It is reported by the same authority that "A man once robbed some eggs from the nest of a bird.
The Prophet had them restored to the nest" (id.).
The Holy Prophet has even tried the "Punishment and Reward" approach in the following
Ahadith:
The Islamic concern about cruelty to animals is so great that it has declared the infliction
of any unnecessary and avoidable pain "even to a sparrow or any creature smaller than
that" as a sin for which the culprit would be answerable to God on the Day of Judgment.
The Prophet told his companions of a woman who would be sent to Hell for having locked up a
cat; not feeding it, nor even releasing it so that it could feed herself. (Narrated by Abdullah bin
'Omar. Bukhari, 4:337; recorded in Riyad [Ref. No. 28], Hadith No. 1605; p. 271. Also Muslim,
Vol. 4, Hadith No. 2242. English translation by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi; Sh. Muhammad Ashraf,
Lahore, Pakistan; 1976; Vol. 4, Hadith No. 5570; p. 1215. According to the English translation,
this Hadith was also narrated by the Abu Huraira and by Naqi who had heard it from Abdullah;
Hadith No. 5573; p. 1215. This Hadith has been recorded by almost all the authentic books of
Hadith, as the Ref. No. 53 will show.)
Islam's concern for animals goes beyond the prevention of physical cruelty or even
condescending kindness to them, which is a negative proposition. It enjoins on the human
species, as the principal primates of animated world, to take over the responsibility of all
creatures in the spirit of a positive philosophy of life and to be their active protectors.
The Prophet was asked if acts of charity even to the animals were rewarded by God. He replied:
"Yes, there is a reward for acts of charity to every beast alive." (Narrated by Abu Huraira,
Bukhari, 3:322. Also Muslim, Vol. 4; Hadith No. 2244. Also Awn [Ref. No. 32], 7:222, Hadith No.
2533. Also Mishkat al-masabih, Book 6; Chapter 6)
Mishkat Al-Masabih concluded from "Bukhari" and "Muslim" to the effect that: "A good deed
done to a beast is as good as doing good to a human being; while an act of cruelty to a beast is
as bad as an act of cruelty to human beings," and that: "Kindness to animals was promised by
rewards in Life Hereafter" (Mishkat al-Masabih; Book 6; Chapter 7, 8:178).
The Prophet told his companions of a serf who was blessed by Allah for saving the life of a dog
by giving it water to drink and quenching its thirst. (Narrated by Abu Huraira. Muslim, Vol. 4,
Hadith No. 2244. Also Bukhari, 3:322. Also Awn [Ref. No. 32]; Hadith No. 2533, and others)
To catch birds and imprison them in cages without any special purpose is considered
abominable.
No advantages and no urgency of human needs would justify the kind of calculated violence
that is being done these days against animals, especially through international trade of livestock
and meat. One of the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad tells us: "If you must kill, kill
without torture." (La taqtolu bi'l-idha'i.) While pronouncing this dictum, he did not name any
animal as an exception — not even any noxious or venomous creature, such as scorpions and
snakes.
Luckily, on this theme we have quite a few of the Holy Prophet's sayings. During the pre-Islamic
period, certain pagan superstitions and polytheistic practices involving acts of torture and
general cruelties to animals used to be common in Arabia. All such practices were condemned
and stopped by Islam. The following few sayings of the Holy Prophet will serve as an example:
Jabir told that God's Messenger forbade striking the face or branding on the face of
animals.…The same companion of the Holy Prophet reported him as saying, when an
ass which had been branded in its face passed him by: "God curse the one who branded
it." (Narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah. Muslim, Vol.3, Hadith No. 2116. Also Awn al-Ma'bud
Sharh Abu Dawud [hereafter referred to as Awn]; 7:232, Hadith No. 2547. Also The
Lawful and Unlawful in Islam [in Arabic]; Yusuf el-Kardawi; Mektebe Vahba, Cairo; 1977;
p. 293. Also "Robson" [Ref. No. 15]; p. 872) This Hadith is concerned with causing pain
to the animal on the sensitive parts of its body, as well as with the disfigurement of its
appearance.
When the Holy Prophet migrated to Medina from Mecca in 622 A.C., people there used to cut
off camels' humps and the fat tails of sheep. The Prophet ordered this barbaric practice to be
stopped. The temptation for the people to perform this sort of vivisection on the animals was
that the juicy humps and fatty tails could be eaten while the animal remained alive for future
use. To remove this avidity, he declared: "Whatever is cut off an animal while it is still alive, is
carrion and is unlawful (Haram) to eat." (Narrated by Abu Waqid al-Laithi. Tirmidhi; Hadith No.
1480, Chapt. On Al-At'imah. Also "Robson" [Ref. No. 15], p. 872.)
To make sure that no injury was inflicted on the animal while there was even a flicker of life in it,
it was forbidden by the Holy Prophet to molest the carcass in any way, such as: by breaking its
neck, skinning, or slicing off any of its parts, until the body is dead cold. One of his sayings on
this theme is: "Do not deal hastily with a 'being' before it is stone dead." (Kitab al-Muqni, 3:542.
Also Al-Muhalla, 7:457; Ibn Hazm) Hazrat 'Omar ibn al-Khattab used to instruct repeatedly:
"Give time to the slaughtered being" till it is dead cold. (Al-Muhalla, 7:457; Ibn Hazm. Hazrat
'Omar ibn al-Khattab was the second Caliph (634-644 A.C. = 12-22A.H.)
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