for me was one of those Am I Muslim or am I venturing into hypocrite ground for me? Alhamdulilah, anyways, that now the way has been made easy for me:)
Pixie said…
Boxie: InshaAllah not. I DO have a fly swatter now;) but the week before we installed those ACs there were giant holes in our walls and we were inundated with a plague of flies, beetles, lizards, and mosquitoes lol. And husband was TOTALLY on board with the dip the flies thing. I was like, er, can I pour myself a new cup?
Pixie said…
Convert Chica: Wa alaykom e salaam, I am glad you found it as interesting as I did.