Allah The Almighty describes the Prophet, , Saying (what means): {And indeed, you are of a great moral character.}[Quran, 68: 4]. Thus, the Prophet, , had perfect manners. He once said, clarifying one of the main objectives he aimed to achieve through his mission: “I was sent to perfect honorable manners.”[Al-Bayhaqi] He, , had the noblest of character, and his benevolence extended to the young and old, males and females, humans, animals and inanimate beings.
The Prophet, , left some instructions as to how animals should be treated. For example, Shaddaad bin Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, reported, “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Verily Allah has prescribed kindness towards everything. So, when you kill, you must make the killing in the best manner (i.e. according to the penal code); when you slaughter, make your slaughter in the best manner. Let one of you sharpen his knife, so that the slaughtered animal would die comfortably (in a swift manner).’” [Muslim]
This Prophetic narration and others of its kind show how humane and noble he, , was, even when dealing with animals, and it highlights his gentleness and mercy towards them.`Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported, “The Messenger of Allah used to place a container for a cat to drink from, and then perform ablution with whatever water was left after it drank.” [At-Tabaraani]
The following are but a few Hadeeths where he, , was reported to have shown and encouraged kindness towards animals:
· ‘Abdullaah bin Ja’far, may Allah be pleased with him, reported,
“The Messenger of Allah took me behind him on his animal once and told me something (and no one could hear us). Once, he went into a land that belonged to a man from the Ansaar (the Helpers, who were residents of Madeenah) to relieve himself, and there, he saw a camel that started to shed tears upon seeing the Prophet who went to it and patted it until it stopped crying. Thereupon, he said: ‘Who is the owner of this camel?’A young man from the Ansaar came and said, ‘It is mine, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said to him: ‘Fear Allah in the way you deal with this animal of which Allah has granted you ownership. It complained that you overwork it and make it go hungry without feeding it.’” [Abu Daawood] Thus, animals would complain to the Prophet, , about humans’ harsh treatment and unkindness.
· Another instance of his showing mercy and compassion towards animals was narrated in the Hadeeth by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported, “The Messenger of Allah visited a man from the Ansaar, so the man took a blade and attempted to slaughter an animal to serve the Prophet, when he said to him: ‘Do not slaughter one that produces milk.’”[Ibn Maajah] Animals that produce milk are usually ones that breastfeed their young ones, and thus slaughtering them would deprive their babies from the needed nourishment and care.
· Zayd bin Khaalid, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, “The Messenger of Allah passed by a camel whose stomach was stuck to its back (due to its weak body and hunger) and said: ‘Be mindful of Allah in the manner you deal with your animals. Just like you only eat the healthy ones, ride only the healthy as well.’”[Abu Daawood]
· Ibn Mas’ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “We were with the Messenger of Allah on a trip, and we passed by a tree that had two young birds in a nest, so we took them. Shortly after, their mother came flying looking for them and got close to the Messenger . Thereupon, the Prophet asked: ‘Who scared this bird and took its young?’ We answered, ‘We did.’Thereupon, the Prophet said: ‘Return them’, so we did.”[Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Haakim]