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Diseases and Cures in the Wings of Houseflies: Difference between revisions
Diseases and Cures in the Wings of Houseflies (view source)
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{{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=2|Content=3|Language= | {{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=2|Content=3|Language=4|References=2}} | ||
[[File:Phage.jpg|right|thumb|Electron micrograph of bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell.]] | [[File:Phage.jpg|right|thumb|Electron micrograph of bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell.]] | ||
A number of [[sahih]] [[hadith|hadith]] traditions concerning the wings of the housefly exist, claiming that at least one wing of the fly has curative or medicinal properties. Despite the apologetics of [[Du'aah|duaah]], though, these claims are not [[Islam and Science|scientifically]] accurate. | A number of [[sahih]] [[hadith|hadith]] traditions concerning the wings of the housefly exist, claiming that at least one wing of the fly has curative or medicinal properties. Despite the apologetics of [[Du'aah|duaah]], though, these claims are not [[Islam and Science|scientifically]] accurate. | ||
==Apologetic Claim== | ==Apologetic Claim== | ||
The | The claim put forward 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): | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3320|darussalam}}|The Prophet said "If a house fly falls in the drink of anyone of you, he should dip it (in the drink), for one of its wings has a disease and the other has the cure for the disease."<!-- 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) -->}} | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|||3320|darussalam}}|The Prophet said "If a house fly falls in the drink of anyone of you, he should dip it (in the drink), for one of its wings has a disease and the other has the cure for the disease."<!-- 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) -->}} | ||
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{{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.}} | {{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.}} | ||
This statement is evidently mistaken, but is also what must be the starting point in debating on this subject. For if | This statement is evidently mistaken, but is also what must be the starting point in debating on this subject. For if the apologists 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. | ||
===Assumptions of this Argument=== | ===Assumptions of this Argument=== | ||
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{{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).}} | {{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).}} | ||
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) does not protect humans from enteric diseases. The apologist is conveying misinformation here. The Dosage makes the antidote. 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. The small amounts inside the body of the animal do not offer any meaningful effect for humans. | 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) does not protect humans from enteric diseases. The apologist is conveying misinformation here. The Dosage makes the antidote. 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. The small amounts inside the body of the animal do not offer any meaningful protective or curative effect for humans. | ||
===Confusing the use of bacteriophage=== | ===Confusing the use of bacteriophage=== | ||
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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. | 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. | ||
== | ==The Scientific View== | ||
The scientific evidence does not support the veracity of the fly wing hadith for the following reasons: | The scientific evidence does not support the veracity of the fly wing hadith for the following reasons: | ||