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The Prophet (pbuh) not only preached to
the people to show kindness to each other but also to all
living souls. He forbade the practice of cutting tails and
manes of horses, of branding animals at any soft spot, and
of keeping horses saddled unnecessarily (Muslim, Sahih
Muslim). If he saw any animal over-loaded or ill-fed he
would pull up the owner and say,
"Fear Allah in your treatment
of animals." (Abu Dawud, Kitab Jihad).
A companion came to him with the young
ones of a bird in his sheet and said that the mother bird
had hovered over them all along. He was directed to
replace her offspring in the same bush (Mishkat, Abu
Dawud)
During a journey, somebody picked up
some birds eggs. The bird's painful note and fluttering
attracted the attention of the Prophet (pbuh), who asked
the man to replace the eggs (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari).
As his army marched towards Makkah to
conquer it, they passed a female dog with puppies. The
Prophet (pbuh) not only gave orders that they should not
be disturbed, but posted a man to see that this was done.
He stated,
"Verily, there is heavenly
reward for every act of kindness done to a living
animal."
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