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_-_Animal_Rights_and_Wrongs_001.jpg) “God has created every moving (living) creature from
water. Of them there are some that creep on their bellies, some that walk on
two legs, and some that walk on four. God creates what He wills. Verily! God
is Able to do all things.” (Quran 24:45)
Throughout the revealed texts of Islam, we find
that God has animals playing not insignificant roles in the fate of nations. After
all, in the above verse we are informed of our common origin: water.
In the story of the People of Thamud, for
example, we are given an indication of Islam’s enforcing of ethical treatment
of animals, or more precisely, the severe consequences of mistreating them. For
it was only after Thamud slaughtered the she-camel miraculously sent to them by
God as a Sign, after they had already oppressed the beast by denying her water
to drink, that God destroyed the nation in one single mighty blast.
“(The People of) Thamud denied (their Prophet, Salih)
through their transgression, when the most wicked man among them went forth (to
kill the she-camel). But the Messenger of God (Prophet Salih) (had) said to
them: Be cautious! That is the she-camel of God! (So do not harm it) and bar
it not from having its drink (of water)! Then they denied him and they killed
it. So their Lord destroyed them because of their sin, and made them equal in
destruction!” (Quran 91:11-4)
In order to best appreciate just how seriously
Islam champions what in modern times are popularly referred to as “animal
rights”, and how seriously Islam criminalises any wrong done to animals, one
need venture no further than the authentic narrations (ar. ahadith) of the
Prophet Muhammad. No detailed commentary will be necessary as the words of the
Prophet, often highly charged with emotion and empathy for the suffering of
birds and beasts alike, speak loudly for themselves as they vividly illustrate
Islam’s unprecedented “humanistic” regard for man’s fellow creatures. From amongst
the many sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are:
“Whilst a man was walking on a road, he was
overcome with severe thirst. So he found a well, descended into it, drank (his
fill), and then came out. Then he saw a dog panting hard and eating the moist
earth. So he said: ‘Verily, this dog is overcome with thirst like I had been.’
So he (again) descended into the well and filled his leather socks with water.
Grasping his socks in his mouth, he came out of the well and then quenched the
dog’s thirst. Therefore, God thanked the man and forgave him his sins.” The
Companions asked: ‘O Messenger of God! Do we really get reward for (being kind
even to) animals?’ The Prophet replied: ‘There is reward for (showing kindness
to) every living thing.’” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, Abu Dawood)
“A woman was punished on account of a cat.
She imprisoned it until it died, so was entered into Hellfire. She neither fed
it nor quenched its thirst whilst she held it captive, nor did she leave it be
to eat from the insects of the earth.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim,
Ibn Majah)
“Whoever kills [even] a sparrow without
good reason, God will question him about it on the Day of Resurrection.” (Ahmed)
“Do not use living creatures for target
practice.” (Saheeh Muslim)
“An earlier Prophet of God was stung by an
ant and so, in anger, ordered the entire ants nest be burned. At this, God
reprimanded this Prophet with the words: ‘Because one ant stung you, you have
burned a whole community which glorified Me.’” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)
“The one to whom his horse is a source of
reward is the one who keeps it in the path of God, and ties it by a long rope
in a pasture or a garden. Such a person will get a reward equal to what the
horse’s long rope allows it to eat in the pasture or the garden. And if the
horse breaks its rope and crosses one or two hills, then all marks of its hoofs
and its dung will be counted as good deeds for its owner. And if it passes by
a river and drinks from it, then that will also be regarded as a good deed on
the part of its owner.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
“Do not clip the forelock of a horse, for
decency is attached to its forelock; nor its mane, for it protects it; nor its
tail, for it is its fly-swatter.” (Abu Dawud)
“While a man was riding a cow, it turned
toward him and said: ‘I have not been created for this purpose; I have been
created for plowing.’” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
Abdullah bin Abbas narrated:
“God’s Messenger forbade inciting animals
to fight each other.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, at-Tirmidhi)
Abdur-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Mas‘ud narrated:
“We were on a journey with the Messenger of
God, and he left us for a while. During his absence, we saw a bird called Hummara
with its two young and so we took the young ones. The mother bird was circling
above us in the air, beating its wings in grief, when the Prophet came back and
said: ‘Who has hurt the feelings of this bird by taking its young? Return them
to her!’” (Saheeh Muslim)
Jabir bin Abdullah narrated that the Prophet,
upon seeing an ass which had been branded in its face pass him by, became so
upset that he exclaimed:
“May God curse the one who branded it.” (Saheeh
Muslim)
The Prophet’s wife, A’isha, narrated: “I was
riding a restive camel and turned it rather roughly. The Prophet said to me:
‘It behooves you to treat animals gently.’”
(Saheeh Muslim)
Yahya bin Said narrated:
“The Prophet was seen wiping the face of
his horse with his gown. When asked why he was doing that, he replied: ‘Last
night I was reprimanded by God for having neglected my horse.’” (Muwatta)
Abdullah bin Ja’far mentioned that when the
Prophet passed by some children who were shooting arrows at a ram, he rebuked
them, saying:
“Do not maim the poor beast.” (an-Nasai)
Even a cursory reading of the Prophet’s words
above will have revealed how harming, abusing or disfiguring animals carries
stern censure in this world and severe penalty in the Hereafter; while
protecting animals and showing mercy and kindness to them is rewarded by God, a
path to forgiveness, and expiation of one’s sins. It is clear also that Islam
acknowledges the pain and suffering felt and experienced by animals – both
physical and psychological - and how they instinctively recognise when
injustice is done to them. Quite remarkably, Islam also recognises animals as
possessing a conscience, natural dignity, and even unique individual identities
(a bird named “Hummara”, a donkey named “Uqayr”, and so on).
“And the earth He has put for the living creatures. Therein
are fruits and palms producing sheathed fruit-stalks; and also corn, with (its)
leaves and stalks for fodder, and sweet-scented plants. Then which of the
Blessings of your Lord will you deny?” (Quran 10:10-13)
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