How Prophet Muhammad Treated Animals - II

25/12/2011| IslamWeb

·        Ibn 'Abbaas  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him said, “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) passed by a man who had placed his foot on the face of a sheep while he was sharpening his blade before slaughtering it and it was staring at him. Thereupon he  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said: ‘Do you wish to kill it twice? Just slaughter it.’[Al-Bayhaqi] 

·        Ibn 'Abbaas  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him reported the Messenger of Allah,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) to have said: “Do not make anything living a target.”[Muslim]. In another narration, he,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ), cursed those who did this. Thus, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, gave stern warning to those who treated animals unjustly and abused them.

·        Jaabir  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him reported, “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) forbade killing the animal after tying it.” [Muslim] The reason for this is that it tortures the animal emotionally before the animal is slaughtered.

·        Not only did the Prophet,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ), forbid killing animals after tying them, he even forbade hitting animals. Jaabir  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him reported, “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) forbade hitting the animal on its face.” [Abu Daawood]

·        Ibn 'Abbaas  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him said, “An ass with a brand on the face happened to pass before the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). Thereupon, he said: ‘May Allah curse the one who has branded it (on the face).’[Muslim] 

·        The Prophet’s,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) instructions, were not limited to this; he also warned and threatened those who oppressed animals and mistreated them. Ibn ‘Umar  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him said, “The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said: ‘A woman was punished in Hell because of a cat which she had confined until it died. She did not give it anything to eat or drink when it was confined, nor did she free it so that it might eat the vermin of the earth.’[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]This story shows that those who are guilty of ill-treatment of animals will be severely punished. 

On the other hand, the Prophet,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) also encouraged others to show kindness towards animals.Just as he,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ), used to caution his Companions  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  them about the consequence of treating animals harshly and unjustly, he,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ), would also encourage them by informing them of the great rewards given to those who are kind and compassionate towards animals. The following are Hadeeths where we are told of these rewards:
 
 
·        Abu Hurayrah  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him reported,
 
“The Messenger of Allah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said: ‘While a man was walking on his way, he became extremely thirsty. He found a well and went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog that was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth due to extreme thirst. The man thought to himself, ‘This dog is as extremely thirsty as I was.’ So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins.’ The Companions  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  them asked, ‘Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to animals also?’ He  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said: ‘A reward is given in connection with every living creature.’ [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
 
 
·        Jaabir  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him reported that the Messenger of Allah,  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ), said: “If a Muslim plants a tree or sows a field and men, beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity from him.” [Muslim]

How Prophet Muhammad Treated Animals – I

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