“Abū Hurayrah reported the Prophet(s) as telling of an incident that happened to another prophet in the past. This prophet was stung by an ant and, in anger, he ordered the whole of the ants’ nest to be burned. At this God reprimanded this prophet in these words: ‘because one ant stung you, you have burned a whole community which glorified Me’.”7
The Islamic laws (Sharīʿah) concerning the rights of animals are very elaborate and explicit. In the case of the ants’ nest the following Juristic Rule would apply: “Any damage or a damaging retaliation for a damage is forbidden.” (Lā ḍarara wa lā ḍirār).8
There are parents in this world who are cruel to their children and rulers who exploit their subjects. Similarly, there are, and will always be, people who take the concept of man’s dominion over animals as a licentious freedom to break all the established moral rules designed to protect animal rights. Imām ʿAlī has this to say about such people:
“The worldly-minded people are like barking dogs and wild beasts; some of them roar on others, the strong ones eat the weak and the big ones hurt the small.” And again, writing of those who misuse their authority over the weak, he writes: “A savage and ferocious beast is better than a wicked and tyrant ruler.”9
The following verses of the Qur’ān apply verbatim to those people of our age who are exploiting wastefully the resources of nature and are wreaking havoc in the animated as well as the inanimated world, while defending their actions with clever and seemingly convincing arguments:
“And of mankind there is he whose glibness on the mundane life may dazzle thee, [especially] when he calls on Allah to witness the verity of his statements, because he is very skilful in his arguments. But, whenever he comes to power, he goes about in the land trying to create disorder by destroying tilth and progeny. And when it is said to him, ‘fear God’, his vainglory seizes him in his sin. So, Hell shall be his reckoning – verily, it is a vile abode.” (Qur’ān 2:204-206)
In the context of these verses, the expression ‘destroying tilth and progeny’, means the ‘resources of nature’. Literally, tilth means flora and progeny means fauna.10
The question of man’s responsibilities towards animals cannot be studied without discussing the reasons for man’s ill-treatment of animals. At the same time, the problem has to be understood in the perspective of the inter-relationship between man and the rest of the animated world as well as their inter-dependence upon each other. This relationship is primarily influenced by man’s concept of the status of animals which man gives to them in the hierarchy of various species. To establish in our minds the status of animals is as important a postulate as is the assessment of our fellow human beings for determining our mutual relationships.
We owe a great deal to modern naturalists who have sifted quite a few facts from fallacies, myths and superstitions about animals. The pioneers in this field were mostly the members of the Christian Holy Order in the 17th century who were enthusiastic and bold enough to re-interpret the Biblical chronology of creation, in spite of being accused of and censured for puritanical leanings as naturalists. Notwithstanding the fact that some of their observations and theories have been found to be fallacious, it has been mostly due to their pioneering work that research in Natural History and Science has been given respectability and scholastic interest. As a result, we now know so much more about the animal world, its behaviour, its classification and categorization – most of all, its correlative status vis-à-vis the human world. The Naturalists have also helped us a great deal in understanding better those parts of our scriptures which deal with subjects, such as:
(a) Balance in Nature. (b) Conservation of Species. (c) Animals’ Faculty of Speech. (d) The Utility-value of Animals. (e) The Metaphysics of Animal Mind. (f) Animals’ Right to the Resources of Nature.
The Qur’ān and Ḥadīth have discussed all the above subjects in great detail. However, until recently, few scholars felt any need to study them seriously. Some of those who did, were not interested enough to comprehend their full significance. It is only now, when modern scientific research has started corroborating the Qur’ānic statements, that Muslim theologians have begun to give serious thought to the current problems related to animals.
All the sources of Islamic instruction, especially the Qur’ān, lay great emphasis on Nature Study in order to understand life as one homogeneous organism. The Qur’ān is full of verses exhorting man to study nature – the planetary system; the terrestrial elements; the fauna and flora on earth. The real purport of this repeated appeal in the Qur’ān is to give credence to the existence of Godhead as the primeval originator of the universe; but the point that concerns us here is that the creation of animals takes a very prominent place in such citations as His portents. Here are a few of the numerous such verses:
“Human beings and the wild and domestic animals are too, comprised of various colours. Thus, only those among His creatures who humble themselves unto God, are truly the people of knowledge.” (Qur’ān 35:28)
“Verily! In the heavens and the earth, there are portents for the believers. And in your own creation, as well as in the creation of all the animals pervading the earth, there are portents for those who believe.” (Qur’ān 45:3, 4)
“Behold! Everything We have created is in due measure and proportion.” (Qur’ān 54:49)
“Allah knows what every female bears and by how much the wombs may fall short [of gestation], and how much they may increase – for with Him everything is in due measure and proportion.” (Qur’ān 13:8)
Two words in the last verse are significant. The Arabic word Unthā denotes a female of any species, whether human or animal. Secondly, the Arabic word for measure is ‘Miqdār’, which is used in all such verses. It means ‘in accordance with the particular purpose for which a thing has been created, the exigencies and the role which it is meant to play within God’s plan of creation.11
“And the earth – We have spread out its expanse and cast on it mountains in stable equilibrium, and caused life of every kind to grow on it, justly weighed.” (Qur’ān 15:19)
“We created man, and gave him the faculty of speech. The sun and the moon rotate in ordered orbits, the plants and the trees, too, do obeisance. The firmament – He raised it high, and set the balance of everything, so that you [mankind] may not upset the balance. Keep up the balance with equity, and fall not short in it. And the earth – He spread it out for all living beings: with its fruits, blossom-bearing palms, chaff-covered grain, and fragrant plants. Which, then, of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?” (Qur’ān 55:3-13)
The following saying of the Holy Prophet Muḥammad(s) shows how much importance was attached to the conservation of nature:
“[Even when the world is coming to an end] On Doomsday, if anyone has a palm-shoot in hand, he should plant it.”12
Thanks to modern scientific research, we have started appreciating the fact that the ecological and environmental balance of our planet is of paramount importance for life on earth. This balance rests on very complex and interwoven laws of nature. The denizens of the forest, if left on their own, generally adapt themselves to those laws and learn to abide by them. One seldom sees environmental damage being done by animals living in their natural habitats, such as