Drinking Standing and the Report of Treatment with Camel Milk and Urine

QUESTION

Is it authentic that the Prophet ﷺ drank standing and drank camel urine? What benefit is mentioned?

SHORT ANSWER

The Prophet ﷺ did drink standing; the report is authentic. The report about camel milk and urine is also authentic, but says that he directed a group of sick people to drink them. It does not say that he himself drank camel urine. The report records their recovery after this treatment; it does not establish the benefit of urine alone, a cure for all illnesses, or a daily drink for everyone.

ARABIC TEXT

1. Ibn ʿAbbās, wording of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, no. 1637:

سَقَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ زَمْزَمَ، فَشَرِبَ وَهُوَ قَائِمٌ.

2. Anas bin Mālik, opening excerpt of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 1671a:

أَنَّ نَاسًا مِنْ عُرَيْنَةَ قَدِمُوا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمَدِينَةَ فَاجْتَوَوْهَا، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِنْ شِئْتُمْ أَنْ تَخْرُجُوا إِلَى إِبِلِ الصَّدَقَةِ فَتَشْرَبُوا مِنْ أَلْبَانِهَا وَأَبْوَالِهَا». فَفَعَلُوا فَصَحُّوا.

The second excerpt ends at the treatment episode; the full report continues with their crimes.

TRANSLATION

1. Ibn ʿAbbās said: “I gave the Messenger of Allah ﷺ Zamzam water, and he drank while standing.”

2. Anas bin Mālik reported that some people from ʿUraynah came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Madinah, but its conditions disagreed with them and they became ill. He told them: “If you wish, go out to the charity camels and drink their milk and urine.” They did so and recovered.

This translates the treatment portion of a longer report.

COMPANION NARRATORS

ʿAbd Allāh bin ʿAbbās; Anas bin Mālik.

SOURCES AND SCHOLARS

Al-Bukhārī — Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, nos. 1637 and 5686. Muslim — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, nos. 2027d and 1671a. Al-Nawawī — al-Minhāj Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Drinks, commentary on nos. 2024–2027; al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, 2/567–568. Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī — Fatḥ al-Bārī, 10/148–149, chapter on treatment with camel milk.

SCHOLARLY COMMENTS

1. Al-Nawawī — al-Minhāj Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Drinks, commentary on nos. 2024–2027: accepts both the prohibitory reports and the reports of drinking standing. He reconciles them by understanding the prohibition as non-binding discouragement and the Prophet’s action as showing permissibility. Sitting is preferable on this interpretation; he does not choose abrogation. Open the text ↗

2. Ibn Ḥajar — Fatḥ al-Bārī, 10/148–149: explains treatment with camel milk as applying to an illness suited to it, and compares the milk-only wording with reports mentioning both milk and urine. This cannot be generalized to every disease. Open the text ↗

3. Al-Nawawī — al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, 2/567–568: records disagreement over urine from animals whose meat is lawful. The established Shāfiʿī position considers it ritually impure; Mālik and Aḥmad are among those who consider it pure. He explains the Anas report through its medicinal context. Authenticity does not mean all schools agree that camel urine is pure. Open the text ↗

EXPLANATION

1. Identify who performed each action. Ibn ʿAbbās describes the Prophet ﷺ himself drinking Zamzam while standing. Anas describes the sick people from ʿUraynah drinking camel milk and urine. The second passage does not establish that the Prophet ﷺ himself drank urine.

2. The reports discouraging drinking standing are also authentic. Al-Nawawī reconciles them with the Prophet’s action: sitting is preferable and standing is permissible. This is his interpretation, not a claim of scholarly consensus. A sound report should not be weakened merely because it appears to conflict with another before their meanings are reconciled.

3. What benefit does the text establish? It states that they followed the treatment and recovered. It does not isolate the effect of each substance, specify a dose or duration, or name a modern diagnosis. It does not establish that urine alone cures all diseases or that everyone should drink it.

4. Report authenticity, ritual purity and treatment suitability are different questions. Scholars differ over camel urine’s purity and the details of medicinal use. Do not turn this episode into a general daily practice of drinking urine, or reject an authentic report merely because of disgust.

5. For medical use today, do not experiment on yourself or replace a doctor’s treatment with camel urine. In its MERS prevention guidance, citing WHO advice for travelers, CDC recommends avoiding raw camel milk and camel urine. Current treatment and risk assessment are distinct from hadith chain evaluation. Open the health guidance ↗

LESSONS

• Identify the person performing an action before sharing a claim.
• Read related authentic reports together and convey disagreement accurately.
• Do not expand a treatment claim beyond the text and medical evidence.

CONCLUSION

Both reports are authentic: the Prophet ﷺ drank standing, and he directed sick people to drink camel milk and urine. The latter does not say he himself drank urine. Their recovery is recorded; general benefits, the effect of urine alone and suitability for today’s patient cannot be established from this episode alone. Sitting is preferable according to al-Nawawī’s reconciliation. This report should not serve as a prescription for self-treatment.

REFERENCES

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 1637: Open the hadith text ↗

Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 2027d: Open the hadith text ↗

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 5686, chapter on treatment with camel urine: Open the hadith text ↗

Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1671a: Open the hadith text ↗