The Hadith about the fly

Student Research Seminar Course MED 417
Team supervised by Dr Jamaal Haamid
Department of Medical Microbiology
College of Science - Qassim University

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sent the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaah 'alaihi wassalam: may Allah preserve what he has mentioned and protect him from all things demeaning) with guidance and truth, and said about him:

"... nor does he (Muhammad) speak out of desire. Rather, it is a revelation that is revealed to him." (Qur'an 53:2-3)

And the following saying comes from the Prophet:

‘If a fly falls into one of your drinks (vessels), then dip it completely (into the drink) and then throw it away, for in one wing there is disease and in the other there is a cure for the disease.’ (Bukhari 4:537)

GLASS FILLING A

Glass plate 2
Cultured water sample taken from a container of sterilised water into which a fly fell (without submerging it). Growth of pathogenic (disease-causing) bacterial colonies of the E. coli type was identified after samples of the water from the container were taken for cultivation.

Glass plate 1
Cultured water sample from the same container after completely submerging the fly. A complete disappearance of bacterial growth, as seen in Petri dish 2, is evident. The new bacteria that grew in dish 1 were identified as actinomycetes, from which useful antibiotics can be extracted. This explains the complete inhibition of growth from disc 2.

GLASS FILLING B

This is the same experiment but with a different fly. This time, bacteria of the Coynebacterium Dephteroid type (glass plate 2) were identified after samples were taken from the container for cultivation.

GLASS FILLING C

Again, the same experiment but from a different fly. This time, bacteria of the Staphylococcus sp. type (glass plate 2) were identified after samples were taken from the culture container.

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