English Translation

Husayn told us, Khalaf ibn Khalifah told us, from Hafs, from his uncle Anas ibn Malik, who said: There was a household of the Ansar who had a camel with which they drew water, and the camel became obstinate with them and refused to work for them. The Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "We had a camel with which we used to draw water, and it has become obstinate with us and refuses to work for us, and the crops and palm trees are thirsty." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to his companions, "Get up," so they got up, and he entered the enclosure while the camel was off to one side. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, walked toward it. The Ansar said, "O Prophet of Allah, it has become like a rabid dog, and we fear its attack upon you." He said, "There is no harm upon me from it." When the camel saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, it came toward him until it fell down prostrating before him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, took it by its forelock, the most submissive it had ever been, until he brought it back to work. His companions said to him, "O Messenger of Allah, this is a beast that has no reason, yet it prostrates to you, while we have reason - so we are more deserving of prostrating to you." He said, "It is not fitting for any human being to prostrate to another human being; and if it were fitting for a human being to prostrate to another human being, I would have commanded a woman to prostrate to her husband, because of the greatness of his right over her. And by Him in whose hand is my soul, if there were an ulcer from his foot to the crown of his head oozing with pus and discharge, and then she turned to it and licked it, she still would not have fulfilled his right."