Imam Ibn Saad narrates in his book of Hadith. Musyib ibn Darr said, “Umar ibn Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) once caught a camel owner and punished him with whipping. He said, “Do you load the poor animal more than it can carry?”

Umar had learned the lesson from his Prophet ﷺ that made him compassionate towards all those who suffered.

Asim bin Ubaid Narrates: Umar ibn Khattab saw a man putting his foot harshly on the neck of a goat to be slaughtered while sharpening his knife. He went there and hit the man with his stick and said, “Why are you torturing it? Look at this poor animal, how frightened it is!”

The Khalifa and other Companions of the Prophet had observed and studied the good conduct of the Prophet ﷺ. Mohammed ibn Sireen, a noted Tabiyeen, says:  “Umar ibn Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) saw a man dragging his goat forcefully. He hit the man and said, “May your mother mourn for you! Why don't you pull it gently instead of dragging the goat?”

Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) knew how the animal should be led gently instead of dragging them.

Imam Ahmed and Imam Bukhari noted in their books.

Once Ibn Umar bin al Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) saw a shepherd was preventing his cattle from eating into green pastures ( due to his laziness). He went close to the shepherd and asked if they were his goats. He replied negatively. Ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) then said to him, “You are being dishonest to your master. Why don’t you take them to that greener pasture to feed on the good grass?”

Abu Darda (May Allah be pleased with him) owned a camel. He had named it ‘Damoon’. People used to borrow his camel for a day to fulfill their needs. He used to lend them but used to instruct them:

“Do not load more than such weight upon the animal because I know the camel’s capacity.” When Abu Darda was on his deathbed, he called his camel by its name, “O Damoon! On the day of Qiyamah, do not complain about me before Allah for I have not burdened you with more work than you can perform.”

It is said that Umar ibn Abdul Azeez had a slave and a donkey. The slave used to go to market with the animal and earn by loading and delivering goods.. He used to bring one dirham. One day he handed over one and a half dirham. He asked him the reason. The slave replied, “I put some more load on this donkey today.” Umar ibn Abdul Azeez was upset and said, “You have not earned more but you got him tired. Now let it rest for the next three days.”

The students of the Prophet ﷺ studied the character of their teacher and applied the teachings in their lives whereas we have forgotten the lessons and are harsh towards our animals..

گنوا دی ہم نے جو اسلاف سے میراث پائی تھی

ثریا سے زمین پر آسماں نے ہم کو دے مارا

We lost the legacy handed over to us by our pious predecessors,

Seven-sisters stars threw us from the sky onto the Earth

(We lost the high status and reached the depths of decline)