The Ant and the Prophet

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught his companions to be kind to every living thing — not just people, but animals and insects too. He told them that all creatures are part of Allah's creation, and each one deserves to be treated with mercy. One day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) learned that some people had burned an ant hill. He was upset and told them clearly: no one should punish any creature with fire, for that is not right. He said: "None should punish with fire except the Lord of the Fire." (Sunan Abu Dawud, 2675) The ants were tiny and helpless, and they had done nothing wrong. He reminded his companions that only the Creator of fire has the right to punish with it. After that, the companions understood that even the smallest creatures must be respected. On another occasion, the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a donkey that had been branded on its face — someone had burned a mark onto the animal's face with a hot iron. The Prophet was very upset when he saw this. He said that no one should brand an animal on its face, because it causes the animal great pain and suffering. He forbade his followers from doing such a thing ever again. (Sahih Muslim, 2117) The Prophet (peace be upon him) also taught that a woman entered the Hellfire because she locked up a cat and did not feed it or let it go free to find its own food. (Sahih al-Bukhari, 3318) And another person was forgiven for giving water to a thirsty dog from a well. (Sahih al-Bukhari, 2466) Through all of these teachings, the Prophet showed that how you treat animals says a lot about the kind of person you are.