Nature & Animals….. - HereNow4U.net

Animal Crusaders • Commemorative Issue • October 2010Islam on AnimalsThe Prophet once made hiscompanions free two little captivebirds. Muslims believe that humanswho treat animals and birds in acruel manner will be answerable fortheir actions on the Day ofJudgment.Animal Experiment andVivisectionAnimals are subjected to laboratoryexperiments for various purposescausing them pain and distress.While using them for medicalresearch experiments may benefithumanity, often the purpose iscosmetic like using them for testingtheir reactions to varioussubstances, even to cigarettes. Ithas been commonplace in ourmodern world for variousexperiments to be tried out onanimals for all sorts of reasons.Some of these are genuinelybeneficial to humanity, and involveprogress in medicine and medicalwelfare. Others are for cosmeticpurposes, or involve testingreactions to various substances,even to cigarettes. Following theprinciple of compassion andkindness towards all creations ofAllah, any experimentation simplyfor reasons of luxury goods orvanity, are totally forbidden.Even for medical progress, theremust be reason enough to justifycruel experiments on animals.BrandingThe Prophet prohibits branding ofany part of animal’s body exceptthe hind quarters. “Do not brandany animal except on the part of itsbody furthest from its face.”(Hadith)Prophet’s Kindness Towards CatsThere are numerous storiesrecounting the Prophet’s kindnessto animals, especially cats. A famousone involves a cat that had givenbirth to kittens on his cloak. Ratherthan disturbing them, Prophet tooka knife and cut round them agenerous part of his cloak as theirblanket. Nafi and Ibn Umarrecorded that: A woman waspunished because she kept a cattied up until it died, and she wasthrown into Hell. She had notprovided her with food or drink andhad not freed her so that she couldeat the insects of earth. (Muslim5570 & 6346).Prophet regarded the cats that livedalongside humans as part of thefamily. He even used the water theyhad sipped for his ablutions withoutregarding as unclean.Halal SlaughterThe Muslims consider Halal to bethe quickest and most painless wayof killing animals with prayer in thename of Allah. ‘O’ believers! Eat ofthe good things that we haveprovided for you, and be gratefulto Allah, if it is Him you worship. Hehas only forbidden you carrionmeat and blood and the flesh ofpigs, and that on which any nameother than the name of Allah hasbeen invoked.’(2:173; 5:3)Shaddad b.Aus has recorded “TrulyAllah has commanded goodness ineverything; so when you kill, kill ina good way, and when youslaughter, slaughter in a good way.Every one of you should make hisknife sharp and let the slaughteredanimal die comfortably. (Muslim4810).There is growing trendtowards vegetarianism amongMuslims but this is purely a matterof individual conscience. It is notcompulsory to eat meat to be agood Muslim.Muslims do not agree with thewestern methods of slaughter inwhich animals are supposed to bestunned electrically beforeslaughter. The stunning often killsthem. They maintain that to cut thethroat with a very sharp knife is theleast painful method and notelectrocution. The slaughtering isdone by either cutting the throator by piercing the hollow of thethroat. The best way is to cut thewindpipe, the gullet, and the twojugular veins.When Muslims kill an animal, theyhave to observe certain rules. Theknife that will kill the beast is neverto be sharpened in front of it. Thecreature is to go to its death in akind atmosphere, well fed andwatered, not in the slaughterhouseambience of torture and terror.Islam prohibits slaughter of oneanimal in front of another for thesame reason. Animal should bekilled quickly while the prayer isbeing said.Some Muslims refuse to eat anymeat unless they know for certainthat it is halal, but it would seemfrom the Prophet’srecommendation that this is anextremist attitude.Aisah recordedthat the Prophet was once told thatpeople bring us meat and we donot know whether they havementioned the name of Allah overit or not. Shall we eat it or not? TheHoly Prophet replied ‘Mention thename of Allah and eat.’(Bhukhari).~ Colonel MZU Siddiquie55