Animals

1

‘[The true seeker] should show kindness to animals.’ Baha’u’llah

‘To the blessed animals . . . The utmost kindness should be exercised; the more the better it will be.’ ‘Abdu’l-Baha

‘All cattle, that which lives under the water, under the heaven, the birds, the wide-stepping, the beats with claws, praise we.’ Yacna

‘May I regard all beings with the eye of a friend.’ Yajur Veda

‘Him I call indeed a Brahmana who without hurting any creatures, whether feeble or strong, does not kill nor cause slaughter.’ Dhammapada

2

‘If an animal is sick they [the children] should endeavor to cure it; if it is hungry, they should feed it, if it is thirsty, they should satisfy its thirst, if it is tired, they should give it rest.’ ‘Abdu’l-Baha

3

Muhammad and the Animals

A man once came to him [Muhammad} with a bundle, and said, ‘O Prophet, I passed through a wood and heard the voice of the young birds, and I took them and put them in my carpet, and their mother came fluttering round my head.’ And the Prophet said: ‘Put them down”; and when he put them down the mother joined the young. And the Prophet said: ‘Do you wonder at the affection of the mother towards her young? I swear by Him who has sent me, Verily, God is more loving to His servants than the mother to these young birds. Return them to the place from which ye took them, and let their mother be with them. ‘Fear God with regard to animals . . . Ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off when the are tired. Verily, there are rewards for our doing good to animals, and giving them water to drink.

4

A. Mrs. Frothe died last night. She left all her money to build a home for stray dogs and cats in the city. What do you think about her action?

Baha’u’llah says: ‘He (the seeker} should show kindness to animals, how much more unto his fellow-man, to him who is endowed with the power of utterance.’

B. Is our attitude towards animals only a one-way affair? Can you think of the many ways animals assist man?

C. Why do the Holy Books teach us not to be cruel to animals?

D. How can our understanding of the Kingdoms of God help us in our attitude towards animals?

By Irene Taafaki