Ask your children:

1. How should a Muslim treat creatures and animals?

2. Is it correct to hurt and kill creatures for no reason?

Now tell them the story:

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Jameelah. Jameelah was very kind to people, but she was very cruel to animals. If Jameelah found any animal or creature, she would try to hurt it and cause pain to it.

When Jameelah saw a bird’s nest in a tree, she would shake the branches until it fell to the ground. Then she would take all the eggs from the nest and break them! When she found a snail, she would pick it up and throw it into the neighbor’s pond! When she saw a cat sleeping, she would sneak up to it and pour a bucket of water over it! When she spotted ants in the garden, she would wear her gumboots, and then she would stamp over all of them, making them into mash!

One day, when Jameelah was in madrasah, her Aapa told the class a story that came in a hadeeth. The Aapa told them that there was once a woman who had a cat, but she was very cruel to her cat. She kept it tied in the house and did not feed it or allow it to go out and find food for itself. Aapa said to them, “On the Day of Qiyaamah, her cat will attack her. It will bite her and scratch her, and this will be her punishment for being cruel to the cat.”

Then, Aapa said something else. Aapa said, “If you are kind to all animals and creatures, and you help them and feed them, then they will make du‘aa for you and Allah Ta‘ala will be happy with you.”

When Jameelah heard this, she began to think. She thought of all the animals, insects, birds and creatures that she had harmed and hurt, and she began to feel very, very bad. She realized that what she had been doing was very, very bad. She decided that from that day, she was going to be kind to all creatures.

That afternoon, after madrasah, when Jameelah went home, she saw a small bird hopping around the garden. “Cheep! Cheep!” chirped the bird, as it moved around. Jameelah decided to be kind to the bird, so she filled a small bowl with water, and another small bowl with seeds, and left it out for the bird. As she watched, the small bird hopped to the bowls where it began to eat and drink! Jameelah watched the bird, chirping happily, and she also felt happiness in her heart and started to smile.

After the bird had left, Jameelah went out to fetch the bowls, but as she bent down to pick up the bowls, she heard a scary sound behind her… “HISSSSSSSSSS!” It was a slithering snake, hiding in the grass, and it wanted to bite her! Oh No!

At that moment, as she watched, an eagle suddenly swooped down from the sky, picked up the snake and carried it away! Jameelah was just too amazed for words.

The next day, when Jameelah told her Aapa what had happened, Aapa said to her, “You see Jameelah! When you are kind to creatures, then they will make du‘aa for you! Allah Ta‘ala will be happy with you, and Allah Ta‘ala will help you when you need His help! That is why Allah Ta‘ala sent the eagle to save you from the snake.”

Jameelah was very happy that she had stopped being cruel to animals, and she thanked her Aapa for teaching her this important lesson. After that day, Jameelah was always gentle and kind to creatures, and she also stopped other people from being cruel to creatures.

Lessons:

1. If a creature is not harming us or troubling us, then we should not harm it or trouble it.

2. If we are kind to creatures and feed them, Allah Ta‘ala will be happy with us.

3. We must go to madrasah regularly and listen to the lessons that our Moulanas and Apas teach us.

Click here for the audio version of this story.