Lesson 42
Kindness Towards Animals
الرفق بالحيوانات
Islamic ethics regarding animals drawn from aḥādīth and classical narrations. Complex relative and adverbial clauses become natural as you discuss the detailed Islamic framework for human-animal relations.
Animals and Ethics Vocabulary
ArabicTransliterationMeaning
رِفْقrifqgentleness / kindness
إِيذَاءīdhāʾharm / hurting
دَابَّةdābbabeast of burden / animal
أَجْرajrreward (from Allah)
قَالَ ﷺ: دَخَلَتِ امْرَأَةٌ النَّارَ فِي هِرَّةٍ حَبَسَتْهَا فَلَمْ تُطْعِمْهَا وَلَمْ تَتْرُكْهَا تَأْكُلُ مِنْ خَشَاشِ الْأَرْض
Qāla ﷺ: dakhilati mraʾatun n-nāra fī hirra ḥabasathā falam tuṭʿimhā wa-lam tatrukhā taʾkulu min khashāshi l-arḍ
The Prophet ﷺ said: "A woman entered Hellfire because of a cat she confined she neither fed it nor released it to eat from the insects of the earth." (Bukhārī)
- فِي هِرَّة: "Because of a cat" the preposition فِي expressing cause (not location) a subtle classical usage.
- لَمْ + jussive: Past negation لَمْ تُطْعِمْهَا (she did not feed it) the jussive loses its final vowel.
- تَأْكُل: Subjunctive after تَرَكَ "left it to eat" the second verb after a causative takes subjunctive.
- Islamic animal welfare: إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الإِحْسَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْء "Allah has prescribed excellence in all things" including the slaughter of animals.