The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying : There is no infection, no evil, omen or serpent, in a hungry belly and no hamah. A nomadic Arab asked: How is it that when camels are in the sand as if they were gazelles and a mangy camel comes among them and it gives them mange ? He replied: Who infected the first one ?
Ma'mar, quoting al-Zuhri said: A man told me that Abu Hurairah narrated to him saying that he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say: A diseased camel should not be brought with a healthy camel to drink water. He said: The man then consulted him and said: Did you not tell us that Prophet (ﷺ) had said: There is no infection, no serpent in a hungry belly and no hamah? He replied: I did not transmit it to you. Al-Zuhri said: Abu Salamah said: He had narrated it and I did not hear that Abu Hurairah had ever forgotten any tradition except this one.
Hadith Commentary: Divine Decree and Precautions
The Prophet's statement "There is no infection, no evil omen" affirms the Islamic doctrine of Tawhid - that all matters ultimately return to Allah's divine decree. This negates pre-Islamic superstitions where people attributed events to inherent properties of creatures or objects without Allah's permission.
The Bedouin's question demonstrates human observation of apparent contagion. The Prophet's response "Who infected the first one?" directs attention to the Original Cause - Allah's divine will - while not denying secondary causes observable in creation.
Reconciling Apparent Contradictions
The second narration shows the Companions' meticulous approach to preserving Prophetic traditions. When Abu Hurairah initially forgot his own narration about avoiding sick camels, this demonstrates human fallibility in transmission, not contradiction in the Sunnah.
Scholars reconcile these narrations by explaining that while diseases don't spread inherently without Allah's will, we must take apparent means and precautions. This follows the principle of affirming divine decree while implementing practical wisdom - what later scholars termed "al-jam' bayn al-qadar wa al-asbab".
Legal and Theological Implications
This hadith establishes that omens (tatayyur) based on birds or other creatures are forbidden, as they constitute hidden polytheism by attributing influence to other than Allah.
The prohibition against bringing diseased and healthy animals together illustrates the Islamic principle of avoiding harm while maintaining trust in Allah. This balance between reliance on God and taking appropriate means represents the middle path of Ahl al-Sunnah in matters of divine decree.