He reported God's messenger as saying, “There is no infection, no hama, and no serpent in a hungry belly." A nomadic Arab asked, “Messenger of God, how is it that when camels are in the sand as if they were gazelles* and a mangy camel comes among them it gives them mange?" God’s messenger replied, “Who infected the first one?" Bukhari transmitted it.* The comparison is used to indicate the clearness of their skin.
Medicine and Spells - Mishkat al-Masabih 4578
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This noble hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari addresses fundamental Islamic beliefs regarding divine decree and natural causes. The Prophet's initial statement "There is no infection" negates the pre-Islamic belief in spontaneous transmission of disease without Allah's permission, affirming that all matters occur by divine will.
Scholarly Commentary on the Dialogue
The Bedouin's question presents an apparent contradiction between observed reality and Islamic teaching. His description of healthy camels "like gazelles" contracting mange from an infected camel reflects empirical observation of contagious disease.
The Prophet's profound response "Who infected the first one?" directs attention to the ultimate source of all phenomena - Allah's creative power. This establishes that while secondary causes exist, they operate within divine decree (qadar).
Harmonizing Divine Decree and Apparent Causes
Classical scholars explain this hadith demonstrates the compatibility between Allah's absolute power and the system of causes He established. Imam al-Nawawi states: "The Prophet's words negate the false belief that diseases spread independently of Allah's will, while acknowledging the observable patterns Allah created."
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani clarifies: "The prohibition against entering plague-stricken areas in other ahadith confirms we must take apparent causes seriously, while understanding everything ultimately depends on Allah's decree."
Practical Implications for Medical Treatment
This teaching establishes the proper Muslim approach to medicine: taking permissible means while relying on Allah. As Imam al-Ghazali explains: "The believer combines sound tawakkul (reliance on Allah) with taking appropriate medical treatment, understanding both are aspects of divine decree."
The hadith thus provides the foundation for Islamic medical ethics - encouraging seeking cures while maintaining proper creedal understanding of causality.