|
|
News |
|
Articles |
|
Letters |
|
Profiles |
|
Quotes |
|
To Do List For New Muslims |
|
Main Page |
By Mushfiqur Rahman, Posted 07/21/2002 A couple of days ago, I read a story in cnn.com about a kitten being grilled. The story went: “LIBERTY, Missouri (AP) -- A man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly burning a kitten on a barbecue grill as several other people stood around and watched in amusement. A witness pulled the scorched, 7-week-old tabby from the hot coals, but it was severely injured and had to be put to death, police said. "They kept saying, 'Meow, meow,' and they were poking at it with a stick." (http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/16/burned.kitten.ap/index.html This tragic story was saddening. As imaginations of a burning kitten, jumping up and down on the grill and being poked with a stick back to the grill while spectators amused in the show and mimicked “meow, meow”, flashed through my mind, I was reminded of another incident that is diametrically the opposite. A Little Boy and An Ant
It was an incident that my aunt, now in her 80s, told me few months ago. It was about her younger brother and it happened long time ago when she was a young girl living in the village. One day she watched her little brother doing something strange. He caught site of an ant that was struggling in a pool of water. Taking a leaf or something similar, he carefully rescued the ant. He then walked to a nearby tree and gently placed the ant on one of the branches. This he apparently did to allow the ant to recover at a safe place where it won’t get hurt by further calamities. Watching her little brother showing such mercy to a small ant moved my aunt so much that she never forgot the incident. Eventually she told me that story some months ago and almost two and a half decades after her brother passed away. (O Allah! Be merciful to him as he was to the ant.) The little boy one day grew up, but that kind nature stayed with him until his death. And I would like to think that his kindness was further reinforced when he came to know more about the Prophet (p) and his kind nature towards all creatures. Prophetic Examples of Kindness Towards Other Creatures
There are many examples in the hadith literature that show the Prophet’s kindness towards other creatures, some of which we mention below. One day he left his companions for a short time. While he was away, they caught site of a bird nest. They went to the nest and brought its youngs, making the distressed mother anxiously following them. When the prophet returned and saw the mother, he said, "Who has distressed this one because of its baby? Return its baby to her." One day he saw some of his companions clearing an ant’s nest with fire. At this he said, "It is not becoming that anyone should punish by fire except the Lord of the Fire", i.e., no one except Allah has a right to use fire against another creature. Until the time of the Prophet (p), people used to brand their animals on their face. When the Prophet saw one such animal, he disliked it as a cruel practice and said, "May Allah curse the one who branded that one on its face." He instructed his companions to brand their animals on a place that is away from the face and is less painful. From then on, they began branding their animals on the back. Even when slaughtering an animal for lawful purpose, such as for food, the Prophet instructed them to sharpen the knife and slaughter the animal quickly and with as less suffering as possible. He said, "Verily, Allah has prescribed excellence in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill in a good manner. If you slaughter, slaughter in a good manner. Each of you should sharpen his blade and spare suffering to the animal you are slaughtering." Once the Prophet (p) saw that some archers were using live animals for target practicing. Seeing this cruel practice, he said, "May Allah curse the one who uses any creature with a soul as a target." In teaching kindness, the Prophet once mentioned a story about a prostitute. Driven by thirst, she came to a well to drink water. There she saw a dog by the well that was dying of thirst. Since there was no bucket to pull water with, she climbed down into the well and satisfied her thirst. Then, remember the dog, she soaked her socks with water, climbed back up and squeezed the water into the mouth of the dog. The Prophet (p) said that for this small act of kindness to an animal, God forgave her sins and granted her paradise. To the contrary, the Prophet (p) said another story about a woman who was cruel (or perhaps neglectful) to her cat. She tied it up for some reason and neither fed it nor allowed it to go and feed itself. The cat eventually died. The Prophet (p) said that for this merciless act to an animal, she was put into the Hellfire. There was a person who used to abuse and overburden his camel by putting heavy loads on its back. The poor animal could do no protest but obey its master and suffer. Then one day, the prophet was walking to the direction of the camel. As the Prophet came close and the camel saw him, tears started to flow from its eyes. It is a matter of conjecture for us whether the camel knew that he was a Prophet of God or whether he only knew him to be a kind man. But we know that animals are more intelligent than we often think they are and can distinguish between who is kind and who is abusive. In this case, as the prophet (p) placed his hand on it, the mute animal could say not a word but only shed tears in silence. Seeing its condition, the Prophet (p) realized the matter and asked its owner to not be abusive to it in the future. These are some of the hadiths showing kindness and consideration that the Prophet (p) had for animals and other creatures (examples of love and mercy of Jesus (p) can also be found in the gospels). His instruction was that anything that has a soul should not be subject to cruelty, torture or abuse. Indeed his teaching is that all creatures, and not just humans, deserve our mercy. Therefore, one who helps a creature – no matter how small or insignificant it might be – will be rewarded for his or her act of kindness. He said,
"There is reward for (serving) anything with a moist lever." (i.e., anything that has life).
No Creature is Insignificant in the Eye of GodIf God is the creator of all creatures, then no creature can be insignificant to Him. Indeed, the Qur’an, the most important book showing the message of guidance to the humanity, has some of its chapters named after creatures that are not only not humans but also creatures that we often consider as insignificant. These chapters are: The Cow (chapter 2), Cattle (chapter 6), The Bee (chapter 16), The Ants (chapter 27), The Spider (chapter 29), and The Elephant (chapter 105). In addition, God uses parables of small and “lowly” creatures, such as a gnat, spider, or bee in the Qur’an in making a point to mankind who is considered the best (and often the most arrogant) of creations. When some people objected as to why God would use parables of lowly creatures, God said –
"Behold! Allah is not ashamed to propound the parable of a gnat or even of something more lowly." (Qur’an 2:26)
All Creatures Are Part of the Global FamilyThese glorious teachings should bring home the point that a Muslim should have a gracious and compassionate attitude toward all of God's creation. As a matter of fact, this goes back to the concept of Tawheed ("Oneness of God") that a Muslim first believes in. The embodiment of this concept is that God is One and His entire creation is one. It is like a big family compromising of various members. Being cruel to any member of this extended family is, therefore, contrary to what that belief in Tawheed entails, for cruelty to any creature is done under the presumption that it has no Lord to look after or protect it, when God is the Creator of all creatures and He cares for each and every one of them –
There is not a single moving creature on earth but Allah is responsible for providing is sustenance. He knows where it dwells and where it will permanently rest. All this is recorded in a clear Book. (Qur’an 11:6)
"God is the Most Merciful" – Qur’an starts with this precept and abounds in it. This gives us hope that God will show mercy in the Day of Judgment to his servants who go through the everyday struggles of submitting to His will. And if we expect God’s mercy, then we better be merciful towards our fellow humans first. And one cannot possibly be merciful to humans if he is cruel to other creatures because feelings of kindness is all encompassing. We end this with a remarkable hadith of Prophet (p) that should be always kept in mind if we are to seek God's mercy and forgiveness in the Day of Judgment. He said -"Whoever does not show mercy will not be shown mercy.