Reconciling the Hadiths About Mice, Lizards, and Transformed Nations
Question
I came across hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim which seem contradictory. In some narrations, the Prophet ﷺ appears to suggest that mice or lizards may have been from a transformed nation, while another hadith states that people whom Allah transformed did not reproduce. How are these narrations reconciled?
Answer
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in.
There is no contradiction between these narrations. The scholars of hadith addressed this issue directly. The key is that the Prophet ﷺ initially considered the possibility that certain animals were descended from a transformed people, but Allah later informed him that transformed nations do not leave descendants. The later information therefore clarified the earlier statement.
1. The Hadith About Mice
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said concerning mice:
“A nation from Banu Isra’il was lost, and it is not known what happened to them. I do not think except that they were transformed into mice…”
He then mentioned that when camel milk was placed before mice they would not drink it, whereas they would drink sheep’s milk.
This is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari.
The important wording is:
لا أراها إلا الفأر
“I do not think them to be anything except mice.”
The wording reflects what appeared possible to the Prophet ﷺ at that point based upon the information available to him. It is not a statement that every mouse was certainly descended from those transformed people.
2. The Hadith Concerning the Dabb
A similar narration concerns the dabb, the desert lizard.
When Khalid ibn al-Walid ate dabb in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ did not declare it haram. In another narration, however, he refrained from eating it and mentioned that a nation had previously been transformed, and he feared that it might be connected with that transformation.
Again, this indicates caution concerning a possibility, not a definitive declaration that the species originated from transformed human beings.
This distinction is important because the Prophet ﷺ did not prohibit others from eating the dabb. In fact, Khalid ate it while the Prophet ﷺ was present.
3. The Later Hadith Clarifies the Matter
The decisive narration is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud in Sahih Muslim. The Prophet ﷺ was asked about apes and pigs and whether they were descended from those who had been transformed. He answered:
“Allah did not transform a people and then give them descendants.”
He explained that apes and pigs already existed before the people who were transformed.
This establishes an important fact: those whom Allah transformed as punishment did not reproduce and establish continuing animal species.
Therefore, today’s mice, apes, pigs, or other animals are not descendants of human beings who were transformed.
4. How the Scholars Reconciled the Narrations
Imam al-Nawawi discusses this issue in his commentary on Sahih Muslim.
He explains that the earlier statements concerning mice and the dabb occurred before the Prophet ﷺ was informed that transformed people do not leave descendants.
Once Allah informed him of this, the matter became clear.
Thus, the sequence is essentially:
The Prophet ﷺ knew that previous nations had been transformed as punishment.
At an earlier stage, he considered whether certain existing animals might have descended from such transformed people.
He later received knowledge that Allah does not give transformed people continuing descendants.
Consequently, the earlier possibility was no longer applicable.
This is also the reconciliation mentioned by a number of hadith commentators.
5. Were People Actually Transformed Into Animals?
Yes. The Qur’an itself establishes that Allah transformed some previous transgressors.
Allah says:
“Be apes, despised.”
Surah al-Baqarah 2:65
And Allah mentions those whom He:
“made of them apes and pigs.”
Surah al-Ma’idah 5:60
Ahl al-Sunnah therefore affirm the occurrence of maskh, physical transformation, as described in revelation.
However, those transformed individuals did not establish biological lineages. Existing species such as apes and pigs existed independently before those transformations.
6. This Is Not a Contradiction in Hadith
A contradiction would exist if the Prophet ﷺ definitively stated both:
“These animals are descendants of transformed people”
and:
“Transformed people cannot have descendants.”
That is not what occurred.
Rather, one narration records an earlier supposition or concern, while another provides definitive information that resolves that uncertainty.
Scholars therefore did not understand these authentic narrations as mutually contradictory.
7. Relevant Usul Principle
An important principle when dealing with apparently conflicting texts is:
الجمع بين الدليلين أولى من إهمال أحدهما
“Reconciling two evidences is preferable to disregarding either one of them.”
When two authentic narrations initially appear inconsistent, the first step is not to reject one of them. Their wording, context, chronology, and whether one provides additional information explaining the other must first be examined.
Another relevant principle is:
زيادة العلم ترفع الاحتمال السابق
“Additional knowledge removes an earlier possibility.”
The Prophet’s ﷺ earlier concern about the origin of certain animals was therefore resolved when he was subsequently informed that transformed nations do not reproduce.
Final Ruling
There is no contradiction between these hadiths.
The narrations concerning mice and the dabb reflect an earlier possibility considered by the Prophet ﷺ concerning whether certain animals might have been connected to people whom Allah had transformed.
The hadith in Sahih Muslim provides the decisive clarification: Allah did not give transformed nations descendants. Therefore, the animals existing today are not descended from people who were transformed as punishment.
The Qur’an and Sunnah affirm that transformations of certain previous peoples genuinely occurred, but those transformed individuals eventually perished without establishing continuing animal lineages.
This reconciliation was explicitly recognized by classical hadith commentators, including Imam al-Nawawi.
And Allah knows best.