distinguished between sheep meat and camel meat, just as he distinguished between sheepfolds and the places where camels rest: he commanded prayer in the former and forbade it in the latter. To claim that analogical reasoning requires treating them alike is akin to the words of those who said:

“Trade is only like usury. But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.”

The distinction between them is real, just as he distinguished between camel owners and sheep owners, saying:

“Pride and arrogance are found among the loud-voiced camel owners, and tranquility among those who tend sheep.”

It is reported concerning camels that “they are jinn, created from jinn,” and it is also reported: “There is a devil atop every camel.” Camels thus possess a satanic force, and there is a resemblance between food and those who consume it.

This is why every fanged beast of prey and every bird with talons is forbidden: they are aggressive creatures, and eating them imparts aggression to a person’s character that harms his religious life. Allah therefore prohibited this, for the aim is that people uphold justice. When someone eats camel meat, it leaves a satanic force within him.

In the hadith recorded in the Sunan collections, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Anger comes from Satan, and Satan was created from fire. Fire is extinguished only with water.” The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “So when one of you becomes angry, let him perform ablution.”

When a servant performs ablution after eating camel meat, this extinguishes the satanic force sufficiently to remove its harmful effect. This is unlike someone who does not perform ablution after eating it, for the harmful effect remains with him. Thus it is said that the Bedouins, through eating camel meat without