Title: Turned to Rats... Question: Please can you explain the following Hadith reported in Bukhariy :- Volume 4, Book 54, Number 524: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A group of Israelites were lost. Nobody knows what they did. But I do not see them except that they were cursed and changed into rats, for if you put the milk of a she-camel in front of a rat, it will not drink it, but if the milk of a sheep is put in front of it, it will drink it." I told this to Ka'b who asked me, "Did you hear it from the Prophet?" I said, "Yes." Ka'b asked me the same question several times.; I said to Ka'b. "Do I read the Torah? (i.e. I tell you this from the Prophet.)" M Answer: Even though the referred narrative can be viewed as one entailing the same kind of information as entailed in Al-Baqarah 2: 65, Al-Maaidah 5: 60 and Al-Aa`raaf 7: 166. However, the difference between the implication of the referred verses and that of the cited narrative is that in the case of the verses, the reference of the punishment can be taken as allegorical rather than physical. On the contrary, because of the words used in the cited narrative the mentioned punishment cannot be taken as allegorical. Furthermore, even if the referred narrative is considered to be correctly ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) and accurately narrated, it does not provide us with any confirmed information. The Prophet (pbuh) in the narrative seems to be giving his opinion about one of the lost tribes of the Israelites. The words used in the narrative clearly lack the authority on the basis of which, it may be held that the Prophet (pbuh) informed people of a historical fact. On the contrary, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that he considers that the referred lost tribe was turned into rats. Subsequently, the narrative goes on to report the basis of this opinion was that the rats did not take camel-milk but would consume sheep-milk. Seen objectively, the stated basis does not seem to be adequate to ascribe to the stated opinion. Finally, the apparent skepticism with which Ka`b (ra) responded to Abu Hurairah's (ra) information is also clearly an evidence of the fact that the information was taken as quite strange in its nature by the senior companion of the Prophet (pbuh). In view of the foregoing points it seems that the information is not accurately reported. The information may have been incorrectly reported due to a misunderstanding of Abu Hurairah (ra) or of later narrator or may even have been concocted by a later narrator and then falsely ascribed to Abu Hurairah (ra). Regards, Moiz Amjad October 19, 2001