1160 – From ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUthmān al-Qurashī (may Allah be pleased with him): “A physician asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about the frog: may he use it in a remedy? The Prophet forbade killing it.” Reported by Aḥmad, and al-Ḥākim declared it authentic (1).

Hadith grade
The report is ḥasan (sound).
The compiler states: It was recorded by Aḥmad, al-Ḥākim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī and al-Bayhaqī. Al-Bayhaqī said, “This is the strongest narration on the prohibition of killing the frog, and it has a corroborating report in the Ṣaḥīḥ.”

A corroboration comes from the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar: “Do not kill the frog, for its croaking is glorification.” Al-Bayhaqī judged its chain sound, and al-Ḥākim authenticated it.

Vocabulary
• ḍifdaʿ (frog): the singular of ḍafādiʿ; an amphibious creature that croaks. The word applies to both male and female; the plural is ḍafādiʿ.

The Encyclopedia says: “The frog is an amphibian found in calm fresh-water areas and woodlands. Its skin is smooth; it is usually green or brown. Some species secrete bright-colored or poisonous substances. Frogs inhabit every region of the world.”

Al-Damīrī notes: “Ḍifdaʿ is pronounced with a kasrah on the ḍād, a sukūn on the fāʾ, followed by an un-dotted dāl, and finally an ʿayn. It is the singular of ḍafādiʿ, while the feminine form is ḍifdaʿah.”