Benefits of the Hadith (If a fly falls into the drink of any of you, let him submerge it . . . ).

The Shaykh : As for the benefits of the hadith, we say that the hadith has benefits. The first benefit: The comprehensiveness of the Islamic Shari'ah in explaining diseases of the bodies and diseases of the hearts. For this reason, there is nothing that people need, even in their bodies, that Allah and His Messenger have not explained. This is a general rule from which nothing is excluded. As for diseases of the hearts and acts of worship, this is a known matter. Likewise, diseases of the bodies: in the Book and the Sunnah, there are principles, not a specific text for every issue, every individual case, and every part. No, there are general principles from which one derives rulings in medicine.
And among the benefits of this hadith: that the fly is not ritually impure, whether alive or dead. Where is this taken from? From his saying: If it were ritually impure, we would have poured out the water, because a small amount of water would be affected by something like a fly, especially if many flies fell into it.
And among the benefits of this hadith: that if a fly falls into solid food, it is not submerged, correct?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Is this taken from the explicit wording or from the implied meaning?
The student: From the explicit wording.

The Shaykh : From the implied meaning. From the implied meaning, this is from the perspective of legal indication. The rational indication is that if you submerged it in food, it would crumble in that food and would only add to the problem, making the food distasteful to the person.
Among the benefits of this hadith: that the fly, we said, is pure, whether alive or dead. Yes. Is anything else analogized to the fly? The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, said yes, it is analogized. Everything that does not have flowing blood is analogized to it; it is pure, whether alive or dead, even if it is forbidden to eat. For example, the beetle is pure. If a beetle falls into water and dies, the water is pure and does not become impure. What about the scorpion?
The student: Pure.

The Shaykh : Pure, because it does not have blood. So if it falls into water, even if the water changes, it is pure because it does not become impure by death. What about the lizard? The lizard: our companions, may Allah have mercy on them, our jurists, said that the lizard has flowing blood. Imam Ahmad specified this, meaning it has flowing blood. And I am asking you now: have you ever killed a lizard?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : It has blood.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. So the lizard does not fall under this category because it has flowing blood.
Among the benefits of this hadith: the power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and that He is capable of everything. The fly, as you know, is a fragile, weak, and lowly creature. And Allah has combined in it two opposing things: disease and cure. This indicates the perfection of the power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). We know that Allah is capable of everything, in that He creates benefit in one thing and harm in another, in two separate entities. But in one single entity, there is both harm and benefit. Yes.
It is also taken from this: that Allah the Exalted may rule that something is lawful and forbidden in one body, where some of it is lawful and some of it is forbidden. Is this possible? In the Islamic Shari'ah, no. There is no animal in the Islamic Shari'ah where some of it is lawful and some of it is forbidden. In the Jewish Shari'ah, yes: This is an independent category. Every animal with claws: the scholars say that everything whose hooves are not split is among the animals with claws, such as camels. and the meats are lawful. The meats are lawful and the fats are forbidden meaning the back is lawful, and that, Allah knows best, is due to the difficulty of separating it from the meat meaning what did not mix with the intestines, what the intestines did not carry. What are the intestines? The intestines are the twisted bowels. and that, Allah knows best, is due to the difficulty of separation. For example, is the rump forbidden for the Jews or not?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Forbidden. The meat is lawful and the excluded fat is lawful. Yes. So this is one animal where some of it is lawful and some of it is forbidden. The fly is one animal where some of it is disease and some of it is cure. Now, according to the opinion of some of the Muslim scholars, there is an animal where some of it has one ruling and some of it has another ruling, and that is the camel. Some scholars say: the fat of the camel does not break the ablution, but its meat breaks the ablution. But this is not correct, as has passed us and will pass us, if Allah wills. This is not correct. There is no animal in the Islamic Shari'ah where some of it is lawful and some of it is forbidden, or where some of it has the ruling of purity and some of it has the ruling of impurity, or where some of it has the ruling of breaking the ablution and some of it does not.
Among the benefits of this hadith: that if water changes due to the taste of the fly submerged in it, it does not become impure. Where is this taken from? From his saying: The indication is: if it were to make it impure, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have ordered it to be submerged, because if that were the case, the Messenger would be ordering what corrupts the water. Did you understand the indication? The indication is his saying: The indication from it is: if submerging it in water made it impure, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have ordered it, because if that were the case, he would be ordering what corrupts the water, and this is impossible for the Islamic Shari'ah.
And among the benefits of this hadith: that the fly is forbidden, due to his saying: so that it does not enter the drink, and it is so. Is anything similar to it, from what souls find distasteful, analogized to the fly? Some scholars see it so, that what is similar to it from what souls find distasteful is analogized to it. And the intended souls are the upright souls, not every soul. Because some people do not know anything; they do not know anything. And some people know something good and lawful. Some people, if they eat a locust, their soul leaves with it. We gifted a locust to one of the brothers, of the best and most delicious kind, but when he ate it, he said, "I saw death before my eyes," and he returned to me what I had gifted him. Because he said, "I have never eaten it before and I was unable to digest it, and it is good, of the best of good things." (O Allah, Lord of this complete supplication and the established prayer, grant Muhammad the intercession and the excellence, and raise him to the praised station which You have promised him).