WikiIslam:Policies and Guidelines and Diseases and Cures in the Wings of Houseflies: Difference between pages

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[[File:Phage.jpg|right|thumb|Electron micrograph of bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell.]]
Welcome to [[WikiIslam]], the online resource on [[Islam]].
This article analyzes the apologetic claim that the [[sahih]] [[hadith|hadith]]s concerning the wings of the housefly are somehow [[Islam and Science|scientifically]] accurate.
__TOC__
==Muslim Claim==
==Acceptable Contributions==


In general, content on WikiIslam should:
The thesis put forward by some Muslims is that it has recently been proven by modern science that flies carry not only pathogens but also the agents that limit these pathogens, thus proving the fly wing hadiths:


* be based on facts, references and Islamic sources
{{Quote||As narrated from Abu Hurayra and Abu Sa`id al-Khudri by al-Bukhari and in the Sunan, prophet Muhammad said: If a fly falls into one of your containers [of food or drink], immerse it completely (falyaghmis-hu kullahu) before removing it, for under one of its wings there is venom and under another there is its antidote.(Sahih Al-Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 54, Number 537)}}
* not support any kind of fringe theories unsupported by the majority of evidence found in recognized translations of the Qur'an, hadith and quotations from Islamic scholars.
* related to criticism of Islam. We don't accept articles of a political nature.
* free from vulgar, offensive, or slang language. The only exceptions being the necessary translation of an Islamic word/phrase or possibly an article in the [[:Category:Humor|Humor]] category
* not be copied from other websites, unless something specific is being quoted and in that case it should be made clear that it's a quotation.
* be written in a professional scholarly manner and ''where possible'', should refrain from using sensationalist and extremist expressions and labels for maximum impact on the reader. This is extremely important. If any critique of Islam is expected to be taken seriously, it must follow these principles. Although it is very tempting to use dramatic and sensationalist language, it is best to let the evidence speak for itself. The same principle applies to humor and jokes. If you would like to contribute such articles to the wiki, please keep them confined to the Humor category


In order to be a regular editor you must understand what the site is all about and the approach that is taken for criticism of Islam. Existing editors on the site will make every effort to initially guide you, but they do not have time to continually make corrections to your edits so if you are not able to take instructions and contribute to the site in an independent self-monitored way, it is best for you to not edit. However if you have suggestions of any kind or comments on an article, let us know on the [[WikiIslam:Forum/Ideas and Suggestions|Forum]] page.
They principally identify these agents to be bacteriophages, though they also sometimes refer to fungi.  


With the exceptions of translations, content written by new editors should not exceed 30KB (page history shows the size). This helps existing editors to review your content and make sure it complies with guidelines before any more new work is done.
Bacteriophages (“phages”) are viruses that infect bacteria. It is a generality that all natural bacterial populations are limited by phages and environmental conditions, but it is a leap to suggest that these elements are antidotes. Mammals, too, are limited by pathogens, but it is foolish to suggest these pathogens are antidotal to mammals.


==Policies==
==Analysis==


===Copyrights===
Dissection of the fly wing hadiths is as follows:


When using text or images from another website, make sure that the material is not copyrighted. If it is, please ask permission from the original content owner(s) before using it.
===Which wing contains the venom and which the antidote? ===


Copyright holders may [[WikiIslam:Copyright Issues|contact WikiIslam]] to have their concerns addressed.
Ibn Hajar wrote in his commentary on the hadith:  
{{Quote||I found nothing among the variants to pinpoint the wing that carries the antidote but one of the Ulema said he observed that the fly protects itself with its left wing so it can be deduced that the right one is the one with the antidote.}}


===Libel===
This is ludicrous, but also what must be the starting point in debating on this subject. For if they say that the presence of phages proves that the hadith is correct, then pointing out that phages are not limited to any one wing, right or left, immediately proves the falsehood in the hadiths.


The goal of WikiIslam is to create an [[w:encyclopedia|encyclopedic]] information source critical of Islam with all information being [[w:reference|reference]]d through the [[w:citation|citation]] of reliable [[w:published|published]] [[w:source text|sources]], so as to maintain a standard of [[w:verifiability|verifiability]].
===They make erroneous assumptions===


For this reason, all contributors should recognize that it is ''their responsibility'' to ensure that material posted on WikiIslam is not [[w:Slander and libel|defamatory]]. Libel or defamation is defined as the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may harm the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government or nation.
A. They assume that bacteriophages are antidotal to bacteria.
Bacteriophages cause lysis of their bacterial hosts in the final stage of infection – thereby releasing new phage particles to infect other bacterial cells in the population. However, in the natural environment, this state is equilibrial – meaning that only a small proportion of bacterial cells is infected at any one time. Just like only a small proportion of humans is ever infected with the flu virus at any one time (except in a pandemic).  


It is WikiIslam [[w:policy|policy]] to delete [[w:libel|libel]]ous material when it has been identified. This policy applies to living people.
B. They assume that flies must carry the antidote to the pathogens they carry.  


====Subject Guidelines====
{{Quote||… from the perspective of logic, if the fly did not carry some sort of protection in the form of an antidote or immunity, it would perish from its own poisonous burden and there would be no fly left in the world.}}


If you believe that you are the subject of a libelous statement on WikiIslam, please [[WikiIslam:Contact Us|contact us]] with details of the article and error.
As far as we know, flies do not succumb to human pathogens – they are merely carriers. This shows that those who make these claims do not understand pathogenesis. Flies do not succumb to human diseases.  


===Viewpoint===
The way it works is like this:


At WikiIslam, one is not required to stick to a neutral viewpoint. However, we exhort you to use non-polemic and scholarly sources, and attribute statements wherever possible. Questionable or controversial statements without a source, or with a [[polemic source]], may be removed in order to make our articles more reliable and worthwhile.
*Fly lands on feces or rotting carcass – gets traces of feces or rotting carcass on itself.
*Fly lands on human food – drops traces of feces or rotting carcass on human food.
*Fly flies away – human consumes contaminated food and gets sick.  
*Fly continues on with its life, free to repeat the cycle again.  


Potential contributors should also note that, unlike many other sites critical of Islam, WikiIslam is an international site with administrators, editors and contributors from all over the world. Our readership is also vast and not saturated by European or "Western" viewers, so our content should reflect this. Information on Islam in Asia or Africa is as important to us as information on Islam in Europe or the Americas.
C. They falsely assume relations that do not exist.  


===Making References===
{{Quote||The existence of similar bacteria-killing mechanisms in two bacteriophages suggests that antibiotics for human infections might be designed on the basis of these cell wall-destroying proteins. Science 292 (June 2001) p. 2326-2329.}}


See [[Help:Making References]] for a guide on how to cite general references, and see [[WikiIslam:Standardization]] for a guide on how to reference Islamic texts (Qur'an and hadith).
The ability to design antibiotics that might utilize bacteriophage infection pathways does not prove that phages are antidotal to bacteria. Antibiotics are not phages. Further, these antibiotics are likely to be ‘artificial’ and do not reflect the natural state of fly-human disease interactions.


===Usernames and Pages===
===They make patently erroneous statements===


Usernames should be chosen appropriately and should not be offensive or inflammatory in any way. Active users with over 50 constructive edits are welcome to post links on their user-pages as long as they are not linking to hateful/racist/pornographic or otherwise illegal content.
{{Quote||Only in modern times was it discovered that the common fly carried parasitic pathogens for many diseases including malaria, typhoid fever, cholera, and others. It was also discovered that the fly carried parasitic bacteriophagic fungi capable of fighting the germs of all these diseases.}}


===Discussions===
There are two errors here:  
{{Main|WikiIslam:Talk Page Guidelines}}


The ''discussion'' pages for each article are there for discussing concerns directly relating to the article, such as inaccuracies, formatting and suggestions for further improvement. They are not there for debating the content of the article or for attacks on the site or users of the site. If your comment on an article's talk page does not directly relate to improving the article, it may be deleted without a response.
A. The common fly does not carry malaria – that is carried by and transmitted exclusively through the bites of Anopheles mosquitoes.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/|title= Malaria|publisher= World Health Organization Media Centre|series= Fact sheet No. 94|author= |date= Reviewed March 2013|archiveurl= http://archive.is/U4B5i|deadurl=no}}</ref>


===Honorifics===
B. There is no such thing as bacteriophagic fungi. This term may sound impressive to non-scientists, but bacteriophages are viruses and fungi are simply fungi.
{{Main|WikiIslam:Honorifics}}


When discussing Muhammad, the first mention in an article and its conclusion should begin the qualifier, Prophet, i.e. "The Prophet Muhammad". The same applies to Jesus or Ganesha, i.e. "Jesus Christ" or "Lord Ganesha".
===They quote scientific articles that contain errors===


Addition honorifics such as "Muhammad (saw)" or "Allah (swt)" are not allowed in articles. The same applies to using an uppercase "H" in words such as "he", "him" or "her" in reference to a deity or Jesus. An exception to this rule would be the talk pages or pro-Islamic articles.
{{Quote||These fly microbiota are bacteriophagic or "germ-eating". Bacteriophages are viruses of viruses. They attack viruses and bacteria. They can be selected and bred to kill specific organisms. The viruses infect a bacterium, replicate and fill the bacterial cell with new copies of the virus, and then break through the bacterium's cell wall, causing it to burst. The existence of similar bacteria-killing mechanisms in two bacteriophages suggests that antibiotics for human infections might be designed on the basis of these cell wall-destroying proteins. Science 292 (June 2001) p. 2326-2329.}}


===Multilingual sites===
A. Bacteriophages do not attack other viruses.
All multilingual sites for WikiIslam are free to edit, administer and manage their sites in any way they like (style or content) as long as our core guidelines above are followed.
B. Not all bacteriophages encode cell-wall destroying proteins to lyse host cells.  


==Guidelines==
===They misinterpret scientific facts===


Guidelines are less restrictive than policies. They serve as official advice to gear the WikiIslam project in the right direction.
{{Quote|1=|2=Gnotobiotic [=germ-free] insects (Greenberg et al, 1970) were used to provide evidence of the bacterial pathogen-suppressing ability of the microbiota of Musca domestica [houseflies] .... most relationships between insects and their microbiota remain undefined. Studies with gnotobiotic locusts suggest that the microbiota confers previously unexpected benefits for the insect host.}}


===Sources===
This basically says that the microbiota of insects protect them from their (i.e. insect) pathogens. It does not say anything about human pathogens carried by insects.
{{Main|WikiIslam:Reliable Sources}}


There are three types of sources:
{{Quote||An article in Vol. 43 of the Rockefeller Foundation's Journal of Experimental Medicine (1927) p. 1037 stated: The flies were given some of the cultured microbes for certain diseases. After some time the germs died and no trace was left of them while a germ-devouring substance formed in the flies - bacteriophages. If a saline solution were to be obtained from these flies it would contain bacteriophages able to suppress four kinds of disease-inducing germs and to benefit immunity against four other kinds.


*'''Primary sources''' Primary sources are original materials, an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time under study. In an article about a book it would be the book itself.  In the case of a person, it would be the subject itself. For the [[Qur'an]] and [[hadith]] we generally use the University of Southern California Muslim Students Association's [[Compendium of Muslim Texts]]. WikiIslam's criticism of Islam is based on its own sources, the Qur'an, hadith and Islamic scholars. So primary sources are not limited and may be freely used in articles.  
Cited in `Abd Allah al-Qusami, Mushkilat al-Ahadith al-Nabawiyya wa-Bayanuha (p. 42).}}


*'''Secondary sources''' are documents or recordings that relate or discuss information originally presented elsewhere. For example, a statement by a scholar about a certain battle in the history of Islam would be a secondary source. News articles that report on a development or an incident are also secondary sources. Statements of fact concerning Islam from polemic sources such as books, articles or commentaries by individuals such as Robert Spencer, Pamela Gellar, Mark A. Gabriel etc. are not to be used under any circumstances as references on WikiIslam. If you come across any such statements, remove them immediately.
This has just proven the existence of bacteriophages. What it has not proven is whether these bacteriophages protect humans against human pathogens carried by flies.


*'''Tertiary sources''' are sources that rely upon primary and secondary sources. Unlike secondary sources, they attempt to provide a broad introductory overview of a topic. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' would be an example. They may be used as well. There are a [http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref32.00.00/ variety of encyclopedias].
===They make extension of claims===


===Wikipedia===
{{Quote||The fly microbiota were described as "longitudinal yeast cells living as parasites inside their bellies. These yeast cells, in order to perpetuate their life cycle, protrude through certain respiratory tubules of the fly. If the fly is dipped in a liquid, the cells burst into the fluid and the content of those cells is an antidote for the pathogens which the fly carries." Cf. Footnote in the Translation of the Meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari by Muhammad Muhsin Khan (7:372, Book 76 Medicine, Chapter 58, Hadith 5782).}}


Copies of articles from Wikipedia are not allowed for various reasons. Instead, you can link directly to Wikipedia by using the <nowiki>[[w:Target article|Text]]</nowiki> feature or <nowiki>{{</nowiki>wp|article name}}. Some exceptions to this rule are allowed; please contact an administrator if you wish to create a copy of a Wikipedia article. One exception where a copy paste is allowed is where a Wikipedia article is going to be deleted or has been deleted.
Now it is not only phages on the right wing, but the yeast cells inside fly stomachs and respiratory tubules. We assume it is the yeast antibiotics they are referring to. The presence of tiny amounts of antibiotics (produced by fungi) do not protect humans from enteric diseases. Apologists are confused about antibiotics – they do not understand how antibiotics work. Dosage is important. Modern antibiotics are artificial and highly purified. Treatment of bacterial infections involves ‘massive’ doses of purified antibiotics that are not found in the natural environment.  


Images can usually be safely copied from Wikipedia if available. Before copying them please check there are no issues with their license tags. Also copy the license tag, or include in the summary that its a free image from Wikipedia. Templates can be copied if needed.
===They confuse the use of bacteriophage===


===Creating Content===
{{Quote||Bacteriophagic medicine was available in the West before the forties but was discontinued when penicillin and other "miracle antibiotics" came out. Bacteriophages continued to flourish in Eastern Europe as an over-the-counter medicine. The "O1-phage" has been used for diagnosis of all Salmonella types while the prophylaxis of Shigella dysentery was conducted with the help of phages. Annales Immunologiae Hungaricae No. 9 (1966) in German.}}


Please do not recreate content which already exists in Wikipedia. On the other hand, if you want to create a short summary of a topic that is already on Wikipedia or would like to approach the same topic from a different angle, please do so. Also, WikiIslam is not restricted to just being an encyclopedia of Islam. It is there for you to make use of in contributing and arranging information about Islam in many ways. For examples of what kind of articles you can write, look at the links on the [[Main Page]]. Here are some ideas for good and bad articles:
A. The O1-phage is used for typing (i.e. diagnosing) Salmonella infections, not treating it.  


;Bad ideas:
B. Bacteriophage therapy was subsumed by antibiotic therapy in the 1940s because it was largely ineffective. Before antibiotics, physicians were desperate for cures – they would try anything, even bacteriophage therapy – but that does not prove bacteriophage therapy works. In any event, one would need massive doses of phages to treat each case – which does not occur in the natural environment. A fly dipping its right wing, left wing, or its entire body, will not be sufficient.
* Anything not directly related to criticism of Islam
* Anything that is political rather than religious, such as immigration, multiculturalism, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 
* An exact copy of a Wikipedia article


;Good ideas:
===They do not understand what they purport to be proof===
Practically anything that does not qualify for the ''bad ideas'' list. Just a few examples:
* Analysis of Islamic texts (Qur'an, hadiths and scholars)
* An essay or op-ed
* Expanding and wikifying a good forum post


===Images===
{{Quote||However, researchers in eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union, continued their studies of the potential healing properties of phages. And now that strains of bacteria resistant to standard antibiotics are on the rise, the idea of phage therapy has been getting more attention in the worldwide medical community. Several biotechnology companies have been formed in the U.S. to develop bacteriophage-based treatments - many of them drawing on the expertise of researchers from eastern Europe." <nowiki>http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2000/Jul/hour1_072100.html</nowiki>}}


If an image adds value to an article and the loss of it would mean that people would not know something important, that image should be included.  
A. This article they quote and link to highlights one of the main limitations of bacteriophages in therapeutics, i.e. it is rapidly taken up by the human body and destroyed in human spleen cells. Therefore, even when a fly should carry bacteriophages, normal human physiology precludes these phages from acting as antidotes.  


Additional images used for 'illustration' purposes should not be used unless important information is being conveyed that could otherwise not be conveyed through text.  
B. Even if some biotechnology companies want to develop bacteriophage-based treatments, it does not prove the hadith to be correct. These bacteriophage-based treatments involve the use of genetic engineering and other advanced scientific techniques to utilize bacteriophage pathogenesis for the treatment of human diseases. Naturally-occurring bacteriophages are useless for this purpose.


Images should be directly related to the article, i.e. they should not have a tenuous link to page content.
===They ignore non-bacterial enteric diseases===


If there are too many images related to a page, they can be moved to a gallery section or to a separate page (examples of both can be viewed [[List_of_Genuine_Islamic_Inventions_Innovations_Records_and_Firsts#Image_Gallery|here]] and [[Muhammad_Teddy_Bear_Blasphemy_-_Images|here]]).
Even if the wings of flies were to provide humans with an antidote to bacterial diseases, they could possibly infect humans with another non-bacterial disease. Flies also spread pinworm, tapeworm, viral gastroenteritis, amebic dysentery, giardia enteritis, and enteric hepatitis. Bacteriophages and fungi are totally ineffective against these diseases.


Images within written articles should also be tasteful. For example, in an article about [[stoning]], the least graphic image should be chosen. Or in an article about [[Diseases and Cures in the Wings of Houseflies|houseflies and bacteriophages]], an electron micrograph of bacteriophages should be chosen over the closeup image of a fly (which some people may find sickening).
==Conclusion ==


==Style Guidelines==
The scientific evidence does not support the veracity of the fly wing hadith for the following reasons:
An article should begin with a short introduction that summarizes the most important content of the article. It should also end with a conclusion that does the same. The conclusion can also repeat in short the most important references in the article.


==Pro-Islamic Content==
1. Contrary to their innovative interpretations of relevant hadith, bacteriophages are not limited to any specific wing of the fly.


Due to constant vandalism, disruptive editing, non-compliance with guidelines and a lack of time, we are currently not accepting pro-Islamic submissions. This change is only ''temporary'', and our present list of pro-Islamic articles can still be viewed [[:Category:Pro-Islamic Content|here]]. For debates and general discussions about Islam, please visit the [http://forum09.faithfreedom.org/ FFI forum].
2. Contrary to their innovative interpretations of relevant hadith, bacteriophages in the natural state and concentration are not antidotal to bacterial diseases, particularly for temperate or lysogenic phages.  


[[Category:WikiIslam policies and guidelines]]
3. Bacteriophages are ineffective against non-bacterial diseases carried by flies, meaning even if the wings were to provide you with an antidote to bacterial diseases, they could infect you with another non-bacterial disease (i.e. dipping a fly into your drink is not good advice).
 
4. Phage therapy is not a generally-accepted medical therapy at present because it is largely ineffective and requires large quantities of purified, possibly genetically-engineered, phages not present in the natural condition.
 
{{Core Science}}
 
==See Also==
 
{{Hub4|Health|Health}}
 
==External Links==
 
*{{external link| url = http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Science/flies.html| title = Teachings of the Hadith: The wings of the fly| publisher = [[Answering Islam]]| author = | date = | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.answering-islam.org%2FQuran%2FScience%2Fflies.html&date=2013-07-27| deadurl = no}}
 
==Resources on Bacteriophage Biology==
{{refbegin}}
A good general introduction to bacteriophage biology can be obtained from the internet, including the following:
 
*{{external link| url = http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/mayer/phage.htm| title = Bacteriology: Bacteriophage| publisher = University of South Carolina School of Medicine| author = Dr. Gene Mayer| date = February 17, 2010 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpathmicro.med.sc.edu%2Fmayer%2Fphage.htm&date=2013-07-28| deadurl = no}}
*{{external link| url = http://web.archive.org/web/20080706112118/http://www.mun.ca/biochem/courses/3107/Lectures/Topics/bacteriophage.html| title = Biochemistry 3107: Bacteriophage| publisher = Memorial University of Newfoundland Department of Biochemistry| author = Martin E. Mulligan| date = Fall 2002| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20080706112118%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.mun.ca%2Fbiochem%2Fcourses%2F3107%2FLectures%2FTopics%2Fbacteriophage.html&date=2013-07-28| deadurl = no}}
*{{external link| url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophage| title = Bacteriophage| publisher = Wikipedia| author = | date = accessed July 28, 2013| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBacteriophage&date=2013-07-28| deadurl = no}}
*{{external link| url = http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/bgnws011_submission.htm| title = An Expanded Overview of Phage Ecology| publisher = Ohio State University at Mansfield Bacteriophage Ecology Group| author = Stephen T. Abedon| date = January 1, 2002| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mansfield.ohio-state.edu%2F%7Esabedon%2Fbgnws011_submission.htm&date=2013-07-28| deadurl = no}}
<!-- * http://www.britannica.com/nobel/micro/45_23.html
* http://www.bartleby.com/65/ba/bacterio.html
* http://www.cat.cc.md.us/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit2/viruses/lytlc.html -->
{{refend}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Hector]]

Revision as of 11:46, 28 July 2013

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Electron micrograph of bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell.

This article analyzes the apologetic claim that the sahih hadiths concerning the wings of the housefly are somehow scientifically accurate.

Muslim Claim

The thesis put forward by some Muslims is that it has recently been proven by modern science that flies carry not only pathogens but also the agents that limit these pathogens, thus proving the fly wing hadiths:

As narrated from Abu Hurayra and Abu Sa`id al-Khudri by al-Bukhari and in the Sunan, prophet Muhammad said: If a fly falls into one of your containers [of food or drink], immerse it completely (falyaghmis-hu kullahu) before removing it, for under one of its wings there is venom and under another there is its antidote.(Sahih Al-Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 54, Number 537)

They principally identify these agents to be bacteriophages, though they also sometimes refer to fungi.

Bacteriophages (“phages”) are viruses that infect bacteria. It is a generality that all natural bacterial populations are limited by phages and environmental conditions, but it is a leap to suggest that these elements are antidotes. Mammals, too, are limited by pathogens, but it is foolish to suggest these pathogens are antidotal to mammals.

Analysis

Dissection of the fly wing hadiths is as follows:

Which wing contains the venom and which the antidote?

Ibn Hajar wrote in his commentary on the hadith:

I found nothing among the variants to pinpoint the wing that carries the antidote but one of the Ulema said he observed that the fly protects itself with its left wing so it can be deduced that the right one is the one with the antidote.

This is ludicrous, but also what must be the starting point in debating on this subject. For if they say that the presence of phages proves that the hadith is correct, then pointing out that phages are not limited to any one wing, right or left, immediately proves the falsehood in the hadiths.

They make erroneous assumptions

A. They assume that bacteriophages are antidotal to bacteria. Bacteriophages cause lysis of their bacterial hosts in the final stage of infection – thereby releasing new phage particles to infect other bacterial cells in the population. However, in the natural environment, this state is equilibrial – meaning that only a small proportion of bacterial cells is infected at any one time. Just like only a small proportion of humans is ever infected with the flu virus at any one time (except in a pandemic).

B. They assume that flies must carry the antidote to the pathogens they carry.

… from the perspective of logic, if the fly did not carry some sort of protection in the form of an antidote or immunity, it would perish from its own poisonous burden and there would be no fly left in the world.

As far as we know, flies do not succumb to human pathogens – they are merely carriers. This shows that those who make these claims do not understand pathogenesis. Flies do not succumb to human diseases.

The way it works is like this:

  • Fly lands on feces or rotting carcass – gets traces of feces or rotting carcass on itself.
  • Fly lands on human food – drops traces of feces or rotting carcass on human food.
  • Fly flies away – human consumes contaminated food and gets sick.
  • Fly continues on with its life, free to repeat the cycle again.

C. They falsely assume relations that do not exist.

The existence of similar bacteria-killing mechanisms in two bacteriophages suggests that antibiotics for human infections might be designed on the basis of these cell wall-destroying proteins. Science 292 (June 2001) p. 2326-2329.

The ability to design antibiotics that might utilize bacteriophage infection pathways does not prove that phages are antidotal to bacteria. Antibiotics are not phages. Further, these antibiotics are likely to be ‘artificial’ and do not reflect the natural state of fly-human disease interactions.

They make patently erroneous statements

Only in modern times was it discovered that the common fly carried parasitic pathogens for many diseases including malaria, typhoid fever, cholera, and others. It was also discovered that the fly carried parasitic bacteriophagic fungi capable of fighting the germs of all these diseases.

There are two errors here:

A. The common fly does not carry malaria – that is carried by and transmitted exclusively through the bites of Anopheles mosquitoes.[1]

B. There is no such thing as bacteriophagic fungi. This term may sound impressive to non-scientists, but bacteriophages are viruses and fungi are simply fungi.

They quote scientific articles that contain errors

These fly microbiota are bacteriophagic or "germ-eating". Bacteriophages are viruses of viruses. They attack viruses and bacteria. They can be selected and bred to kill specific organisms. The viruses infect a bacterium, replicate and fill the bacterial cell with new copies of the virus, and then break through the bacterium's cell wall, causing it to burst. The existence of similar bacteria-killing mechanisms in two bacteriophages suggests that antibiotics for human infections might be designed on the basis of these cell wall-destroying proteins. Science 292 (June 2001) p. 2326-2329.

A. Bacteriophages do not attack other viruses.

B. Not all bacteriophages encode cell-wall destroying proteins to lyse host cells.

They misinterpret scientific facts

Gnotobiotic [=germ-free] insects (Greenberg et al, 1970) were used to provide evidence of the bacterial pathogen-suppressing ability of the microbiota of Musca domestica [houseflies] .... most relationships between insects and their microbiota remain undefined. Studies with gnotobiotic locusts suggest that the microbiota confers previously unexpected benefits for the insect host.

This basically says that the microbiota of insects protect them from their (i.e. insect) pathogens. It does not say anything about human pathogens carried by insects.

An article in Vol. 43 of the Rockefeller Foundation's Journal of Experimental Medicine (1927) p. 1037 stated: The flies were given some of the cultured microbes for certain diseases. After some time the germs died and no trace was left of them while a germ-devouring substance formed in the flies - bacteriophages. If a saline solution were to be obtained from these flies it would contain bacteriophages able to suppress four kinds of disease-inducing germs and to benefit immunity against four other kinds. Cited in `Abd Allah al-Qusami, Mushkilat al-Ahadith al-Nabawiyya wa-Bayanuha (p. 42).

This has just proven the existence of bacteriophages. What it has not proven is whether these bacteriophages protect humans against human pathogens carried by flies.

They make extension of claims

The fly microbiota were described as "longitudinal yeast cells living as parasites inside their bellies. These yeast cells, in order to perpetuate their life cycle, protrude through certain respiratory tubules of the fly. If the fly is dipped in a liquid, the cells burst into the fluid and the content of those cells is an antidote for the pathogens which the fly carries." Cf. Footnote in the Translation of the Meanings of Sahih al-Bukhari by Muhammad Muhsin Khan (7:372, Book 76 Medicine, Chapter 58, Hadith 5782).

Now it is not only phages on the right wing, but the yeast cells inside fly stomachs and respiratory tubules. We assume it is the yeast antibiotics they are referring to. The presence of tiny amounts of antibiotics (produced by fungi) do not protect humans from enteric diseases. Apologists are confused about antibiotics – they do not understand how antibiotics work. Dosage is important. Modern antibiotics are artificial and highly purified. Treatment of bacterial infections involves ‘massive’ doses of purified antibiotics that are not found in the natural environment.

They confuse the use of bacteriophage

Bacteriophagic medicine was available in the West before the forties but was discontinued when penicillin and other "miracle antibiotics" came out. Bacteriophages continued to flourish in Eastern Europe as an over-the-counter medicine. The "O1-phage" has been used for diagnosis of all Salmonella types while the prophylaxis of Shigella dysentery was conducted with the help of phages. Annales Immunologiae Hungaricae No. 9 (1966) in German.

A. The O1-phage is used for typing (i.e. diagnosing) Salmonella infections, not treating it.

B. Bacteriophage therapy was subsumed by antibiotic therapy in the 1940s because it was largely ineffective. Before antibiotics, physicians were desperate for cures – they would try anything, even bacteriophage therapy – but that does not prove bacteriophage therapy works. In any event, one would need massive doses of phages to treat each case – which does not occur in the natural environment. A fly dipping its right wing, left wing, or its entire body, will not be sufficient.

They do not understand what they purport to be proof

However, researchers in eastern Europe, including the former Soviet Union, continued their studies of the potential healing properties of phages. And now that strains of bacteria resistant to standard antibiotics are on the rise, the idea of phage therapy has been getting more attention in the worldwide medical community. Several biotechnology companies have been formed in the U.S. to develop bacteriophage-based treatments - many of them drawing on the expertise of researchers from eastern Europe." http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2000/Jul/hour1_072100.html

A. This article they quote and link to highlights one of the main limitations of bacteriophages in therapeutics, i.e. it is rapidly taken up by the human body and destroyed in human spleen cells. Therefore, even when a fly should carry bacteriophages, normal human physiology precludes these phages from acting as antidotes.

B. Even if some biotechnology companies want to develop bacteriophage-based treatments, it does not prove the hadith to be correct. These bacteriophage-based treatments involve the use of genetic engineering and other advanced scientific techniques to utilize bacteriophage pathogenesis for the treatment of human diseases. Naturally-occurring bacteriophages are useless for this purpose.

They ignore non-bacterial enteric diseases

Even if the wings of flies were to provide humans with an antidote to bacterial diseases, they could possibly infect humans with another non-bacterial disease. Flies also spread pinworm, tapeworm, viral gastroenteritis, amebic dysentery, giardia enteritis, and enteric hepatitis. Bacteriophages and fungi are totally ineffective against these diseases.

Conclusion

The scientific evidence does not support the veracity of the fly wing hadith for the following reasons:

1. Contrary to their innovative interpretations of relevant hadith, bacteriophages are not limited to any specific wing of the fly.

2. Contrary to their innovative interpretations of relevant hadith, bacteriophages in the natural state and concentration are not antidotal to bacterial diseases, particularly for temperate or lysogenic phages.

3. Bacteriophages are ineffective against non-bacterial diseases carried by flies, meaning even if the wings were to provide you with an antidote to bacterial diseases, they could infect you with another non-bacterial disease (i.e. dipping a fly into your drink is not good advice).

4. Phage therapy is not a generally-accepted medical therapy at present because it is largely ineffective and requires large quantities of purified, possibly genetically-engineered, phages not present in the natural condition.

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See Also

  • Health - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Health

External Links

Resources on Bacteriophage Biology

A good general introduction to bacteriophage biology can be obtained from the internet, including the following:

References

  1. ↑ "Malaria", World Health Organization Media Centre, Fact sheet No. 94, Reviewed March 2013 (archived), http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/. 
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