Comprehensive Mercy

Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a mercy sent by God to all peoples regardless of their race or faith. In fact, his teachings included mercy to all creatures and forbade harming them without right or reason. The Prophet's mercy (peace be upon him) also extended beyond humanity, to birds and animals. He (peace be upon him) ordered kindness to them and warned those who torment or harm them of the punishment of Hellfire in the Hereafter. He (peace be upon him) prohibited making birds and other living creatures targets to shoot at, saying: "Do not take anything in which has a soul as a target." [Reported by Muslim].

And he (peace be upon him) said: "A woman entered the Hellfire on account of a cat. She confined it and neither fed it nor allowed it to eat from the grass of the earth." [Reported by Al Bukhari].

He (peace be upon him) also said: "While a dog was circling a well about to die of thirst, a prostitute from the Children of Israel saw him, removed her shoe and let him drink from it, so Allah forgave her." [Reported by Al Bukhari].

And he (peace be upon him) said: "While a man was walking he became very thirsty, so he descended into a well and drank from it. When he came out, he found a dog panting and eating the soil due to thirst. He said, 'This creature is suffering what I suffered,' so, he went down again, filled his shoe and climbed up holding it in his mouth to give drink to the dog. Allah appreciated that from him and forgave his sin." His Companions asked, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), is there a reward in [kindness to] animals?" He (peace be upon him) replied, "In every living creature is reward." [Reported by Al Bukhari].

The Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited confining animals in order to later kill them with arrows or spears. Once, he passed a camel showing signs of starvation and said: "Fear Allah concerning these dumb beasts. Ride them while they are healthy and eat them while they are healthy." [Reported by Al Bukhari].