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On
a recent
shopping
trip, I
happened to
pass by a
pet shop,
where a big
monkey in a
small cage
outside the
entrance
broke my
heart. I
gathered up
the guts to
enter the
shop, only
to leave in
tears deeply
saddened by
what I had
seen. Poor,
helpless
animals
imprisoned
in tiny
cages
without even
enough space
to turn
around.
Their sad,
pleading
eyes haunted
me as I
fought the
urge to set
them free. I
wondered if
the pet shop
owner ever
thought
about what
it would be
like to be
paralyzed,
as he has
incarcerated
birds in
little
cages. And
for what
beneficial
purpose?
Weren’t
birds meant
to fly?
Maybe only a
fellow
animal lover
would really
understand
what I felt
that day,
yet the
importance
of kindness
to animals
is something
every Muslim
should
understand
as a part of
his
worldview.
It is such a
serious
matter that
in Islam, it
is
understood
that one
could gain
Heaven or
Hell due to
one’s
treatment of
animals.
Mistreating
animals is
considered a
sin in
Islam. A
Muslim is
responsible
for the care
of animals
so much so
that an
ill-treated
animal will
testify
against the
one who
abused it on
the Day of
Judgment.
Islam
forbids
branding
animals and
killing them
in vain,
such as for
sport. The
Prophet
Muhammad
forbade
people to
capture
birds, burn
anthills,
and whip
animals.
Even in
slaughtering
animals for
food, Islam
requires
that the
slaughtering
be done
according to
Islamic
procedure,
which is
humane and
aims to
cause the
animals as
little
suffering as
possible. As
humans, we
have a
responsibility
towards
every living
creature.
As
I left the
shop, tears
streamed
down my face
and I
wondered,
“Where are
the people
of the Sunnah?
Has Allah
plucked the
mercy from
the hearts
of people to
make them so
cold that
they lack an
ounce of
sympathy for
one of
Allah’s
beautiful
creatures
though they
see it so
helpless and
pitiful?
Where are
the Abu
Hurayrahs of
today?”
Abu
Hurayrah was
a close Companion
of the
Prophet
Muhammad and
has narrated
more hadiths,
or sayings
of the
Prophet
Muhammad,
than any
other
Companion.
He was known
for being
very
sympathetic
and loving
towards
animals so
much so that
although his
name was `Abdur-Rahman,
he was known
as Abu
Hurayrah,
meaning
“father of
the
kitten.”
He was
called so
because of a
small cat
that he used
to feed and
care for and
carry with
him
everywhere
he went.
Cats
in Islam
The
Prophet
Muhammad
taught mercy
to all of
God’s
creation.
There are
many reports
of his love
for cats
resulting in
their
historical
acceptance
among
Muslims.
Cats were
very common
among the
people
during the
time of the
Prophet, and
he said,
“They
(cats) are
not impure
and they
intermingle
with you.”1
The
cat is such
a clean
animal that
according to
authentic
narrations
one may make
ablution for
Prayer with
the same
water that a
cat drank
from. Yet,
it is known
that some
people
nowadays
have opposed
the
traditions
of the
Prophet by
taking up
the evil
practices of
torturing
and
poisoning
cats. In
Islam,
punishment
for such
acts is
severe.
Both
Al-Bukhari
and Muslim
reported a
hadith
regarding a
woman who
locked up a
cat,
refusing to
feed it and
not
releasing it
so that it
could feed
itself. The
Prophet
Muhammad
said that
her
punishment
on the Day
of Judgment
will be
torture and
Hell.
Dogs
in Islam
Many
Muslims have
misunderstood
Islam’s
teachings
regarding
dogs, and
this
misunderstanding
has led to
the
mistreatment
of these
animals. The
Prophet
said,
“Purifying
a container
that a dog
has licked
(in order
for
human’s to
use it) is
done by
washing it
seven times,
the first
washing
being with
dirt.”2
However,
according to
some
scholars, a
dog’s fur
is
considered
pure3.
Nonetheless,
Muslims are
discouraged
from keeping
dogs inside
their homes,
as the
Prophet has
been
reported as
saying that
angels do
not enter
into a house
that has a
dog4.
However,
just because
one does not
keep a dog
inside the
home and
doesn’t
drink after
it, that
does not
give one the
right to
neglect it,
mistreat it,
or kill it.
The
usefulness
of this
creature of
God is
indisputable.
No other
animal can
compete with
it in its
loyalty to
its
caregiver,
its
abilities as
a guard, and
its talent
for hunting.
In fact, the
Qur’an
narrates in
Surat Al-Kahf,
or “The
Cave,” the
story of
some pious
youths who
took refuge
in a cave
from the
persecution
and violence
of the
unbelievers.
That these
righteous
people had a
dog with
them, and
the fact
that Allah
mentions the
dog and
counts the
dog among
them,
indicates
that dogs
are
permitted to
live among
people. [And
you would
have thought
them awake,
whereas they
were asleep.
And We
turned them
on their
right and on
their left
sides, and
their dog
stretching
forth his
two forelegs
at the
entrance (of
the cave as
a guard)]
(Al-Kahf
18:18).
So
dogs may be
used for
guards as
well as for
hunting, as
the Qur’an
also states:
[They ask
you about
what is
lawful for
them (as
food); Say:
Lawful unto
you are
(all) things
good and
pure: and
those beasts
and birds of
prey which
you have
trained as
hounds,
training and
teaching
them (to
catch) in a
manner as
directed to
you by
Allah; so
eat what
they catch
for you, but
pronounce
the name of
Allah over
it and fear
Allah, for
Allah is
swift in
reckoning]
(Al-Ma’idah
5:4).
In
two separate
hadiths
narrated by
Abu Hurayrah
(the
cat-loving
Companion),
the Prophet
told his
Companions
of the
virtue of
saving the
life of a
dog by
giving it
water and
quenching
its thirst:
one referred
to was a man
who was
blessed by
Allah for
giving water
to a thirsty
dog. The
other was a
prostitute,
who filled
her shoe
with water
and gave it
to a dog
that was
lolling its
tongue in
thirst. For
this deed
she was
granted the
ultimate
reward:
eternal
Paradise.
Islam
asks people
to reflect
upon this
and be aware
of each
person’s
duty toward
God’s
creatures,
which He has
put on earth
for our use,
not for our
abuse. When
the Prophet
was asked if
God rewarded
acts of
charity to
the animals,
he replied,
“Yes,
there is a
reward for
acts of
charity to
every beast
alive.”
Hediyah
Al-Amin
is a
Muslim-American
teacher of
Islamic
Studies and
Islamic
Culture at
the Qatar
Center for
the
Presentation
of Islam.
[1][1]
Narrated by
Abu Dawud.
[1][2]
Narrated by
Muslim.
[1][3]
See Fiqh
Us-Sunnah
by Sayyid
Sabiq.
[1][4]
Narrated by
Al-Bukhari
and Muslim.
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