962/1 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When you travel through green lush land, give the camels their share from the earth, and when you travel through dry barren land, make them walk quickly before their strength falters. When you encamp at night, keep away from the roads, because they are the paths of animals and the resorts of insects at nighttime.” [Narrated by Muslim]
“Give the camels their share from the earth”: Be gentle to the camels to let them graze as they travel. -- --
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1) A traveler should take care of the mount he rides on, because he will be held accountable for the way he treats it.
2) This shows the Prophet’s wisdom in taking care of the interests of both people and animals when he instructed travelers to observe these etiquettes.
3) Adhering to the Prophet’s guidance achieves the best interests, even when it comes to worldly affairs. He commanded us to avoid dangerous paths when we sleep during journeys. {And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided.}
His words “keep away from the roads” is advice intended to protect people’s lives from dangers. An example of that is the roads where cars travel; travelers should camp at a distance from them lest they subject themselves to danger. How sublime the guidance of Islam is in protecting people’s interests!
963/2 - Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey and stopped for rest at night, he would lie down on his right side, and when he stopped for rest shortly before dawn, he would keep his arm erect and place his head on his palm. [Narrated by Muslim]
The scholars said: He would keep his arm erect lest he goes into deep sleep and thus miss the Fajr (dawn) prayer at its time, or at its earliest time.
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1) A person should give himself the due share of rest without forgetting the worship of his Lord.
2) It was part of the Prophet‘s guidance to use every means that would help him wake up for prayer, as available at the time. Similar to this in our days is the use of alarms.
964/3 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Travel by night, for the earth is folded (traversed more easily) at night.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, with a sound Isnād]
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1) Riding animals become more active during the night, which makes the travel quicker.
2) All goodness and comfort lies in following the Sunnah, which includes travel by night, as it is easier to traverse the land then.
965/4 - Abu Tha‘labah al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When people encamped, they would scatter in the mountain passes and valleys. So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Your scattering about in the mountain passes and valleys is indeed from the devil.” Afterwards, they would keep close together whenever they encamped. [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, with a sound Isnād]
1) Physical dispersal is the work of Satan, and coming together to do something good is dear and pleasing to Allah Almighty.
2) When people physically scatter, this causes disharmony between their hearts and loss of love and cordiality amongst them. This indicates the correlation between outward and inward aspects in people’s relationships.
3) It shows the merit of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in their hastening to obey the Prophet’s command and follow his example. Where are those who do this nowadays?
966/5 - Sahl ibn ‘Amr – and he is also said to be Sahl ibn al-Rabī‘ ibn ‘Amr – al-Ansāri, known as Ibn al-Hanzhaliyyah, one of the participants in the Bay‘ah (pledge of allegiance) of Ridwān, reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) came upon an emaciated camel so he said: “Fear Allah regarding these mute animals. Ride them while they are fit (for riding) and eat them while they are fit (for eating).” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, with an authentic Isnād]
Mute animals: i.e. they cannot speak and express their will.
1) The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to be kind to animals, which is part of the perfect guidance of Islam.
2) The mercy of Islam extends even to animals, as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to take care of them and their rights. Where are those who claim to be advocates of kindness to animals?
967/6 - Abu Ja‘far ‘Abdullāh ibn Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) made me ride behind him one day and confided something to me which I shall never disclose to anyone. What he liked most to screen himself with while answering the call of nature was an elevation or a date-palm orchard. [Narrated by Muslim as such; briefer than other versions]
Al-Barqāni narrated it with Muslim’s Isnād with the following addition after “a date-palm orchard”: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) entered an orchard belonging to an Ansāri man and saw therein a camel. When the camel saw him, it began to groan and its eyes shed tears. The Messenger approached it and patted it on the hump and behind its ears until it quieted down. Then, he asked: “Who is the owner of this camel? To whom does it belong?” An Ansāri young man stepped forward and said: “It is mine, O Messenger of Allah!” He said: “Do you not fear Allah regarding this animal which Allah has placed in your possession? It is complaining to me that you starve it and put it to toil.” Abu Dāwūd also narrated it with the same wording narrated by Al-Barqāni
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1) It shows one of the Prophet’s miraculous signs. Even animals would complain to him.
2) The mercy in the Prophet’s heart encompassed every living being, even beasts. He was merciful to every living thing.
3) Disapproval of those who neglect and abuse the rights of others, even animals.
968/7 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “When we alighted at a place, we would not offer supererogatory prayers until we untied the saddles of our camels.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd with an Isnād that meets the conditions of Muslim]
We would not offer supererogatory prayers: Although they were keen on prayers, they would not give precedence to voluntary prayers over untying the saddles and letting their animals rest.
1) When two rights are in conflict, the more urgent one should be given precedence, even if a portion of the other right is undermined as a result.
2) Kindness to animals is an act of worship that sometimes surpasses hastening to offer voluntary prayers.