Camel urine


Camel urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in camels. Urine from camels has been used in the Arabian Peninsula for medicinal purposes for centuries, being a part of Prophetic medicine.

History in Islamic prophetic medicine

In the tradition of prophetic medicine in Islam, Muhammad is said to have encouraged its use among the sick "till their bodies became healthy." The hadith also states "Some people of ‘Ukl or ‘Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them... So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of camels and to drink their milk and urine.... So they went as directed and after they became healthy".. At that particular time that disease which had affected the people of 'Uraina, had no other cure. So it was a temporary cure. plus, in someone's illness, if the medicine which cures them has a haram substance in it, and there is no other substitute, only then that medicine is permissible.
Bachtiar Nasir, an Islamic cleric, advocated for and defended the consumption of camel urine, quoting the hadith. Abu Yusuf, a student of Abu Hanifah, said that there is no harm in using camel urine for medical treatment. However, according to Abū Ḥanīfah, the drinking of camel urine is discouraged.

Usage and effects

In Yemen, it is drunk and is used for treating ailments, though it has been widely denounced. Some salons are said use it as a treatment for hair loss. The camel urine from a virgin camel is priced at twenty dollars per liter, with herders saying that it has curative powers. It is traditionally mixed with milk.
The World Health Organisation has said that camels are the source of the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus and has urged people who have "diabetes, renal failure, chronic lung disease, and immunocompromised persons are considered to be at high risk of severe disease from MERS-CoV infection" to avoid contact with camels, drinking raw camel milk or camel urine, or eating meat that has not been properly cooked. Experimental infections of dromedaries with MERS‐CoV didn't show any evidence of virus in the urine. Therefore, the camel urine is an unlikely source of virus transmission to humans.