{"id":174,"date":"2012-07-15T08:55:15","date_gmt":"2012-07-15T06:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/web\/?p=174"},"modified":"2012-07-15T08:55:15","modified_gmt":"2012-07-15T06:55:15","slug":"humane-treatment-of-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/?p=174","title":{"rendered":"Humane Treatment of Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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\"\"God, the Creator of human beings and animals, has made animals subservient to us.\u00a0 We depend on animals for the food we eat and the milk we drink.\u00a0 We bring animals into our homes for love and companionship.\u00a0 We survive critical illness and live longer because of biomedical research on animals.\u00a0 We visit to zoos and aquariums to gain an appreciation for the spectacular diversity of life on earth.\u00a0 We benefit from specially trained dogs that detect drugs, guide the blind, and assist the disabled.\u00a0 God says in the Quran:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the cattle, He has created them for you.\u00a0 You have in them warm clothing and (other) advantages, and of them you eat.\u00a0 And therein is beauty for you, when you drive them back (home) and when you send them out (to pasture).\u00a0 And they carry your heavy loads to regions which you could not reach but with great distress to yourselves.\u00a0 Surely your Lord is Compassionate, Merciful.\u00a0 And (He made) horses and mules and asses that you might ride upon them and as an ornament.\u00a0 And He creates what you know not.\u201d (Quran 16:5-8)<\/p>\n

The mercy of Islam extends beyond human beings to all living creations of God.\u00a0 Islam prohibits cruelty to animals.\u00a0 Fourteen hundred years ago, long before the modern animal rights movement began with the publication of Peter Singer\u2019s book, \u201cAnimal Liberation,\u201d in 1975, Islam required kindness to animals and cruelty to them a sufficient reason for a person to be thrown into the Fire!<\/p>\n

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Once, the Prophet of Mercy spoke of God\u2019s forgiveness due to the humane treatment of animals.\u00a0 He told his companions the story of a man who got thirsty on his way.\u00a0 He found a \u00a0well, climbed down inside it to the water, and quenched his thirst.\u00a0 When he came out he saw a panting dog licking on mud out of extreme thirst.\u00a0 The man thought to himself, \u2018The dog has become as thirsty as I was!\u2019 \u00a0The man went down the well again and got some water for the dog.\u00a0 God appreciated his good work and forgave him.\u00a0 The companions asked, \u2018O Prophet of God, do we get rewarded on humane treatment of animals?\u2019 \u00a0He said, \u2018There is a reward in (doing good to) every living being.\u2019<\/em><\/a>[1]<\/p>\n

On another occasion, Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, described God\u2019s punishment of a woman who was sent to Hell because of a cat.\u00a0 She kept her locked up, neither feeding her nor setting her free to feed herself.<\/a>[2]<\/p>\n

Islam laid down humane slaughtering regulations.\u00a0 Islam insists that the manner of slaughter should be that which is least painful to the animal.\u00a0 Islam requires that the slaughtering instrument not be sharpened in front of the animal.\u00a0 Islam also prohibits the slaughtering of one animal in front of another.\u00a0 Never, prior to Islam, had the world witnessed such concern for animals.<\/p>\n

Humane Islamic treatment of animals can be summarized by the following points:<\/p>\n

First, Islam requires that pets or farm animals be provided with proper food, water, and a place to live. \u00a0Once the Prophet passed by an emaciated camel due to hunger, he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cFear God in regards to these animals who can not speak their will. \u00a0If you ride them, treat them accordingly (by making them strong and fit for that), and if you [plan to] eat them, treat them accordingly (by making them fat and healthy).\u201d (Abu Dawud<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Second, an animal should not be beaten or tortured.\u00a0 Once the Prophet of Mercy passed by an animal branded on his face.\u00a0 He said, \u2018Has it not reached you that I have cursed the one who brands an animal\u2019s face or hits it on its face?<\/em>\u2019<\/a>[3] \u00a0The Prophet of Mercy advised his wife to treat an unruly camel that she was riding kindly.<\/a>[4] \u00a0Making animals fight one another for entertainment was also forbidden by the Prophet.<\/a>[5]<\/p>\n

Third, Islam forbids using animals or birds for targets when practicing shooting.\u00a0 When Ibn Umar, one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad saw some people practicing archery using a hen as a target, he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Prophet cursed anyone who made a living thing into a target (for practice).\u201d<\/p>\n

The Prophet Muhammad also said:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Whoever kills a bird or anything else without its due right, God would ask him about it.\u2019 \u00a0It was said: \u2018O Messenger of God! \u00a0What is its due right?\u2019 \u00a0He said: \u2018To kill it for food\u2026and do not sever its head, and throw it!\u2019\u201d (Targheeb<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Shooting at live pigeons was once an Olympic event and today dove shooting is allowed in many places.<\/p>\n

Fourth, separating nestling birds from their mothers is not allowed in Islam.<\/p>\n

Fifth, it is forbidden to mutilate an animal by cutting off its ears, tails or other body parts without just reason.<\/p>\n

Sixth, a sick animal under one\u2019s care should be treated properly.<\/p>\n

Through these rules and regulations legislated in regards to animals, the Muslims gains the respect and understanding that other creatures are not to be used and abused as one wills, but that they, like humans, have rights which must be given in order to ensure that the justice and mercy of Islam be met to all which inhabit this earth.<\/p>\n


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Footnotes:<\/p>\n

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<\/a>[1] Saheeh Al-Bukhari<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>[2] Saheeh Al-Bukhari<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>[3] Abu Dawud<\/em>, Saheeh Muslim<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>[4] Saheeh Muslim<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a>[5] Abu Dawud<\/em>, Al-Tirmidhi<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/a> Articl<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

God, the Creator of human beings and animals, has made animals subservient to us.\u00a0 We depend on animals for the food we eat and the milk we drink.\u00a0 We bring animals into our homes...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,4],"tags":[27,29,13],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics-in-islam","category-about-islam","tag-ethics","tag-human","tag-islam-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}