Animals & Islam

 I have always loved animals as far back as I can remember. It had a lot to do with the people who raised me, but also it was just a part of me from the very beginning. These values along with the values of Islam paired with my own compassion for animals of all kinds in a very symbiotic union.

I always knew that Islam was very environmentally oriented and held compassion for any living thing in a very high degree. It was not until a recent animal ethics class that I began to really delve into what exactly my religion says about animals, their rights, their place in our lives and how Allah views them. I am, as you might imagine, studying to be a veterinarian. This is truly my calling and it was not until I began this path that I truly understood when people say 'do what you love & you will never work a day in your life'; how very true that is!

 I hate that I have to say this before I speak on anything Islamic, but I do have to offer up a disclaimer.

Islam is not Muslims and Muslims are not Islam. Islam is the religion & Muslims are the followers. Islam is a perfect system for all aspects of human existence. Muslims are merely human followers who sometimes, more often than not, get it wrong, drastically wrong.

The vast majority of the Muslim world is totally and completely ignorant when it comes to religion. It is much like Europe during the dark ages. Most people have very little actual Islamic education and the little bit they do have is from sources that are lacking to say the least. This is the sad state of the Muslim world today. We, as a society, are lacking in true, reliable guidance and there is a void so we fill this void with absolutely anything that crosses our path. Sadly, that is the perfect breeding ground for wack jobs, fanatics, extremists and nutters with agendas to get a foot hold and gain control.

"If you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything" ~ Martin Luther King JR.

"A house divided against itself can not stand" ~ Abraham Lincoln by way of Jesus Christ

So, like any other religious ruling, the ones dealing with animals are often ignored or simply unknown. I admit that I did not know many of them. Islam has a way of constantly renewing itself for me. I will get busy living my life and then out of no where, I will read a verse from the Quran or a Hadith and it just hits me like a brick wall.

This endeavor was one of those experiences. I found myself in tears at the balance, logic & reasoning, compassion and humbleness of this religion. I am not worthy of such a beautiful system, truly.

So I will relay to you my findings. Grab some tissues, you may need them.

Quran 6:38 (Y. Ali) There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. 

This verse has many implications. The verse comes as an answer to those asking why Allah has not sent forth some grand gesture to show himself. Allah responds by saying that the Earth and its inhabitants are that grand gesture. It also states that the animals all form communities and social units, just like human beings. This is something that science is just now starting to understand, and Islam revealed it over 1400 years ago!

Here is the kicker: at the end they will be gathered up to Allah! So, just like us humans the animals will be gathered up to Allah on the last day.

This reveals to us that animals have a soul, and that is huge!  They are not just mindless beings created for our use and abuse, they have souls, families, duties and functions. We know that if human beings were wiped from the earth that all the animals and plants would continue to exist and probably flourish on scales never known before. If all the animals, or even a few choice ones, disappeared, humans and plants would cease to exist entirely. So where do we get this egotistical idea that we are so grand?

Mind = Blown.

The Prophet said that anyone who harms/kills any creature even so small as a sparrow or smaller without just cause will be answerable to Allah for that action on the day of judgement. When asked what is just cause he replied: for food. (Ahmad & Al-Nasai) I think it is also important to note that the Prophet was not in the habit of eating a lot of meat. Meat was a luxury, not like now in the states where we have 17 portions of meat in one day. When he did have meat in his house he sent it to other people for various reasons. Meat is not a requirement in a meal, it is permissible but within moderation as was his example.

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet told a story about a different prophet. This previous prophet has been sitting near some ants and one stung him. He became angry and demanded the entire colony and structure be destroyed. Allah scolded him saying"Because one ant harmed you, you have destroyed an entire community that worshiped Me." (Bukhari and Muslim)

This is something we could learn many things from. On the surface there is the obvious, do not destroy the entirety of a group of animals because one of a few pose a threat. Also, maybe us humans should not destroy or discriminate against entire groups of people because one of a few offended us.

The Prophet was sitting and noticed a kitten asleep on his robes. He did not want to disturb the kitten so he cut his robe around the kitten so he could get up.

The prophet is said to have mourned when his beloved camel died.

A boy had a pet bird and the bird died. The Prophet went to visit the boy and asked about his beloved bird. When he heard the bird died, he said a prayer for the bird.

The Prophet spoke of a prostitute who was getting water from a well on a hot day and she saw a dog by the well panting in thirst. She put water in her shoe and gave it to the dog. For this reason alone all her sins were instantly forgiven. (Muslim)

The Prophet said he had a dream of a woman being tortured after her death (in the here after) because she had kept a kitten caged and did not give it any food or water, nor did she at least free it so it could go get food or water on its own.

My darling baby girl, Nephi.

This one in particular got me. I work in animal shelters and all day everyday I am confronted with this exact situation. It is heart breaking and it is very hard to not burst into tears and fall apart. The extent of human cruelty is ever baffling. It is a comfort to know that Allah sees their suffering and just like my own suffering, it will be accounted for on that day and justice will be had.

Do not burden an animal more than he can bare

Islam forbids the beating or branding of any animal, for any reason. The prophet once saw a donkey with a brand on his face and he said "May Allah condemn the one who did this" (Muslim)

The prophet once saw a camel that was so emaciated that its stomach was touching its back. He admonished us to fear Allah in our use of work animals and instructed us to only work them if in good health and to retire them while they still have health. (Abu Dawud)

The Prophet said many times that over burdening an animal is sinful and abusive.

The Prophet also told us that it is a great sin for anyone to imprison animals in his care. (Muslim)

The Prophet also forbade any fighting of animals for sport, (Abu Dawud) and  using them as target practice. (Muslim)

Motherhood is beautiful

We are told that if we are on a journey with animal and in a fertile area we should go slow to allow them to eat as they go, but if the land is dry and infertile we should speed up to avoid them becoming hungry and to not make camp for the night close to main pathways as nocturnal creatures will be enticed by our animals (Muslim)

The companions were on a journey and the Prophet had was away for a few moments. They saw a bird with her babies and they took the babies. The mother bird was flying around them crying out for her babies, in grief. The Prophet returned and asked who had hurt the feelings of the bird and ordered them to return her babies to her. (Muslim)

This was 1400 years ago. Even today, even among bird enthusiasts there is debate on whether birds feel emotions like fear, grief, stress, love, longing. 1400 years ago Islam gave us the knowledge that indeed, of course, birds, and all animals feel these things.

We are told that any bad deed done against an animal is the same as it being against a person, and any good deed/charity done to an animal is the same as doing it to a person. (Muslim, Boukhari)

Not just a nice thing to do, it's WORSHIP!

We are forbidden to store milk in the utters of animals (Muslim)

Aisha (the Prophets wife) was once riding a stubborn camel and she turned the camel roughly. The Prophet admonished her that it would be better for her if she were kind to the beast. (Muslim)

We are instructed not to clip the forelock of a horse as the horses decency is in it, and not to clip its mane as its beauty is in it and not to clip its tail as it uses it to flap flies. ( Abu Dawud)

And finally...

Abu Hurayrah was a close Companionof the Prophet and it is from Abu Hurayrah that we get a majority of our religious knowledge. He was known among the people as being a compassionate man who loved animals. His given name was Abdu Rahman but most of us do not recognize him by this name at all, because he was always called Abu Hurayrah. Abu Hurayrah means father of the kitten, he was called this because he had a cat that he took in and cared for and he used to carry it everywhere he went. 

This brought tears to my eyes! This strong man, battle worn man, rough neck Arab bedouin man was known for carrying around a kitten, so much so that they named him for it! 

Alhamdulillah!  (All thanks be to Allah(God))

Until one has loved an animal, apart of one's soul remains unawakened.

  

Read More

Unmosqued, Unseen & Unloved

There is a documentary in the works called "Unmosqued". ( see the trailer for it here:Unmosqued)

This documentary speaks on the scores of Muslims, both men & women, who feel unwelcome at the mosque. There are many reasons why we feel unwelcome. There are very few activities to bind us a a community, to build relationships and fellowship, the facilities are lacking to say the least, youth are shunned, women are shunned, converts are shunned, children run wild. The mosque often seems like it is just a place for old men to pray, nothing more, nothing less.

There is a brief explanation of this phenomena here: Muslims unwelcome at the mosque.

This begs the questions: If Muslims feel unwelcome at the mosque, how do non Muslims feel?

I am a Muslim woman so I will speak from my own perspective and speak of my own experiences with the mosque.

I remember being a child and going to the mosque with my father. I did not always go with him, but when I did, it was such a treat. The mosque was so big, and had so much open space, which to a small child is an open undeniable invitation. I was allowed to be free, to run around with other kids, but I was not allowed to disrupt people. I was taught to have manners, to not interrupt people, to speak with a whisper. If I was not abiding by these rules, I was scolded by my father. I agree that children should be welcome at the mosque. The Prophet used to pray with his grandsons on his back. He never rejected their presence. However, I do think we need to teach mosque manners to children from a very early age. The mosque is not a playground, and there is a certain level of respect that should be given. I also think it would be fantastic if more mosques had a small play area outside so that children can have a safe place to go wild with other Muslim children. A play room indoors for the smaller ones. Mosques usually have many class rooms, and they are unused, why not use them to occupy, educate, entertain and welcome the children of our communities?

As a woman I am obligated to seek knowledge 'even if it means going to China', just as a man is obligated to do. This instruction did not say men only seek knowledge, it was for any and all Muslims, male or female. I am in just as much, if not more need of Islamic instruction, and knowledge as any Muslim man out there. The Muslim women in our communities are the primary care givers of the children, the creators of atmosphere in the homes and the backbone of our community as a whole. Women go out in hijab and broadcast to the world their Islam, their dedication and submission to Allah. We  are harassed, belittled, insulted, sometimes assaulted, degraded, and disrespected all day every day out in the world. We have no safe space, no respite, except our own homes & let us be honest, in many cases that is not at all a safe space. We are in desperate need of reassurance, encouragement, uplifting fellowship, and education.

Often when women work up the courage to go the mosque, they are not even greeted with 'Assalaamu Alaykom'. The men shy away from us, walking in other directions, putting hands in the air when near us, as if we have a plague. It is the obligation of every Muslim to greet another Muslim with Assalaamu Alaykom, there is no such teaching that says men only say it to men and women only say it to women. I am a woman, and I am in just as much need and deserve it just as much to have salaams said to me. In fact, we are taught that the best among us is the one who says it first, not the one who runs the other direction.

I have said salaams to men in the mosque before only to be shunned, they rarely even return my salaam and usually look in horror as if I have just asked them for a quickie in the wudu area.

Relax brothers, Assalaamu Alaykom means may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you, it does not mean I want to jump your bones!

If we have all this responsibility, should we not be welcomed in mosque?

 It is our duty to teach our children about Islam, their jannah is out our feet.

What a heavy responsibility that is!

Our children will get to jannah via us, our instruction, our dedication. It is upon us, as women, to ensure they are brought up to be strong adults who can then carry on this deen to the world.

I should be able to pray behind men, not behind a wall. The hadith says that the best among men are in the front rows and the best among women are in the back rows. This hadith came about due to men and women intermingling and gawking at each other at the mosque during prayer. The prophet was an intelligent person, he was capable of making rulings and those rulings are the most perfect system of personal and communal governance this world has ever known. So, would the prophet have not created a barrier, or a wall on his own, should that have been the wise thing to do? He never created such a thing, never mentioned it, nor did any of the sahabah. The women were in the mosque, with the men, with the prophet, praying, listening to lectures, visiting, having fellowship with one another. We should not behave any different inside of a mosque than we do outside of a mosque. If it is not OK to purposelessly mingle with women in the mosque, then it is also not OK to do so outside the mosque. The mosque has no spiritual value. It is a building. It is not holy. It is not a relic. It is simply a space for us to gather, safely. During the time of the Prophet people actually lived in the mosque, they slept there, hung out, studied, read books, debated issues. The mosque was a community center. A place for Muslims to handle all kinds of life issues, for men and for women.

The women came to the Prophet and told him they felt left out, that the men occupied all of his time and they had questions too, that they did not want to ask in the presence of the men. The Prophet realized he had been neglecting them and set aside a day that was only for them, to come, obtain his advice and ask him questions. This did not mean the women only were allowed on that day, or that they were to be separated. This was simply because sometimes women have delicate issues that we need advice on and we do not want to ask in the wide open room with hundreds of ears listening, and this is what is best, to seek advice in private, not to broadcast your business to the world, for men and for women.

What is more beautiful than our mothers praying?

The Prophet never shunned women away from him, he never turned his nose up at them, never degraded them, never treated them badly. He accepted anyone that came into his presence. Should we not be doing the same?

These same men who separate women from the community, make the mosque unwelcoming, are the same ones who stand on their soap boxes 24/7 bellowing about SUNNAH, SUNNAH, SUNNAH. It is sunnah to do this and sunnah to do that. They seem to only want to enforce or focus on the burdensome parts of the sunnah, the laws and regulations. The sunnah is also filled with love, mercy, a welcoming salaam and kindness, inclusiveness and respect are mere minimums. 

As a Muslim woman, I fear the mosque. Astaghfirallah!!

I fear it because it is scary, it is dreary, depressing and I am clearly not welcome there. I get a more welcome greeting and acceptance from the greeter at my local Wal Mart than I do from my local Mosque. That simply should not be the case.


I love mosques, they are beautiful and they display the beauty and creativity of the religion I love so much. The main prayer room is always so well decorated, beautiful clean carpet, windows that let in strategic amounts of natural light, a dome with murals and calligraphy and mosaics. The men get to enjoy this. The women are shoved off in a dark room, with Styrofoam ceilings, horrid lighting, no air flow, no space to actually pray, and a speaker that transmits to us sacred knowledge, yet sounds like a drive thru speaker. Yes, we are instructed that it is better for women to pray at home. That instruction was given in reference to jummah prayers, and it also says forbid not the women from attending. Allah gave me the right to enter a mosque, to pray in a mosque, to receive education,
advice, guidance and support from the mosque. Allah gave these rights to me, not a shura council, not a board of directors, not a group of curmudgeons. I should not have to fight for these rights. I spend my whole life fighting for rights, fighting for a seat at the table, the mosque is the last place I should have to fight for.

What is the difference between these two signs?

I should never have to enter the mosque from a side door, I should never be sequestered into a dark room, totally void of beauty and disconnected from my community. If I am good enough to marry a Muslim man, and raise Muslim children then I am good enough to sit a modest distance behind those same men and obtain the same information, in the same fashion as they do.

I truly believe the saying 'as go the women, so goes the community'. This is because women are the teachers. We set the tone, not only in our homes, but in our friendships, work places and our society. If women feel disconnected, disenfranchised and unwelcome, so will their children. We have a serious problem in the ummah of unhappy, uneducated, Muslim women. These women want to learn, they want to pray, they long for support, acceptance, respite and a safe space.

So if mosques would hold classes, events, have a sisters group, have a sisters shura council that works as a liaison between the board of directors and the sisters, have committees of sisters that work to fulfill the needs of the women in the community.

The mosque needs to offer safe, fun, modern, Islamic alternatives for single Muslims. Have mixers, offer match making services, have classes on various topics of finding and being a spouse.

All of these activities should be free. There should be no cost. I realize things cost money, but every mosque I have ever been to has found a way to ask me for money. Stop asking for money for the building fund, there is no point building a building that no one wants to enter. Ask for donations to support education and activities to build relationships, a sense of belonging, ownership and pride in our community, the building fund will follow by default because when people have pride in something, when there is a real need for more space, people rise to the occasion.

Read More

All Hype & No Reward

Aristotle

I thought I would be more in a more "celebratory" mood when this thing was finalized but that isn't really happening. The phrase ‘the lord giveth & the lord taketh away’ comes to my mind. I get the gift of a final legal ending to a marriage that ended years ago at the same time come to the realization that other relationships have also come to an end. Maybe they ended long ago too & I am just now catching on. I can be rather daft sometimes.

When I love someone, I really love them with every single part of me. I absorb them into my soul, they become a part of me like a limb. Because of that, losing them for whatever reason tends to hurt like hell. It is like losing a piece of myself, my body, my life, a part of my soul that is forever missing. It is like a death has occurred in my life.

You would think with the ridiculous amount of loss I have had to deal with in my life that it would become easy, rehearsed and regular.

*Loss never becomes regular.*

I do not have many friends, not because I am an evil troll but because I choose to live my life in isolation.

*Isolation is safe.*

I dislike having the responsibility of maintaining a friendship. I also dislike the emotional burden on my shoulders of having to be concerned and worry about someone.

*The burden of loving someone.*

*That inevitable ending.*

So when I do choose to be friends with someone it is a choice I make wholeheartedly, consciously
and carefully. While I dislike the burden and the responsibility I endure them and rise to the occasion dutifully because I do not do things half assed. I am all there or I am not there at all. Ever. I do not lead people on, whether friends or lovers. I am real about my shit and handle it like an adult as opposed to a 7th grade mean girl.

I invest a lot of effort into relationships. At nearly 31 yrs of age I am finally willing to open up and have those deep committed long lasting friendships and relationships that I ran away from all my life. I am ready but it seems finding a person deserving of that is very hard to do.

I do have a very few people in my life that I am honored to be associated with. They are always a blessing and loving them has never hurt me or left me longing. I am always fulfilled by them. I thank Allah every single day for them and beg Allah for their longevity and prosperity. The gratitude I feel for their presence in my life could never be spoken, much like wine it would lose its essence if poured out.

I am going into the new year with a heart dead set on progress and determined to find love, all kinds of love. I want to give love and get love. I am going into 2011 with less baggage.

*I will no longer be the solo party in a relationship, whether friend or lover.*

*I will not sit by a phone waiting on a phone call. Waiting on love and acceptance.*

To those left behind I have only one thing to say:
I loved you, I welcomed you into my life and you turned your nose up at it like you were just too good to bother with it. I wish you nothing but the best in life. I wish no harm upon you, but I will no longer entertain your toxicity.

You have been weighed, you have been measured & you have been found wanting…

I hope that the memory of our friendship will be everlasting. 

(Cicero)

Read More