Killing the chameleon

Question

Question: The common people relate that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in the cave of Thawr together with Hazrat Abu Bakr ﵁, a spider had spun its web and pigeons had laid eggs. At that time a party of the disbelievers searching for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to the cave of Thawr as well, and the chameleon, bobbing its neck again and again, was indicating that the Messenger ﷺ was in this cave. How far is this narration authentic?

Answer

I have not seen this in any narration. However, the reward for killing the chameleon has come in hadiths. Its blowing (on the fire) when Bayt al-Maqdis was set on fire, and likewise its blowing when Hazrat Ibrahim ﵇ was thrown into the fire, is found in “Majma‘ al-Bihar” (vol. 3, p. 434).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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