Authentic Hadith pertaining to ANIMALS Extracted from Imam Nawawi’s Reference “The Gardens of Righteousness” translated and presented by Shaykh Ahmad Darwish, Anne (Khadeijah) Stephens Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com ©1984-2012 Darwish Family. All rights reserved BOOK 25 CONTEMPLATION OF THE CREATION, UNIVERSE AND ALL THINGS Allah, the Exalted says: “Say: 'I give you only one admonition, that you stand before Allah either two by two, or one by one and reflect.” 34:46 Koran “Surely, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for those with minds. Those who remember Allah when standing, sitting, and on their sides, and contemplate upon the creation of the heavens and the earth (saying) 'Lord, You have not created these in falsehood. Exaltations to You! Guard us against the punishment of the Fire.'” 3:190-191 Koran “What, do they not reflect upon how the camel was created? And how the heaven was raised up, and how the mountains were firmly fixed, and how the earth was outstretched? Therefore remind, you are only a reminder.” 88:17-21 Koran “Have they never journeyed through the land and seen what was the end of those who had gone before them?” 47:10 Koran KINDNESS TO ANIMALS |H 127 “A man was walking along a path feeling very thirsty. He reached a well and went down into it, drank from it and came out. Then he saw a dog with its tongue lolling out trying to suck up mud because of its extreme thirst. The man thought: ‘This dog is suffering from thirst as I suffered.’ So he descended once more into the well, filled his leather sock with water and came up holding it by his teeth and gave the dog a drink. Allah was thankful for his deed and forgave his sins. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, are we rewarded for kindness to animals also?’ He answered: ‘There is a reward for kindness to every living thing.’” We are also informed that: “Allah was thankful for his deed, forgave his sins and admitted him to Paradise.” We are also informed: “An extremely thirsty dog was walking around a well, when a loose woman of the Bani Israel saw it. She lowered her leather sock into the well, drew up some water and gave the dog a drink. For this she was forgiven her sins.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. FEEDING ANIMALS |H 136 “If a Muslim plants a tree, whatever is eaten from it is his charity and whatever is stolen from it is his charity. Even what is lost from it is his charity. If a Muslim plants a tree or sows a field and men, beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is his charity.” Muslim with a chain up to Jabir who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. ANIMAL RIGHTS |H 978 “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, passed by a camel whose belly almost touched his back and said, ‘Be mindful of your duty to Allah in respect of these animals. Ride them while they are in good condition, slaughter them and eat their meat when they are in good condition.’" Abu Daud with a chain up to Sa'ad son of Amr who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE CONDITION OF ANIMALS |H 979 “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, let me (Abdullah, son of Ja'far) ride pillion with him, one day and confided something to me which I shall never disclose to anyone. I pride myself he did not conceal himself from me behind a wall or the trunk of a date palm.” To this Barqani has added: “Then the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, entered a garden belonging to a man from among the Ansars and saw a camel. When the camel saw him, it groaned and its eyes began to run. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, approached it and patted it on the hump and upon the two bones behind its ears; and inquired: ‘Who is the owner of this camel? To whom does it belong? A youth from the Ansars came forward and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, it is mine.’ He asked, ‘Do you not fear Allah in the matter of these beasts of which He has made you owner? This camel complains to me that you starve it and work it hard.’" Abu Daud with a chain up to Abdullah son of Ja'far who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. TAKE CARE OF YOUR ANIMALS |H 980 “When we struck camp we unsaddled our mounts before saying our prayers.” Abu Daud with a chain up to Anas who related this. KINDNESS TO THE WEAK ANIMALS |H 983 “The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, always rode at the rear so he could help drive the weaker animals, and to give a ride to those who had no mount and to pray for them.” Abu Daud with a chain up to Jabir who related this. BENEFIT OF ANIMALS NEAR A RECITER OF THE KORAN |H 1011 “A person was reciting Sura Al-Kahf (Chapter 18) and had secured his horse nearby with two ropes. A cloud drifted towards the horse and shaded it so the horse became frisky. In the morning the man came to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and mentioned the incident to him. He said, ‘This was comfort that descended by virtue of the recitation of the Koran.’” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Bra'a son of 'Azib who related the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. HOW TO SLAUGHTER AN ANIMAL |H 644 “Allah has obligated perfection upon everything. When you have to kill someone do it in the best manner and the same applies when you slaughter an animal. Sharpen your knife and reduce its suffering.” Muslim with a chain up to Shaddad, the son of Aus who related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said this. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS DO NOT BRAND YOUR ANIMALS ON THE FACE |H 1650 “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, was displeased when he saw a donkey had been branded on its face. Ibn Abbas said, ‘I shall brand my donkey on the part of its body farthest from the face.’ So he ordered it to be branded on its hind quarters. He was the first to do this.” Muslim with a chain up to ibn Abbas who related this. SERIOUSNESS OF BRANDING AN ANIMAL ON ITS FACE |H 1651 “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, passed by a donkey that had been branded on its face and said, ‘The curse of Allah be on whosoever branded it.’" Muslim with a chain up to Jabir the son of Abdullah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. BEATING AND BRANDING AN ANIMAL |H 1652 “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, forbade beating or branding an animal on its face.” Muslim also narrated this. ALLAH ALONE PUNISHES WITH FIRE |H 1654 “We were with the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, on a journey when he left us for a while. In his absence we saw a red bird with two fledglings. We caught the fledglings and their mother flapped her wings on the ground. When the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, returned and exclaimed, ‘Who has distressed this bird on account of its young - return them to her!’ He also noticed an ant hill we had set on fire and asked, ‘Who has set fire to this?’ We replied, ‘We did.’ Then he told us, ‘It is not right to torment with fire it is only for the Lord to punish with Fire.’" Abu Daud the son of ibn Mas'ud who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. WOMAN WHO WAS CRUEL TO HER CAT |H 1643 “A woman was punished on account of a cat she had kept shut up in captivity till it died. It was on that account that she entered the Fire. She neither gave it anything to eat nor to drink, nor did she release it so that it could hunt for rodents or insects.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Omar who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS AND BIRDS |H 1644 “He (the son of Omar) came across some Koraysh youths who were shooting arrows at a bird they had tied down. They had come to an arrangement with the owner of the bird that the arrows that missed the target would become his property. When they saw the son of Omar they dispersed. Ibn Omar asked, ‘Who has done this! May the curse of Allah be upon whosoever has done this. The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, cursed whosoever used a living animal for target practice.’" Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Omar who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. ANIMALS MUST NOT BE USED FOR TARGET PRACTICE |H 1645 “The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, forbade an animal to be used as a target.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Anas who related this. PROHIBITION OF KEEPING A DOG EXCEPT AS A GUARD DOG OR FOR HUNTING, OR FOR TENDING HERDS DOGS KEPT AS PETS DEPRIVE YOU OF MERIT |H 1735 “Whosoever keeps a dog except for hunting or guarding cattle will be deprived of two qirats of his merit every day." We are also informed: "One qirat." Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Omar who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. GUARD DOGS ARE APPROVED |H 1736 "Whosoever keeps a dog looses a qirat of his good deeds every day, unless it is kept for guarding his fields or cattle." Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. HUNTING AND GUARD DOGS |H 1737 “Whosoever keeps a dog except for hunting, guarding crops or cattle looses two qirats of his merit each day.” Muslim narrates that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. PROHIBITION OF PUTTING A BELL AROUND THE NECK OF TRANSPORT ANIMALS AND TAKING A DOG ON A JOURNEY WHEN ANGELS DO NOT ACCOMPANY A CARAVAN |H 1738 “Angels do not accompany a caravan having either a dog or a bell.” Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. INSTRUMENT OF SATAN |H 1739 “The bell is an instrument of satan.” Abu Daud with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. OTHER MATTERS CONCERNING ANIMALS CAMEL RIDES |H 1740 “The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, forbade riding a camel that eats garbage.” Abu Daud with a chain up to ibn Omar who related this. THE VALUE OF A ROOSTER |H 1779 “Do not curse a rooster because it wakes you for prayer.” Abu Daud with a chain up to Zaid son of Khalid Juhni who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. POISONOUS LIZARDS |H 1915 “The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, told me (Umm Sharik) to kill poisonous lizards because their species blew on the fire kindled for Abraham.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Umm Sharik who related this. MERIT OF KILLING A POISONOUS LIZARD 1916 “Whosoever kills a poisonous lizard with the first stroke will have his credit greatly recompensed. Whosoever kills it upon the second attempt will have so much (less than the first) and whosoever kills it upon the third attempt will have such (less than the second person).” Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. HUNDRED GOOD DEEDS |H 1917 “Whosoever kills a poisonous lizard with first stroke will be credited with a hundred good deeds and with the second stroke less than that, and with the third stroke less than the second.” Muslim narrated HORSES |H 1356 “There is good in the neck of horses up until the Day of Judgement.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to ibn Omar who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. MERITS OF OWNING A HORSE |H 1357 “There is good in the necks of horses until the Day of Judgement and reward, and spoils.” Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Urwah Bariqi who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. REWARD OF RAISING A HORSE FOR JIHAD |H 1358 “Whosoever raises a horse for Jihad for the Sake of Allah, believing in Allah and relying on His promise, will find that its fodder, drink, droppings and urine will all be credited to him upon the scales on the Day of Judgement.” Bukhari with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. CURSED ANIMAL |H 1597 “Once, when the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, was on a journey, a woman from the tribe of Ansar, who was riding a she-camel abused and cursed it. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, heard this and said, ‘Remove the load from the she-camel and turn it loose because it has been cursed.’" Muslim with a chain up to Imran, the son of Husain who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. DO NOT TRAVEL WITH AN ANIMAL THAT HAS BEEN CURSED |H 1598 “A young woman was riding a she-camel that was heavily laden with people's belongings. She saw the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and was riding her mount harshly and said, ‘Hy-up, O Allah curse it.’ So the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said, ‘A she-camel that has been cursed should not accompany us.’" Muslim with a chain up to Abu Barazah Nadhlah the son of Ubaid Aslami who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. PAYMENT OF THE OBLIGATORY CHARITY DUE ON ANIMALS PUNISHMENT ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT FOR NOT PAYING THE OBLIGATORY CHARITY ON LIVESTOCK |H 1237 “Whosoever has gold or silver and does not pay the obligatory charity due on it must know that on the Day of Judgement his gold and silver will be melted into slabs which will then be heated in the Fire of Hell, then his side, forehead and back will be branded with them. When the slabs become cool they will be re-heated again and the branding will continue throughout a day the length of which will be equal to fifty thousand years until the people have been judged, then he will be shown his way either to Paradise or to the Fire. A Companion asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, what about camels?’ He answered, ‘In the same way, the owner of camels who does not pay what is due in respect of them and what is due includes their milk on the day they are taken to water, will be thrown on his face on a wide level plain on the Day of Judgement to be trampled upon by the camels. These camels will be strong and fat, not one of them, even the calf of a camel will be missing. They will trample him under their feet and tear him apart with their teeth. When the last of them has passed over him the first of them will begin the process over again throughout a day the length of which will be equal to fifty thousand years until all men have been judged and he will be shown his way to either Paradise or to the Fire.’ Then he was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, what about cows and goats?’ He answered, ‘The same will apply to one who owns cows and goats and does not pay his respective obligatory charity on them. On the Day of Judgement he will be thrown on his face on a wide level plain with none of the animals missing and none will be without horns. They will gore him with their horns and trample him under their hooves and when one side is finished the other side will begin, throughout a day, the length of which will be equal to fifty thousand years until all men have been judged and he will be shown his way to either Paradise or to the Fire.’ Then he was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, what about horses?’ He answered, ‘Horses will be divided into three groups: those that are a burden for their owner, those that are a shield for him and those that make their owner worthy of reward. As for those who are a burden for their owner, they are the ones who are bred for show or for pride, or as a cause of injury to Muslims. They will be a cause of punishment for their owner. The ones that are a shield for their owners are those that were bred by him for the Cause of Allah and he does not forget that which is due to Allah in respect of their backs and their necks. They are his shield. These horses make their owner worthy of reward and are the ones raised in meadows and gardens for use in the Cause of Allah by Muslims. Whatever they eat from meadows and gardens is recorded as good deeds of their owner, so much so that even their droppings and urine count as an equal number of good deeds for him. Every rope that is used (when they are being broken in), their jumping and every mound from which they jump and every hoof mark they make counts as an equal number of good deeds for him. When their owner leads them to a stream and they drink from it - whether their owner intended them to do so or not - every mouthful they drink counts as a good deed for him.’ The Companions asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, what about donkeys?’ He answered, ‘No specific orders have been sent down to me with regard to donkeys but this verse is comprehensive: 'Whosoever has done an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whosoever has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it also.'" 99:7-8 Koran Bukhari and Muslim with a chain up to Abu Hurairah who related that the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said this. INDEX ANIMALS BOOK 25 CONTEMPLATION OF THE CREATION, UNIVERSE AND ALL THINGS KORAN KINDNESS TO ANIMALS FEEDING ANIMALS ANIMAL RIGHTS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE CONDITION OF ANIMALS TAKE CARE OF YOUR ANIMALS KINDNESS TO THE WEAK ANIMALS BENEFIT OF ANIMALS NEAR A RECITER OF THE KORAN HOW TO SLAUGHTER AN ANIMAL CRUELTY TO ANIMALS DO NOT BRAND YOUR ANIMALS ON THE FACE SERIOUSNESS OF BRANDING AN ANIMAL ON ITS FACE BEATING AND BRANDING AN ANIMAL ALLAH ALONE PUNISHES WITH FIRE WOMAN WHO WAS CRUEL TO HER CAT CRUELTY TO ANIMALS AND BIRDS ANIMALS MUST NOT BE USED FOR TARGET PRACTICE PROHIBITION OF KEEPING A DOG EXCEPT AS A GUARD DOG OR FOR HUNTING, OR FOR TENDING HERDS DOGS KEPT AS PETS DEPRIVE YOU OF MERIT GUARD DOGS ARE APPROVED HUNTING AND GUARD DOGS PROHIBITION OF PUTTING A BELL AROUND THE NECK OF TRANSPORT ANIMALS AND TAKING A DOG ON A JOURNEY WHEN ANGELS DO NOT ACCOMPANY A CARAVAN INSTRUMENT OF SATAN OTHER MATTERS CONCERNING ANIMALS CAMEL RIDES THE VALUE OF A ROOSTER POISONOUS LIZARDS MERIT OF KILLING A POISONOUS LIZARD HUNDRED GOOD DEEDS HORSES MERITS OF OWNING A HORSE REWARD OF RAISING A HORSE FOR JIHAD CURSED ANIMAL DO NOT TRAVEL WITH AN ANIMAL THAT HAS BEEN CURSED PAYMENT OF THE OBLIGATORY CHARITY DUE ON ANIMALS PUNISHMENT ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT FOR NOT PAYING THE OBLIGATORY CHARITY ON LIVESTOCK