Points derived from the ḥadith

1 – The fly is considered pure, both while alive and after death, and it does not contaminate any liquid or solid into which it falls.

2 – It is recommended to plunge the entire fly into whatever drink it has fallen, then remove it. One may still benefit from that drink, for its purity and monetary value remain intact. If the fly lands in a solid food, however, it should be discarded along with the immediate area around it, since its harm does not spread through the rest of the solid.

3 – One of the fly’s two wings carries disease while the other carries the cure. When it falls into a drink, it instinctively lifts the wing that holds the cure and dips the wing that holds the disease, preserving the God-given “weapon” stored in the curative wing for future use. Out of Divine wisdom, therefore, the Law instructs us to immerse the wing that bears the cure so that its remedy neutralises the disease and the harm is removed. As for throwing the drink away, that would amount to wastefulness and ruin. Islamic law is not confined to one era or one people; a given beverage may be of great value in certain times, places, or societies.

4 – The ḥadith contains an element of scientific marvel: modern research and discoveries have confirmed the presence of a harmful pathogen on one wing of the fly and an antidote on the other. Truly, Allah’s legislation holds wondrous secrets.

5 – On the basis of the fly’s purity, scholars extended the same ruling to every insect that has no flowing blood. They judged such creatures pure and held that they do not defile any food or drink they fall into, whether the quantity involved is small or large. The reason things become impure is the congealed blood that remains in an animal after death, and that cause is absent in creatures without flowing blood—such as the bee, the wasp, the mosquito, and the like.