A cat shut in, a thirsty dog, a colony of ants: in the hadiths, compassion toward animals carries great weight. Let us look at what Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim report, and why cruelty is so firmly rejected there.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ related the story of a woman who had shut a cat in until it died. She gave it neither food nor drink, and did not let it go to find something to eat on the earth. The hadith, reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, states that she entered Hell because of that cat.
A sin that seems small, a lesson of great weight
This account is striking for its simplicity. It involves neither a great crime nor a long story: there is a dependent animal, and a person who held its fate in their hands. Scholars see in it a reminder of the responsibility owed to a being that can neither ask for anything nor complain. The hadith says nothing more about what this woman had done otherwise; it focuses on this act and its gravity.
Conversely, the tradition reports, in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the story of a man who was walking in scorching heat. Overcome with thirst, he went down into a well and drank. Coming back up, he saw a dog panting and eating the damp earth because of its thirst. The man thought that this dog was suffering as he had. He went back down, filled his shoe with water, held it in his mouth to climb back up, and then gave the dog water to drink. Allah thanked him for this and forgave him. The Companions then asked: "Are we rewarded for what we do to animals?" He replied: "There is a reward for every living creature."
The ants, the bird and the sharp blade
Another hadith, also reported by Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, tells of a prophet of earlier times who, stung by an ant, had the whole colony burned. Allah then made him understand that, for the sting of a single ant, he had destroyed a community that glorified Him. The message is clear: even when facing a real nuisance, the response must not be excessive.
Sahih Muslim also reports that the Prophet ﷺ passed by a donkey branded on the face with a hot iron. He strongly disapproved of this act. And in Sunan Abi Dawud, it is reported that some Companions had taken the chicks of a warbler; the mother was fluttering her wings above them. The Prophet ﷺ asked: "Who has distressed this bird by taking its chicks? Return them to it."
Finally, Sahih Muslim relates these words of the Prophet ﷺ: Allah has prescribed excellence in all things; when slaughtering an animal, it must be done in the best way, the blade should be sharpened, and the creature should be spared unnecessary suffering. Even at that moment, gentleness remains a requirement.
What these accounts teach us
These hadiths share a common point: they remind us that the animal is a creature endowed with sensitivity, which feels thirst, fear and pain. They leave no room for gratuitous cruelty, whether it takes the form of abandonment, brutality or excess. Each time, the focus is on the heart of the one who acts: will they be able to see the suffering and respond to it?
In everyday life, the lesson is simple: give water to a thirsty animal, do not shut it in without care, do not handle it roughly, and do not inflict unnecessary harm. These are small gestures, and the story of the dog reminds us that they can count for a great deal. Kindness toward animals is not a minor matter: it is part of the good conduct that the Prophet ﷺ taught.
