Kids love animals: cute, furry kittens, playful puppies, fluffy bunnies, small hamsters, colorful fish, green turtles, and just about any animal. By nature, kids are kind to little animals. You hear a cat meowing hungrily outside, and you rush to bring her some milk. Such an act of kindness not only makes the hungry, scared little animal love you, but you also get a lot of good deeds. Kindness to animals makes you a better Muslim boy or girl. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) told us many stories of being good and kind-hearted to animals. Did you hear the story of the man and the thirsty dog? Once, a man was walking on a road and he became very thirsty. He found a well, went in it, drank some water, and came out. When he came out, he saw a dog panting out of thirst, its tongue was sticking out and it was licking the dirt, searching for water. The man said to himself, “This dog has become as thirsty as I was.” So the man went back into the well, filled his shoe with water, climbed back up, and gave the dog water to drink.
Allah was pleased with this man, and He said that this man will enter Heaven. The friends of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were surprised by this story and they asked, “O Messenger of Allah, do we take a reward for serving the animals?” Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) answered, “Yes, there is a reward for serving any living being.” On a journey the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his friends stopped to rest under the shade of a tree and to prepare a meal. One of the Prophet's friends was wandering around and he found a bird's nest with two young, baby birds and some eggs that had not hatched yet. The man took the nest. When the mother bird returned to the place of her nest and did not find her babies or eggs, she started beating her wings hard, circling around the man, and crying out in sadness. This upset the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he asked, “Who has hurt the feelings of this bird by taking its young? Return them to her.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) was once walking and he passed by a camel that was so thin, its belly was almost flat, and the shapes of its bones were showing. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told the owner of the camel to feed it well, to allow it to rest, and to not make it carry a load that is too heavy for it. And once the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man hit a camel very hard with a stick because it was stubborn and would not move. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told the man to be gentle with his animals and to not hurt them. Animals are living creatures, they have feelings too, and they feel pain. Being cruel to animals is not allowed in Islam. A mean woman once locked up a cat in a cage and gave it no food to eat or water to drink. She kept it locked up for days and did not let it out even to eat, until the poor cat died. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that Allah is very angry with this unkind woman and that Allah will punish her for torturing this cat. Did you ever think of how the Prophet's good friend, Abu Hurairah got his name? His real name was Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sakhr ad-Dawsi, but because he was so fond of cats and he was always carrying a cat or feeding a kitten or caring for cats, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) nicknamed him: Abu Hurairah, which means the father of little kittens. So if you are kind to animals, then good job! You are like Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his best companions!
