616 – Kaʿb ibn ʿUjrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I was carried to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while lice were falling onto my face. He said, ‘I did not think the pain had reached the extent I now see. Can you afford a sheep?’ I replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Then fast three days, or feed six needy people, giving each half a sāʿ.’” Agreed upon. (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• ʿUjrah: the ʿayn is pronounced with ḍamma, the jīm is quiescent, followed by a rāʾ and a hāʾ.
• ḥumiltu: passive form, indicating that because of severe illness he could not walk and had to be carried.
• al-qaml (lice): plural of qamla; a small insect that breeds on the body when internal corruption is expelled outward.
Al-Damīrī notes that lice originate from sweat and dirt that accumulate on clothing, skin, feathers, or hair when the place becomes putrid.
• urā: with ḍamma on the hamza, meaning “I think/assume.”
• al-wajaʿ: with two fatḥas; a comprehensive term for any painful illness. Plural: awjāʿ.
• mā arā: with fatḥa on the hamza, meaning “I observe/see.”
• sāʿ: may be treated as masculine or feminine. Its plural of paucity is aṣwʿa, and of abundance ṣiyʿān and āṣʿa. The Prophetic sāʿ is estimated at 3,000 grams.