Bigotry: The Dark Danger

The Superstition of “Accursed Animals” in the Religion of the Fanatics:

Kill the dogs, apart from the dog for hunting and the dog for the security of the herd… (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Malik’s Muwatta, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasai)

“It is your duty (to kill) the jet-black (dog) having two spots (on the eyes), for it is a devil.” (Sahih Muslim, Book 10, Hadith 3813)

It is said that the donkey brays for it sees satan. (Sahih Muslim, Book 35, Hadith 6581)

Another hadith is that rats are actually a group of Bani Isra’il, for which reason when the milk of the camel is placed before them, they would not taste it at all. (Sahih Muslim, Book 42, Hadith 7135, 7136)

One hadith is that the crow is a mischief-doer. (Sahih Bukhari, Book 54, Hadith 531; Musnad Ahmed ibn Hanbal 2/52)

The pigeon is a devil. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41, Hadith 4922; Ibn Majah)

The gecko is a sinner. (Sahih Muslim 2239/145, Ibn Majah 3230, Sunan Abu Dawud 5262)

He who kills a gecko with the first stroke there are seventy rewards for him. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41, Hadith 5243; Sahih Muslim, Book 26, Hadith 5566)

The stoning to death of monkeys that “commit adultery” (Sahih Bukhari 63/27) – (another false hadith is that a monkey that committed adultery was stoned to death and that one of the Companions took part in the stoning.)

A donkey that sees satan, a Jewish rat, a crow doing mischief, a devilish pigeon, an adulterous monkey, poor black dogs and geckos that need to be put to death; a summary of the terrible life far removed from the Qur’an offered by the fanatic mindset. This outlandish mentality commands that all dogs apart from hunting and sheepdogs should be killed, and that house dogs, and lap dogs and guard dogs, some of the sweetest animals in the world that God has created in so many breeds and with feelings of love and protection, must all be killed. As revealed in the Qur’an, however, “The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him. There is nothing which does not glorify Him with praise but you do not understand their glorification. He is All-Forbearing, Ever-Forgiving.” (Qur'an, 17:44) it is impossible for these life forms that glorify God in a way we cannot understand, and that are specially created for paradise with all their beauty, to be sinners or the devil incarnate. How can a rat possibly be Jewish? And what is wrong with being Jewish anyway?

Furthermore, how can a monkey commit adultery? Does a monkey have any moral values or an institution of marriage in which he must remain faithful? Does he have the self-awareness to understand all these things and responsibility thereof? So how can a monkey be accused of adultery? This is a profoundly ignorant claim to make; yet the fanatics even go so far as to defame the Companions and try to use them as evidence for their false allegations.

Of course these are all fabricated hadiths, and it is impossible for such cruel rules to have any place in the Qur’an. God states in the Qur’an that there were dogs with the Companions of the Cave and Ar-Raqim, whom He praises very greatly in the Qur’an:

You would have supposed them to be awake whereas in fact they were asleep. We moved them to the right and to the left, and, at the entrance, their dog stretched out its paws... (Qur'an, 18:18)

They will say, “There were three of them, their dog being the fourth.” They will say, “There were five of them, their dog being the sixth,” guessing at the Unseen. And they will say, “There were seven of them, their dog being the eighth.” Say: “My Lord knows best their number. Those who know about them are very few.” ... (Qur'an, 18:22)

Muslims can obviously have a guard dog or a pet dog with them.

There are also other animals mentioned in the Qur’an.

1. According to the Qur’an, animals must be treated with love and affection:

He (Solomon) said: "Truly do I love the love of good (or these horses) because of the remembrance of my Lord"—(repeating these words as the horses raced away,) until they were hidden by the veil (of dust). (Solomon said:) "Return them to me!" And he set about stroking their shanks and necks. (Qur'an, 38:32-33)

Then, when they reached the Valley of the Ants, an ant said, “Ants! Enter your dwellings so that Solomon and his troops do not crush you unwittingly.” He smiled, laughing at its words, and said, “My Lord, keep me thankful for the blessing You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and keep me acting rightly, pleasing You, and admit me, by Your mercy, among Your servants who are the righteous.” (Qur'an, 27:18-19)

2. Animals in the Qur’an are cited as works of God and signs leading to faith:

Have they not looked at the camel – how it was created? (Qur'an, 88:17)

God is not ashamed to make an example of a gnat or of an even smaller thing. As for those who have faith, they know it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who are unbelievers, they say, “What does God mean by this example?” He misguides many by it and guides many by it. But He only misguides the deviators. Qur'an, 2:26)

Mankind! An example has been made, so listen to it carefully. Those whom you call upon besides God are not even able to create a single fly, even if they were to join together to do it. And if a fly steals something from them, they cannot get it back. How feeble are both the seeker and the sought! (Qur'an, 22:73)

God cites in the Qur'an various kinds of animal as intelligent and glorious examples of Creation that remember Him, and He praises the prophets' love and affection for animals.

3. The Qur’an notes that animals have intelligence:

Then God sent a crow which scratched at the earth to show him how to conceal his brother’s corpse. He said, “Woe is me! Can I not even be like this crow and conceal my brother’s corpse?” And he became one of those who suffer bitter remorse. (Qur'an, 5:31)

4. God reveals in the Qur’an that animals act in the light of revelation:

Your Lord revealed to the bees: “Build dwellings in the mountains and the trees, and also in the structures which men erect. Then eat from every kind of fruit and travel the paths of your Lord, which have been made easy for you to follow.” From inside them comes a drink of varying colors, containing healing for mankind. There is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect. (Qur'an, 16:68-69)

5. The proofs of creation in animals are described in detail in the Qur’an:

There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies, from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers to swallow. (Qur'an, 16:66)

6. We are told that animals are created in diverse forms as a source of beauty:

And mankind and animals and livestock are likewise of varying colors. Only those of His servants with knowledge have fear of God. God is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Qur'an, 35:28)

Have they not seen how We created for them, by Our own handiwork, livestock which are under their control? (Qur'an, 36:71)

7. We are told that animals prostrate themselves to God and glorify Him:

Do you not see that everyone in the heavens and everyone on the earth prostrates to God, and the sun and moon and stars and the mountains, trees and beasts and many of mankind? But many of them inevitably merit punishment. Those God humiliates will have no one to honor them. God does whatever He wills.(Qur'an, 22:18)

Do you not see that everyone in the heavens and earth glorifies God, as do the birds with their outspread wings? Each one knows its prayer and glorification. God knows what they do. (Qur'an, 24:41)

As we have seen, God speaks in the Qur’an of many different kinds of animals that glorify Him as intelligent and glorious examples of creation and describes the loving, affectionate attitude of the prophets. The perverse conception of religion of the fanatics that stresses a hatred for animals is nowhere to be seen in the Qur’an.

We also see examples of valuing and loving animals in the life of our Prophet (pbuh), the applier of the Qur’an. Our Prophet (pbuh) was full of love and affection toward animals, in such a way as to definitively refute the fanatic mindset. Some of the actions of our Prophet (pbuh) that show his affection toward animals are as follows: