The Loss Of A Beloved Pet, Smokey my cat passed away Dec 26 2019 age 13. Got him when he was 5 weeks old.
Submission to God (Islam in Arabic) is a way of life that encourages kindness, tolerance and acceptance. It is not always practiced that way but that is clearly the emphasis of the Quran, which is the scripture given by God to Muhammad in the 600’s AD.
Animals—all animals—are submitter to the will of God, which makes them pure, They come to this earth for a period of time, determined by God, and then they return to Him for eternity. The Quran makes it clear that all the animals will go to Heaven.
The movie title; “All Dogs Go to Heaven” was absolutely correct. Dogs cannot be “bad” since they are submitter. That’s not necessarily true for all humans, but all the animals will go back to God. So, if as a human, you lead a righteous life and worship God ALONE, submit to the will of God, you will be reunited with your pets in Heaven. We can learn a lot from watching how our pets accept this concept of submission.
verses from the Quran; All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book. To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned. [6:38]
Among His proofs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the creatures He spreads in them. He is able to summon them, when He wills. [42:29]
The heavens and the earth are full of proofs for the believers. Also in your creation, and the creation of all the animals, there are proofs for people who are certain. [45:3-4]
Do you not realize that to God prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the animals, and many people? [22:18]
The people of the cave, 3, 5 or 7 were mentioned in the Quran and every time God insists on letting us know that their dog was there with them. Their story can be as complete without the mention of the dog, but God did, Why ?
God is telling us these righteous people were in the cave with their dog, if it is not righteous to have dogs, God would not have told us that story in which the dog has to be remembered as being there. We have to know the quality of God, if we were to worship Him correctly. When God says something He means it, and when he does not, he means it as much. If God did not curse the dog and call it all kinds of name, it is because God wants us to know that He created that beautiful creature and He expected us to make all use and companionship with that animal that accompanied these righteous people of the cave
Cats are known to be ungrateful while dogs are renowned for their loyalty. However, this is not the case in Islamic-Turkish culture, where cats and dogs held a place completely different
Istanbul’s cats are as famous as its dogs. Nowadays, the new pastime among neighborhood locals is feeding street cats. When these people go out on the street, all of the neighborhood cats gather around them and open their mouths as if mobilization was declared. They are a far cry from catching rats, let alone rummaging through the garbage.
The kid of the house
Mice were the unwanted inhabitants of old wooden houses and cats were their mortal enemies. In the past, a house without a cat was unthinkable. Not every cat can catch a mouse since it must be a mousing cat. Cats that are not hunters by instinct are paired with the hunters and they get used to the job in a short period of time.
Cats were fed not only to catch the mice but to befriend children and the elderly. Especially people who see no loyalty from their relatives or friends, or people who have no children, show their love and compassion to the cats. Prince Şerefeddin Efendi was exiled from his homeland, forcing him to live alone in Beirut. It was his lifelong companion, his cat, who notified the neighbors of his death.
Every domestic cat is almost like the kid of the house. When someone in the household shows a child even slightly more interest, they get jealous. There were people who looked after dozens and even hundreds of street cats and fed them. The stories whose protagonists are genies, always featured a cat as the genie in disguise.
Cats are smart animals with strong senses. Even if they go miles away, they can find their way back home. According to the common belief, cats are ungrateful, while dogs are renowned for their loyalty. However, the religious scholars favor cats, which expect their sustenance from god without showing gratitude to anyone, but they do not favor dogs which is beleoved to “dirty” their owners.
In Islam, if cat urine stains one’s clothes, it is not regarded as dirty, while a dog’s saliva is considered to be dirty and if it gets on your clothes you cannot pray in them unless the stain is rinsed off. In fact, according to the Shafii school of thought, if a dog’s saliva stains one’s clothes, that stain is required to be rinsed off seven times in order to be able to pray in them again.
Cats and humans
Prophet Muhammad’s fondness for cats is conveyed in his hadith: “Affection for cats is part of faith” (Maqasid al-Hasanah, al-Sakhawi). So, loving a cat is a sign that someone is a believer. When Prophet Muhammad came across a black-and-white Abyssinian cat breastfeeding her kitten during the Uhud campaign, he changed the course of his soldiers. On his way back he adopted this cat and gave her the name “Muezza.” One day, he slightly tipped his cup so that a cat passing by could drink some water.
A companion of Prophet Muhammad was given the name Abu Hurairah, which means “father of cats.” Abu Hurairah was given this name because wherever he went, he always had a cat with him. It is even said among the people that Prophet Muhammad stroked the back of a cat for strangling a snake that was about to harm someone and that is why cats land on four feet and not on their backs.
The nickname of Pir Asad, one of Rumi’s caliphs, renowned for his love of cats, was nicknamed “Pisili Sultan” (Sultan with Kitties). When his beloved cat died, he had it buried right near his foot. They say that while Ahmed Rufah, one of the elders, was sitting, his cat came and fell asleep on the sleeve of his robe. When the time for Friday prayer arrived he did not want to disturb the cat, so he cut his sleeve off instead of waking it.
The prophet’s hadith, “Have mercy on the creatures of Allah so that Allah may have mercy on you,” was the motto of the elderly. The prophet also said that a woman who kept a cat locked up and failed to feed it until it died, would be sent to hell, while a prostitute, who gave water to a dog that was dying from thirst, would be forgiven.
Master’s cat
There is a mosque in Damascus called Masjid al-Qitat. “Qitat” means “cats” in Arabic. It is also a foundation that was established to protect the cat thrown out in the street. The caretaker of the mosque purchases liver with the some of the foundation’s income and feeds hundreds of cats every day.
İsmail Saib Sencer, the director of the Bayezid Library in Istanbul, fed hundreds of cats. For this reason, Bayezid Library was called “The Cat Library.”
There are too many kinds of cats. They are from the same species as lions and tigers. Some of them are incredibly beautiful, and for some stroking their hair is the greatest pleasure. İsmet Sungurbey, a teacher of law in Istanbul, fed hundreds of cats in his school’s garden. Later he wrote a book called “Hayvan Hakları” (Animal Rights). Arndt, a chemistry professor at Istanbul University, taught lessons with his cat on his shoulder. The cats that were allowed to roam freely and go in and out and fall asleep wherever they want with
out being bothered we called the “Master’s cats.”
There were also those who were not too fond of cats. Sultan Abdülmecid was allergic to cats, and he did not want to be in the same room with one. The story goes that one morning, while reciting the Quran, he went out for a while, and when he came back, he saw that a cat had scratched and stained the pages. That was the last time he came near cats again. As a matter of fact, when he and his men stepped into Beykoz Palace one time, a cat came out to meet them and he immediately ordered his men to “turn back.” But his son Sultan Abdülhamid adored cats. This sultan had a white long-haired cat named “Agha Effendi.”
Requiem for cats
As apartment life began, the glorious days of cats came to an end. Current houses are not suitable for feeding cats. Cats are clean animals, but they want a house with a garden. Now that cats serve as a toy, they are in a state of numbness and forgetfulness of their true nature. Moreover, even if Islam does not allow people and animals to be sterilized, they forced to endure this operation so that the owners are comfortable.
There is also a place for cats in oriental literature. A poet called Maali, who lived in the time of the Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, wrote a requiem for cats. Namık Kemal, one of the 19th century poets, wrote a poem similar to this, which describes the merits and superiorities of cats with humorous language.
Stories, jokes and sagas feature cats as well. The story goes that Nasreddin Hodja’s wife cooked and then devoured 3 kilos of liver that he brought. In the evening when he came home, she blamed a cat. He then weighed the cat which tipped the scale at 3 kilos. “Lady, if this is the cat then where is the meat, if this is the meat then where is the cat?” he famously asked his wife. Though cats are famous for theft, the poor animals are blamed for almost everything that is lost.
“Cats have been worshipped as gods or persecuted as evil”throughout the history of mankind without any measure of understating. Especially in medieval Europe, cats and women were believed to be in league with Satan; as a result, they were burned, tortured and killed in many unimaginable ways, because people believed that in doing so, they could stop the evil and the diseases. For example during the “Black Death” plague, many cats were killed in large numbers, but in fact, this only made things worse.
On the other hand, there was another picture from a forgotten time in which cats were respected, loved and treated with understanding. From a nick name “Abu Huraira” (father of cats) to a small “Cat figure on an Ottoman Ring Holder”, there are numerous references to cats throughout Muslim civilisation, but these are mostly lost or hidden. In this article we cite some examples of how cats were treated and regarded by Islam and reveal the source of this treatment.
At the beginning of her introduction to Lorraine Chittock’s book Cats of Cairo, Annemarie Schimmel wrote: “When the British orientalist E. W. Lane lived in Cairo in the 1830’s, he was quite amazed to see, every afternoon, a great number of cats gathering in the garden of the High Court, where people would bring baskets full of food for them. He was told that in this way, the qadi (judge) fulfilled obligations dating back to the 13th-century rule of the Mamluk sultan al-Zahir Baybars. That cat-loving monarch had endowed a “cats’ garden” where the cats of Cairo would find everything they needed and liked. In the course of time, the place had been sold and resold, changed and rebuilt; yet the law required that the sultan’s endowment should be honoured, and who better than the qadi to carry out the king’s will and take care of the cats?
The tradition continues. To this very day, every visitor to the Islamic world is aware of the innumerable cats in the streets of Cairo —and of Istanbul, Kairouan, Damascus and many other cities. (…) We often find cats in the mosque, and they are gladly welcomed there not only because they keep the mice at bay .
Cats were very common among the Muslims: “It seems that from early days the Arabs kept cats as pets. Otherwise we could not understand why (according to one early historian) the Prophet’s young widow, A’isha, when complaining that everyone had deserted her, added: ‘Even the cat has left me alone’.” In contrast to other civilisations, “they were companions of most of the Muslims… from a housewife to a great scholar, they were loved, not only for their beauty or elegance but also for their practical purposes. For example, Muslim scholars wrote odes for their cats because they protected their precious books from attack by animals such as mice.
They were respected as members of the family and protectors of the houses against deadly insects and harmful animals such as scorpions. More importantly, they were not just companions or pets, they were also examples to Muslims, people who submit themselves to One God, such as in the story of Ibn Babshad:
“The grammarian Ibn Babshad was sitting with his friends on the roof of a mosque in Cairo, eating some food. When a cat passed by they gave her some morsels; she took them and ran away, only to come back time and time again. The scholars followed her and saw her running to an adjacent house on whose roof a blind cat was sitting. The cat carefully placed the morsels in front of her. Bashbad was so moved by God’s caring for the blind creature that he gave up all his belongings and lived in poverty, completely trusting in God until he died in 1067 (oral tradition recorded in the late 14th century by the Egyptian theologian and zoologist Damiri (d. 1405)” (Lorraine Chittock, Cats of Cairo, p. 40).
And thousands of Sufi (mystical) stories include cats; lovely stories such as sheikh (mentor) Ashraf’s Madrasa (school) cat, which helped the teachers to bring order to the school, even sacrificed itself for the sake of the dervishes (the disciples or students of that time), or the tale of the Iraqi Sufi Shibli from the 10th century about his dream in which his sins were being forgiven for saving a kitten’s life.
These tales contain important lessons and messages. Sufis were not just clerics; they were also teachers, mathematicians, doctors, consultants, scientists and more, who studied most of the sciences available to them at their time. They talked about astronomy or molecules in their stories, to the point which, for example “purring is often compared to the dhikr, the rhythmic chanting of the Sufis , which is used in many early Islamic hospitals as a healing process. Modern science recently discovered the healing powers of the cats’ purr: “…optimal frequency for bone stimulation is 50 hertz. The dominant and fundamental frequency for three species of cats’ purr is exactly 25 to 50 hertz: the best frequencies for bone growth and fracture healing. The cat’s purr falls well within the 20-50 hertz anabolic range, and extends up to 140 hertz .
Cats were famous in Islamic art. Muslim painters, especially calligraphers, used brushes which were “preferably made from the fur of long-haired cats that were bred for this purpose which applied as opaque, jewel-like colours in a remarkable array of hues. Some examples of Islamic art depicting cats follow:
The love and respect for cats was not only reflected in art, but also in legends. Some call these legends “superstitions” but scientifically myths give a glimpse of the daily life of ancient people. Some examples can be seen below:
“The qariina (which means good sprit) is believed often to assume the shape of a cat or dog or other household animals. So common is the belief that the qarina dwells in the body of a cat at night-time, that neither Copts nor Moslems would dare to beat or injure a cat after dark. (Many stories are related of the terrible consequences that follow beating a cat. These stories are credited even by the educated).
“Many precautions are taken to defend the unborn child against its mate, or perhaps it is rather against the mate of the mother, who is jealous of the future child…” (Influence of Animism on Islam: An Account of Popular Superstitions, by Samuel M. Zwemer, London : Central Board of Missions and Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920, chap. 6).
In the myth of Shah Ismail Safavi, the vehicle of the divine inspiration of Ismail is a miraculous cat:
with him always he has a cat, and woe to him who gives it any offense. [Ismail] has a tent, with 365 or 366 entrances, round like the world, and, in the morning, no portal is opened save the place through which the cat every day passes… It is said that [Ismail] has as his guide a spirit in that cat, who counsels him and works many miracles…” (Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam -A Book of Essays, edited by John Victor Tolan, London/New York: Routledge, 2000)
“The Kitab Al-Hayawan was the object of many studies, and had great influence upon later Muslim scientists, and via them upon European thinkers (especially upon Lamarck and Darwin). And it became the source for later books on zoology. Al-Jahiz’s many sentences are quoted by Ikhwan al-Safa and Ibn Miskawayh, and many passages are quoted by Zakariyya’ al-Qazwini (1203-1282) in his ‘Aja’ib al-Makhluqat, and by Mustawfi al-Qazwini (1281- ?) in his Nuzkat al-Qulub; and al-Damiri in his Hayat al-Hayawan‘ and still continues to inspire the scientists today. For instance, Professor. Dr. R. Kruk whose inaugural lecture on “A Map of a cat” was also inspired by Islamic manuscripts and scientific references including Kitab Al-Hayawan. These books also had the role of a cultural drive for the progress of research in modern science in zoology, biology, evolutionary theories, medicine, veterinary, anatomy, etc.
These books not only covered a specific subject as scientific textbooks, but also acted as enlightening guides just like most other early Muslim scientific books. An example is a line from Al-Jahiz’s Kitab Al-Hayawan: “and the cat profits so much from its resemblance to the king of beasts that one way of dealing with approaching war elephants is to release a quantity of cats from a bag.
There are also records of institutions, dispensaries and trusts built to protect animals; among which were cat houses. One can say that not only did the West bring science, art and goods from the East, they also brought cats from all over the early Islamic lands where cats were thriving. For example, in the UK the true wild cat species existed only in Scotland and Ireland but there are now millions of cats living in UK.
It seems impossible to squeeze this subject in a short essay; therefore it is better to look into the source: Where did this love and understanding towards cats come from?
In the Islamic world, the cat was respected and protected because cats were loved by the Prophet Mohammed. From a very simple piece of advice to his actions, there are numerous reports concerning the Prophet Mohammed and cats, resulting in their subsequent acceptance among Muslims.
Prophet Mohammed advised the people to treat their cats (pets) as a member of their family, and by this he meant to take a good care of them. Not only by words, but also with his actions he was a very good role model. These exemplary behaviors became so popular that they turned to stories in time. One of the most famous story about them is Muezza, the Prophet Muhammad’s favorite cat, recounts the call to prayer was given, and as the story goes Prophet Mohammed went to put on one of his robes, he found his cat sleeping on one of the sleeves. Rather than disturbing the cat, he cut off the sleeve and let him sleep. When he returned, Muezza awoke and bowed down to Prophet Muhammad and in return he stroked him three times. It is also believed that when Prophet Muhammad gave sermons within his household he would often hold Muezza in his lap.
Both his followers and the “Prophet enjoyed the presence of cats”. For example in the early 7th century lived Abu Hurayrah, famous as a companion of the Prophet and a major narrator of his sayings. He was given his nickname Abu Hruyrah (literally father of cats) by the Prophet because he used to care for a small male cat. (“Cat” word comes from the Arabic word qit but a tiny male cat is called hurayrah). There is also a legend about this in which a cat saved the Prophet’s life from a deadly snake. The story is narrated by Annemarie Schimmel as follows:
“The cat is such a clean animal that according to authentic narrations one may make ablution for Prayer with the same water that a cat drank from. Yet, it is known that some people nowadays have opposed the traditions of the Prophet by taking up the evil practices of torturing and poisoning cats. In Islam, the punishment for such actions is severe. Islam holds a special place for cats as lovable and cherished creatures, and mistreating a cat is seen as a serious sin. Al-Bukhari reported a hadith regarding a woman who locked up a cat, refusing to feed it and not releasing it so that it could feed itself. The Prophet Muhammad said that her punishment on the Day of Judgment will be torture and Hell.”
There are many records of the Prophet’s love for cats and his relationship with them. “The prophet’s fondness for cats is often referred to, and whether or not the hadith that ‘Love of cats is part of the faith’ is genuine, it reflects the general feeling for the little feline.” There are also many testimonials regarding many other animals in Islam such as horses, camels, bees, ants and even flies.
Fundamentally the life of the Prophet Mohammed is the understanding of the Quran itself. There are some verses associated with animals and references regarding the responsibility of the human domain in the world and its contents which include balance, justice, mercy and much more moral content. To show mercy to animals is the part of the faith of Islam. Prophet Mohammed taught mercy to all of God’s creation. The Quran was the way of his life. We should consider the message and the sprit of Quran which reflects on all messengers of Allah to mankind. The mercy and fear of Allah is reflected in their characters therefore above all the reader should consider what is mentioned in Quran wholly because Islam does not only mean – as described in a dictionary – a religion “based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.” It also means “straight/right/true path (to God)” which covers the history of the world and beyond.
Thus, this essay can only give some references regarding cats at a certain time line in living Islamic History. This period starts from the life of the “messenger” of Allah, the prophet Mohammed, to people who followed him thereafter.
Bibliography (alphabetical):
- Chittock, Lorraine: Cats of Cairo: Egypt’s Enduring Legacy. Introduction by Annemarie Schimmel. New Yor: Abbeville Press, 2001.
- Powe Allred, Alexandra: Cats’ Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities. Potomac Books, 2005.
- Schimmel, Annemarie: Deciphering the Signs of God. A Phenomenological Approach to Islam. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
- Schimmel, Annemarie: Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1975.
- Schimmel, Annemarie: And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1985.
Text References:
[1.] Cat: Myths and Superstitions
[2.] Glossary of Religion and Philosophy: Black Death
[3.] Muttaqun On-Line, “Cats: According to Quran and Sunnah”
[4.] Lorraine Chittock, Cats of Cairo (as PDF)
[5.] The Importance of Sound in Healing
[6.] Islamic Art: Late Islamic
[7.] Cryptic Subterranean: Islamic Inventions
[8.] Salaam Knowledge: al-Jahiz
[9.] Note that lions are referred to as “Big Cats”: “Big Cats in Detail”
[10.] Jahiz’s Kitab al-Hayawan (book on animals)
[11.] by Georgie Anne Geyer: “When Cats Reigned Like Kings” Page 4 and 28
[12.] “Power of Words: Prophet (s.a.w.) and a cat”
[13.] Islam Web , “Islam Teaches the Love of Animals”
[14.] Islam – Definitions”, in Dictionary.com:
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The Bible teaches us that God created animals. They aren’t the product of happenstance or fortuitous natural processes any more than humans are. Genesis 1:24-25 says God created the animals, from the beasts of the earth to the creeping insects. Scripture even tells us that the breath of life resides within them (Gen. 7:15). By virtue of our creation in the image of God, we humans are uniquely special in comparison to all of creation, but that does not mean the rest of creation has no value to God or that he doesn’t enjoy it.
When God created animals, he declared their creation to be “good” (Gen. 1:25). At the conclusion of the creation account in Genesis 1, God looked at “all he had made” and declared it “very good” (v. 31). Creation was “very good” when considered in its totality, not only in reference to humans. Humans are the crowning achievement of God’s creative activity, and as his image bearers, we possess something of the divine that nothing else in creation possesses, but we should not let that truth cloud our appreciation for the rest of creation or diminish our responsibilities toward it.
Here, I offer ten biblical truths about animals that should affect how we think about them and how we treat them.
- God communicates with animals
This is the best explanation for the migration of the animals to Noah’s ark. In Genesis, God told Noah to build an ark in order to save himself, his family, and the land-dwelling creatures from the coming flood. However, he didn’t tell Noah to go out and round up the animals. He told him to bring them into the ark (Gen. 6:19), which meant to simply receive them. When it was time for the flood to begin, the text says the animals “went into the ark to Noah” (Gen. 7:9). The only explanation for the actions of the animals is that God drew them to the ark. God communicated with them directly, and they responded.
Another example of God communicating with animals can be found in the experience of the prophet Elijah. When Elijah fled from Ahab, king of Israel, he went to an area east of the Jordan River. The Bible says God commanded ravens to bring him food while he was there, and they did (1 Kings 17:4-6).
These examples don’t tell us that God is in regular communication with the animals, but they make clear that such communication has occurred. It is certainly plausible that God interacts with animals more than we realize.
- God cares about the well-being of animals
We often quote Matthew 10:29-31 to emphasize God’s concern for humans. In this passage, Jesus helped his listeners grasp the extent of God’s concern for them: If God cares about the death of a common bird, he certainly cares about the needs of humans. That isn’t all we learn from this passage, however. Jesus also gave us insight into God’s attitude toward animals. True, humans are “more valuable” than a common little bird, but Jesus didn’t say that animals have no value to God. In comparison to humans, the little sparrow has little value, but God still values the life of that little sparrow enough to be moved by its death.
I PRAY TO GOD TO TAKE MY CAT SMOKEY TO HEAVEN he was the best cat I ever had and so polite, peaceful, nice ,friendly , rest in peace my friend smokey and one day I hope to join you in heaven in God well. I LOVE YOU.
Steve Ramsey, Okotoks- Alberta.