How do we reconcile his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): “There is no contagion and no bad omen” with his saying: “Flee from the leper”?

The questioner : How do we reconcile his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic collections: with his saying: ?

The Shaykh : We have also addressed this in the second or third volume—Allah knows, it is the second—of *Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah*. His saying (peace be upon him): means: in itself and by its own nature. Once you understand this meaning, it does not conflict with his saying (peace be upon him) in the other authentic hadith: , just as it does not conflict with his saying (peace be upon him) . This is like his saying: regarding taking preventive measures and avoiding contagion. However, contagion does not transmit itself; it does so only by the will and decree of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This meaning is indicated by the phrase in this sentence: . When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke this hadith, a Bedouin who lived with camels said to him: “O Messenger of Allah, we see that healthy camels are entered by a leper camel, and it infects them.” He was as if saying: “What you are saying, O Messenger of Allah, contradicts reality. You say there is no contagion, but we see contagion with our own eyes; we see the healthy, fine, beautiful camels, and a leper camel enters among them and infects them. Over time, the contagion spreads to others.” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Who infected the first one? Naturally, the believer’s answer is: Allah. So, in the expression of some scholars: the primary cause is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). If a leper camel enters among healthy camels, our Lord wills to transfer this contagion from the leper to the healthy one, or He does not. Therefore, contagion is a cause for a disease, but the cause may not have an effect; that is, the effect may be delayed from the cause by the will of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as in the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Fire burns, but Allah (Mighty and Majestic) nullified the effect of the fire in which He had placed that effect, as a favor to His Prophet and intimate friend Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him). Now, depart with good intentions so that we may prepare for prayer.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.