Saturday, November 24, 2007

Islam and Salamanders

OH THE HORROR OF IT ALL !

Title:
Should We Kill Lizards?

Question:

An incident took place in Saur cave where Prophet and Abu Bakkar Siddique(Peace be upon them)were hiding to escape from enemies.A spider web hid the cave.But a lizard made a noise and broke the web,which would have helped enemies to find our Prophet and Siddique(Peace be upon them).Based on this there is a Hadith in Sahih Muslim that we should kill Lizards.Is this true?I do not know the Hadith No.,but since you are Scholars it will be easy for you to find out I hope Insha Allah.Thank you.Was Salaam.




Answer:

As for the story you mentioned about a lizard breaking the web, I was not able to find it. On the contrary, the reports about spider webs (as mentioned in some of the history books) narrate that a spider made web by God's order and that the web was one of the main reasons that Mushrekeen did not enter the cave, thinking that no one could be in the cave (refer to Arryaz Annazra, vol. 1, pp. 457, Dala'el Annabowwa, vol. 1, pp. 66, 76, Akhbar Makka, vol. 4, pp. 83).

Disregarding the story you mentioned; in terms of 'killing lizard', you first need to appreciate the difference between lizards and salamanders. The first is typically referred to as, "Al-Zabba" in Arabic while the latter is what is mostly referred to as "Al-Wazaq" in Arabic. Lizards are reptiles, while salamanders are amphibians.

It is the killing of salamanders (and not lizard) that is a matter of debate. It is true that there are Ahadith encouraging killing salamanders. Some of these are as follows:

Narrated 'Aisha: Allah's Apostle called the salamander a bad animal, but I did not hear him ordering it to be killed." (Bukhari - Volume 3, Book 29, Number 57)

Narrated Aisha: The Prophet called the Salamander, a mischief-doer. I have not heard him ordering that it should be killed. Sad bin Waqqas says that the Prophet ordered that it should be killed. (Bukhari - Volume 4, Book 54, Number 525)

Narrated Um Sharik: Allah's Apostle ordered that the salamander should be killed and said, "It (i.e. the salamander) blew (the fire) on Ibrahim." (Bukhari Volume 4, Book 55, Number 579)

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who killed a Salamander with the first stroke for him is such and such a reward, and he who killed it with a second stroke for him is such and such reward less than the first one, and he who killed it with the third stroke for him is such and such a reward less than the second one. (Muslim Book 026, Number 5564)

understanding-islam.com

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:36 PM

    Personally if push came to shove I would solve the conflict by killing the vicious venomous parastic diseased brutish lowlife and allow the innocent and intelligent reptiles and amphibians to survive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6:39 PM

    Who would you feel safest with in the next seat on an airplane - a Salamander or a Muslim?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mosque conversion to cost £1.5m
    Members of Shropshire's Islamic Foundation need to raise around £1.5m to create a mosque complex.
    They have bought the former Territorial Army building in Wellington, Telford and have planning permission to convert it to a mosque.

    Saleh Laher, a member of the foundation, said it hoped to have the building ready for use in the next 18 months.

    He said the aim was to restore the building to its original condition.

    No Minaret

    The new mosque would not have a dome or a Minaret, said Mr Saleh.

    He said it would look more like a Northern African mosque with a castle frontage and was to be created out of the four existing buildings in the complex.

    There will be separate prayer facilities for women, a room for funerals, a community hall and classes for children to learn Arabic and Koran reading.

    Mr Saleh said the group would ask the local community for cash, then the Muslim Council of Britain, Islamic Aid and Muslim Aid.

    They also plan to approach international bodies based in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which set aside funding to help build mosques throughout the world.

    He added they would also be applying to English Heritage and other similar organisations for help with the cost of restoring the 1950s building.

    It is hoped that work on the conversion will start in the first quarter of next year.

    Story from BBC NEWS:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/shropshire/7112058.stm

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:08 AM

    Najistani -

    Love the list . . .but why no mention of JihadWatch.org? or it's sister site DhimmiWatch.org?

    Too many restrictions???

    ReplyDelete