Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: (1)
La ‘Adwa (No contagion):
No disease is transmitted from one patient to another. Here, the point worthy of consideration is the effect of apparent causes or the properties and effects of things: are they such causes that, with their presence, the occurrence of the effect or the manifestation of results and effects is certain and definite, and these results and effects have no connection with the will and intention of Allah Ta‘ala? Or are the apparent causes not complete causes, and the results and effects of the properties and influences of things are not certain and definite? The real cause of causes is the will and intention of Allah; if He wills, the effect appears and the apparent causes become effective, the properties and effects of things manifest, and these are merely signs and indications. Nothing happens without His will and intention. The belief of the people of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) was that the apparent causes are complete causes, and cause and effect are necessary for each other, and Allah’s will and intention have nothing to do with them. In this way, the results and effects of the properties and influences of things are considered certain; they are not merely signs or indications. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) uprooted this belief, that the real effective cause and the cause of causes is Allah’s will and intention. To declare Him as non-causal or ineffective is shirk and disbelief. Therefore, the mingling and mixing of a sick person with a healthy one, or the transmission of disease germs or viruses, is an apparent cause, whose effect is dependent on Allah’s will and intention. Without His will, no disease is transmitted to another. That is why he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded not to go to a plague-stricken area, not to bring a sick person to a healthy one, and to flee from a leper, so that apparent causes are not completely ignored. And he himself ate with a leper, so that it would not be thought that the effect of causes is absolute and not dependent on Allah’s will and intention. And according to some, the transmission of germs and viruses has no reality or significance; just as the first healthy person contracted the disease, the second also contracted it by Allah’s will and intention. Therefore, in response to the Bedouin, he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Who caused the first camel to become sick?” And he commanded not to go to a plague-stricken area, not to bring a sick person to a healthy one, and to flee from a leper, so that if they contracted the disease by Allah’s will and intention, they would not fall into the polytheistic belief of the contagiousness of disease, which would increase mutual hatred and resentment. To protect from this false belief, he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded precautionary measures and avoidance. The summary is that the real effective cause and the cause of causes is Allah Ta‘ala; the effect or property of anything is not intrinsic, it is created by Allah. Without His will and intention, no effect, result, or property can manifest; no cause can produce its effect independently.
‘Adwa:
There is no reality to the contagiousness of disease. For details, see (Minhat al-Mun‘im, vol. 3, p. 467).
La Safar:
There is no reality to Safar, i.e., (a) it is not correct to make Muharram into Safar. Or (b) the belief of the people of ignorance is not correct that Safar is the name of some living creature or worms that are in the stomach, which cause hunger and sometimes lead to the killing of people. Or (c) there is no such stomach disease that can be transmitted to another and be called Safar. Or (d) it is not correct to consider Safar as unlucky.
La Hamah:
There is no reality to Hamah, i.e., (1) if the murder of a person is not avenged, his skull does not circle around the grave saying, “Give me to drink, give me to drink,” meaning, “Take my revenge.” (2) An owl sitting in a house does not foretell the death of the owner or a loved one. (3) The bones of the dead do not turn into owls and fly, and there is no reality to an animal called ‘Adwa.