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In Islam, we are enjoined to display generosity, kindness, and mercy to family, friends, colleagues, and even animals. One of the things that becomes evidently clear from the practices and teachings of the Prophet (ﷺ) is that causing animals pain and suffering is not only shunned upon, it is something that we are held accountable for.
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ فَدَخَلَ حَائِطًا لِرَجُلٍ مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ فَإِذَا جَمَلٌ فَلَمَّا رَأَى النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَنَّ وَذَرَفَتْ عَيْنَاهُ فَأَتَاهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَمَسَحَ ذِفْرَاهُ فَسَكَتَ فَقَالَ مَنْ رَبُّ هَذَا الْجَمَلِ لِمَنْ هَذَا الْجَمَلُ فَجَاءَ فَتًى مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ فَقَالَ لِي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ أَفَلَا تَتَّقِي اللَّهَ فِي هَذِهِ الْبَهِيمَةِ الَّتِي مَلَّكَكَ اللَّهُ إِيَّاهَا فَإِنَّهُ شَكَا إِلَيَّ أَنَّكَ تُجِيعُهُ وَتُدْئِبُهُ
“The Messenger (ﷺ) entered a garden among the Ansār. When a camel saw the Prophet (ﷺ), it started weeping and making sounds as its tears flowed. The Prophet (ﷺ) came to it and patted it on the head, so it became silent.
“The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
‘Who is the master of this camel? To whom does it belong?’
“A young man from the Ansār came and said,
‘This is mine, O Messenger of Allah.’
“The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
‘Do you not fear Allah regarding this animal that Allah has put in your possession? Verily, she has complained to me that you keep her hungry and tired.'” [1]
Lessons learned
With respect to our treatment of animals, there are many lessons that we can draw from this report.
Here are some of these observations:
- The greater our awareness of Allah, the more mindful we are when interacting with animals;
- Animals will have the right to seek recompense from those who mistreated them on the Day of Judgment;
- The Prophet (ﷺ) showed mercy and compassion, even when dealing with animals;
- The negligence that was shown in the treatment of the camel really saddened and annoyed the Prophet (ﷺ).
Action plan
As we eagerly search for opportunities to display kindness and compassion within our social circles, let’s remind ourselves that kindness towards animals is also encouraged and rewarding!
Here are a few things we can do to become more compassionate towards animals:
- If we have pets, we should ensure that they are fed on time and looked after properly;
- If we come across pigeons, ducks, or cats that are hungry, we should go out of our way to fulfil their needs in hopes of pleasing our Creator;
- If we see animal mistreatment taking place, we should do what’s within our power to put a stop to it.
Coming up
While we take the aforementioned points into consideration, let’s take a quick look at Part 19 of the series: supporting the mosque.
How much are you contributing to the maintenance of your local mosque? If it’s something you haven’t thought about before, are you intending to support the mosque this Ramadan?
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Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] Abu Dāwud: 4,539
