Hadith On Non-existence Of Contagious Diseases
Question : Has anything been reported from the Holy Prophet (sws) regarding contagious diseases? I have come to know that the Holy Prophet (sws) said that a person living in an infected area should not leave it. A person dying of contagious disease enjoys the death of a martyr. What do you say about the soundness of this narrative? Please explain with the help of other narratives. Answer : By Talib Mohsin The narrative you have cited above relates to plague. It has been reported in different ḥadith books. I will copy the text of the narrative from Sahih of Bukhari. Sad (rta) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sws) said: “you should not go to an area where plague has broken out. And if you are in such an area, you must not leave it.” (No: 5396) This narrative has been recorded in Sahih of Muslim as well. We can say that it is a sound narrative. There are some other narratives related from the Holy Prophet (sws) in many Ḥadith books in this regard. A couple of them are being reproduced hereunder: Abu Hurayrah (rta) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sws) said: “There is no contagious disease, nor there is any bad luck. The soul of a murdered does not become a thirsty bird. There is no animal that causes hunger. Run from a leprous like you do at the sight of a lion.” (No: 5380) Imam Muslim has mentioned a question on the first part of this narrative with the response of the Holy Prophet (sws). (After hearing him) a Bedouin asked: What is your opinion about the camels that are hale and healthy like deer in a desert then an itchy camel comes and makes all the camels ill from itching. The Holy Prophet (sws) said: who made the first suffer from itching?” (No:2220) It seems that the Holy Prophet (sws) wanted to clarify that every infectious disease takes place in accordance with Allah’s will . (Translated by: Abid Mahmood Hashmi)