Abu Dawood, Imam Ahmed and others have quoted another interesting hadith.

“Abdullah ibn Jafar (May Allah be pleased with him) was traveling with the Prophet ﷺ and he sat with him and discussed many things. One the way, the Prophet ﷺ had to answer the call of nature. He noticed a huge date-farm of an Ansari Companion. The Prophet ﷺ made him wait outside and went inside the farm himself.

He narrates:

“As the Prophet ﷺ returned, we saw a huge camel, which screamed loudly the moment it saw the Prophet ﷺ. It had tears running down its eyes. The Prophet ﷺ responded with an affectionate stroke on its neck. The camel stopped crying.

He asked, “Whose camel is this?”

The owner, a young man, came forward.

“Do you not fear Allah that Allah has appointed you over it and given you its control? Your camel is complaining about you. You are not providing enough food to it and loading it with goods more than its capacity.”

Allah guided the camel to speak to the Prophet ﷺ, and even the angels did not intervene. A direct complaint to the Prophet ﷺ because he was sent as mercy to all universes, a justification of being ‘Rahmatulil Alameen’.

The Prophet ﷺ taught good Akhlaq (conduct) towards animals even by sharing the stories of people before them

Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim share a beautiful Hadith by Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him).

“Long ago, there was a person who was traveling. He came across a well when he was thirsty. He drank water from it and as he was about to go on his way when he noticed a thirsty dog that was trying to lick the water falling on the ground but could not quench its thirst. The man showed pity and used his socks to bring out some water from the well. Then he squeezed it to deliver water to the dog. He kept on doing it till the thirst of the dog was quenched. The Prophet ﷺ concluded:

“He did a good deed towards the thirsty dog. Allah honored his deed and forgave him.”

This story was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ by Allah Himself, to show how Allah values good deeds even towards animals. After hearing the story, the Companions asked, “Would we be rewarded for the goodness towards animals, too?”

He replied, “Every creation, which needs to eat to survive, if it is dealt well (with kindness), (then the person) will be rewarded for being kind towards it.”

There was a prophet before you, long back. He took a rest under a tree, during a journey. An ant bit him and disturbed his nap. He got angry and ordered all the ant houses to be burnt. Allah got angry and reprimanded him for doing so. Allah shared this story with the Prophet ﷺ to be told to us so that we do not show cruelty towards animals of all kinds, including insects.

رحمتِ حق، بہانہ می جوید

رحمتِ حق بہا ، نہ می جوید

The Mercy of Allah seeks excuses to forgive (His slaves)

The Mercy of Allah does not seek any compensation (from His slaves)

Another story of the people from the early generations was shared by the Prophet ﷺ. There was a woman who was a prostitute by profession. One day, she passed by a well. She pulled out some water from the well and drank it. As she was about to leave, she noticed a thirsty dog running around to find some water to drink. The woman felt aggrieved. She pulled out water from the well and gave it to the thirsty dog till its thirst was quenched. Then she moved on without realizing how pleased Allah had been by her good deed. Allah forgave her sins just because of her kindness and benevolence towards the thirsty dog.

 The Prophet ﷺ said, “The most unfortunate person is one who is deprived of mercy in his heart.”