The Man & the Thirsty Dog (Mercy)

Описание: The One Who Gave Water to a Thirsty Dog and was Pardoned by Allah – Authentic Stories

Introduction
These are two stories of a man and a woman who both saw thirsty dogs and gave them water to drink. Allah appreciated their acts and forgave them for showing kindness to animals. Being kind to animals brings the worshipper closer to His Lord and leads to forgiveness.

Text of the Two Hadiths
Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih that Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) had reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,

“A man suffered from intense thirst while on a journey until he found a well. He climbed down into the well and drank until his thirst was quenched. After he climbed out of the well, he saw a dog lolling out its tongue and eating the moistened earth out of thirst. The man said, ‘This dog has suffered from thirst as I had.’ So he climbed back down into the well, filled his shoe with water, then clenched it between his teeth while he climbed out of the well and let the dog drink. Allah appreciated this act of kindness and pardoned him. Then the Companions around the Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘Allah’s Messenger, is there a reward for us, even for (serving) such animals?’ He (ﷺ) said, ‘Yes, there is a reward for service to any animate.’”

Explanation of the Hadith
This is stories about a man gave water to thirsty dogs and were pardoned for being merciful towards them.

The man was away from his homeland and far from any houses. He was extremely thirsty. He passed by a well which had no bowl, so he went down into the well and drank until he quenched his thirst. Then he came back up out of the well. He then found a dog which was very thirsty to such an extent that it licked the wet dust to cure its thirst.

Allah gave human beings traits that most animals do not have such as the ability to drink from the well by a bowl if there was one available or to climb down into the well as the man did. The dog was not able to do any of the things done by the man and that would have resulted in its death if it was not given water by that man.

The man looked at the thirsty dog and remembered how he felt before he drank. He had been as thirsty as that dog, but how could he give water to the dog with no bowl? He went down into the well for the dog had to drink. He found nothing to put the water into, so he thought of using his shoes. He took his shoe off and put it in his mouth as he needed his hands free to climb in and out of the well. One might feel disgusted to carry his shoes in his mouth for the shoes might be dirty or smell. One can hardly bring the shoe close to his mouth or nose let alone carry it in mouth. However, the mercy in the man’s heart was stronger than the feelings of disgust at having to carry his shoes in his mouth and motivated him to do what he did to give water to the poor dog. Allah appreciated everything that he did and pardoned him letting him into His Mercy.

Allah pardoned him for being merciful towards the thirsty dog.

Lessons of the Hadith
1. The great reward for the one who is kind to animals. Allah pardoned each one of those mentioned in the hadith for giving water to the thirsty dogs. If forgiveness was granted for giving water to a thirsty dog, what would be the reward for one who gives water to a thirsty person, feeds him if he is hungry, and gives him clothes if he is naked!

2. The greatness of Allah’s Blessings and Mercy, for He grants much for little. He pardoned those two for minimal work which was giving water to the dogs.

3. In both Islam and Judaism, a Muslim is not considered kafir (non-Muslim) if he commits sins. He might do good deeds that pardon him by Allah even without repentance.

4. It is allowed to dig wells by public roads. The man who gave water to the dog found the well next to the road he was traveling on. Anyone who digs wells near public roads is rewarded. He is even rewarded if he digs a well to water his trees, but is required to post warning signs that no one would fall into it.