Compassion and Kindness to Animals

There is an incident regarding how Hazrat Umar (ra) showed compassion and kindness to animals. Ahnaf bin Qais narrates:

“We came as a delegation and gave Hazrat Umar (ra) good news of a great victory. Hazrat Umar (ra) asked where we were staying, to which I replied that we were staying at such and such place. Hazrat Umar (ra) started walking with me. We reached the place where the camels for our transportation were tied. After examining every single camel, Hazrat Umar (ra) said, ‘You have no fear of Allah with regards to your mounts. Do you not know that they have a right over you! Why did you not leave them free so they could graze freely on the grass?’”

(Sirat Umar bin al-Khattab, Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, p. 171, Dar-ul-Ma‘rifah Beirut)

Hazrat Umar (ra) once saw a camel which was greatly fatigued and showed signs of illness. Salim bin Abdillah narrates that Hazrat Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab placed his hand on the camel’s back next to an injury mark and said to himself, “I fear lest Allah the Almighty questions me regarding you.”

(Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra, Vol. 3, p. 217, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut)

Aslam narrates that on one occasion, Hazrat Umar (ra) said, “I feel like eating fresh fish.” Yarfa, the name of one of Hazrat Umar’s (ra) slaves, took his mount and rode four miles in both directions and bought a good quality fish. He then turned to the mount and washed it. In the meantime, Hazrat Umar (ra) came and said to come with him. He saw the mount and then said, “You forgot to wipe the sweat underneath the ears. You put an animal through pain in order to fulfil Umar’s desire. By Allah! Umar will not even taste this fish.”

(Kanzul Ummal, Kitab-ul-Fazail, Vol. 6, p. 287, narration no. 35966, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut)

One afternoon, a delegation came from Iraq to see Hazrat Umar (ra) in the summer months. Ahnaf bin Qais was also present in this delegation. Hazrat Umar (ra) was wearing a turban and was applying pitch etc. on the camels for Zakat. Hazrat Umar (ra) stated, “O Ahnaf! Take off your [outer] clothes and come and assist the Leader of the Faithful with this camel. It is a camel for Zakat. Orphans, widows and the poor have a right over it.”

(Kanzul Ummal, Vol. 3, p. 303, Kitab al-Khilafah wa al-Imarah, Hadith 14303, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut)