Takhrij Hadith 220: "There was a household among…"

There was a household among the Ansar who had a camel upon which they used to draw water for irrigation. Then the camel became unruly and refused to let them ride it. So the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: “We had a camel with which we used to irrigate, but it has become difficult and refuses us its back, and the crops and palm trees have become thirsty.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to his companions: “Come.” So they got up and entered the garden enclosure while the camel was in one corner of it. The Prophet ﷺ walked toward it. The Ansar said: “O Messenger of Allah, it has become like a rabid dog, and we fear for you from its attack.” He ﷺ said: “It will not harm me.” When the camel saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, it came toward him until it fell prostrating before him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took hold of its forelock, and it became more submissive than it had ever been, until he led it back to work. His companions then said: “O Prophet of Allah, this is an animal with no understanding, yet it prostrates to you, while we possess understanding, so we have more right to prostrate to you!” He ﷺ said: “It is not appropriate for a human being to prostrate to another human being. If it were appropriate for a human to prostrate to another human, I would have commanded a wife to prostrate to her husband because of the greatness of his right over her. By the One in whose hand is my soul, if from his feet to the top of his head he were covered with sores flowing with pus and discharge, and she were to approach and lick them, she still would not have fulfilled his right.