The Meaning of the Dabbah in Language and Custom

The questioner:
It was said that it is a reminder from Allah that whenever something crawls on the face of the earth, or a dabbah, it is to remind of its state.

The Shaykh:
This is in the linguistic sense, but in custom, no; dawa'ib are quadrupeds. This is a customary reality, and the customary reality takes precedence over the linguistic one. We mentioned this to you.

The questioner:
But regarding the poverty of any person, or that people are medicine, or that people are animals, or in speech.

The Shaykh:
No, this is not permissible, because people get upset if you say to them, "You are dawa'ib." What is this? It is not customary for people, even if it is permissible in the language. But the custom has become the opposite, so you follow the custom. Even if you bring the linguistic meaning, people will be angry with you, and they may even demand that you be disciplined. Yes.