Why is it that dogs are looked down upon in the so-called Muslim world ? Why has tradition made it so difficult to keep a dog in your home ? Why would a "Muslims" Taxi driver refuse to allow a blind man and his guide dog into his cab ?
Dogs are wonderful creatures of God. They bond with humans, protect them and serve them and that has been true almost since God placed man on earth. Does it make sense then that Muhammed (or any messenger of God) would place prohibitions on these loving creatures when God does not ? How do we know that Muslims are not forbidden to be around dogs?
In the story of the men of the cave in Sura 18, it becomes clear that God sees dogs as part of men's lives. 18:18 "You would think that they were awake, when they were in fact asleep. We turned them to the right side and the left side, while their dog stretched his arms in their midst." Hadith tells us that angels won't enter a room where there is a dog. That means that for 309 years that the sleepers were in the cave, no angel ever entered. Yet God says "We turned them...." The use of "we" clearly indicates the participation of angels. There is absolutely no reason to mention the dog as part of this story, except to make it clear to future generation that dogs are permitted to live among people, right "in their midst." And 18:22 clearly shows that the dog was counted right along with the believers.
There are books of the Bible that don't make it into all Bibles. They are recognized by some sects but not by others. These are called "apocrypha." One such book is entitles "Tobit." It is a wonderful narrative. It reminds me of Luqmaan in the Quran. A faithful man counsels his son to worship God always, to be righteous, to give charity and never begrudge the gift, to be humble and to be fair in all business dealings. In this book of Tobit, the son, Tobias, goes off on a journey to help his father. God sends with him an angel in the form of a man, and chapter 5 verse 16 says; "So they went out and departed and the young man's dog was with them." And as they return home, after all the adventure and good things that happen , in chapter: " After this Tobias went on his way, praising God because He had made his journey as success....So they went their way, and the dog went along behind them."
There is no other mention of the dog in the whole narrative. It is just like the people of the cave. There is no reason to mention the dog at all, except to show that it's a perfectly natural thing to be accompanied by your dog. God certainly does not prohibit it.
God has given dogs qualities that make perfect companions and helpmates for humans. The fact that dogs like to be around people and like to please them makes them easy to breed for specific characteristics and to train for a variety of wonderful jobs.
Dogs come in all shapes and sizes from the 5" tall, 6 pound Chihuahua to the Mastiff and St. Bernard which may reach 200 pounds. Some dogs are meant to simple be a companion to man, small enough to carry around and sit on your lap.
Scientific studies have shown that just petting a dog can lower a person's blood pressure. So their simple companionship is a gift from God. Beyond that, dogs perform a vast array of wonderful skills. Dogs are excellent herders and guards of sheep and cattle. Some dogs have a natural desire to protect. Police and the military frequently make use of this attribute, using German Shepherds , Dobermans and Rottweilers in their work. Dogs are wonderful in search and rescue. This has gone on for hundreds of years, from the famous St. Bernard of Switzerland finding people lost in the snow and laying down with them to keep them warm (they did not carry a keg of brandy) to modern times, finding survivors in the rubble of earthquakes. Dogs have always participated in the sporting world, as the Quran attests in 5:4
Yet according to Hadith, anything a dog touches must be washed seven times, the final time in dust. That seems inconsistent with the Quran saying you may eat what they catch for you. The beautiful bird brought back proudly in the Retriever's mouth would have to be washed seven times, finally in dust. It does not sound very appetizing.
Recently man has come to rely on the dog more for companionship and affection than anything else. And out of that has come the use of dogs as eyes, ears, arms and legs for the disabled. To watch a seeing-eye dog guide a blind person down a busy street or through a crowded mall is a truly inspiring sight. It allows freedom and independence that this person would not otherwise have. For a deaf person, a hearing-ear dog allows him or her to live alone without fear. The dog can be taught to alert his owner to the doorbell, telephone, alarm clock, and smoke alarm. A deaf couple can respond to their baby crying, for the dog will alert them. The world is not so frightening and they do not feel so alone, with a dog to hear for them. For someone in a wheelchair, or someone whose arthritis won't allow them to bend or lift, a dog can provide so much help and comfort. The simple act of picking up a dropped objet is something we take for granted. But to a disabled person, it might mean the humiliation of always having to ask for help. With a service dog by his side, that same person achieve independence and self-esteem. The dog is happy to get the pen or the keys or the pill bottle, even if it rolls under a table.
The positive qualities of the dog-loyalty, dependability, tolerance- have been recognized throughout history. Mark Twain said "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." And Lord Byron's epitaph for his dog says "[He] possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence; courage without ferocity; and all the virtues of man without his vices."
And of course the most important trait of all, which Byron missed, is complete and total submission to God for all his life. I think we'd be well served to share our lives more with these wonderful creatures, and learn more from them.
Of all the myriad of animal systems that God has set up on earth, certainly ants are among the most amazing. There are about 10,000 species of ants, and they live essentially everywhere on earth. They have been around for 100 million years or so, with fossil ants nearly identical to ants of today.
Most species live in highly organized colonies with a queen, a few males for mating and many female workers. In starting new colony, an amazing string of instinctive behavior occurs.
The Queen flies out, is mated (like the honeybee, the males fall dead), and finds a new place. She makes a shallow nest and dismantle her wings. She uses the wings as food and also absorbs the flight muscles in her body as nutrition. That may support her for a year with no other food. Unlike the queen bee who is accompanied to a new place by many workers, the queen ant goes all alone and must provide for herself until new workers hatch. She lays egg-100 an hour, 30,000 in a week. After about 20 days, the eggs turn into wormlike larvae, which the queen washes and feeds. After another 20 days or so, the ants are ready to face the world. They instinctively know the role they are to play. The first ones out are always worker/gatherers. They go out and get food to bring back to the nest for the queen. Her job now is only to lay eggs.
There is a specific division of labor among the ants. Unlike the bees, that progress from one job to another, the ant is born into the job it will perform for life. The nurses are meticulous in caring for the young, They make sure dirt does not get into body segments, constantly licking the eggs and larvae. They carry them gently to the proper place within the colony for each stage of development.-the right amount of moisture, warmth, etc. They move them to upper chambers for warmth during the day and lower chamber at night. If it is raining outside, the nurses will dash around carrying their charges lower and lower where the rain might not penetrate. Worker ants concentrate on enlarging the nest, digging new chambers underground, making repairs where needed. They also keep the colony clean, removing dirt and debris and the dead. Soldiers are equipped with larger heads, a hard armorlike covering and larger and stronger jaws. They will attack insects, both for protection and for food. gatherers get the food. They can carry up to 50 times their weight. Or they may go as far as away as 600 feet and return with a single seed to store deep in the nest for the future- similar to a man walking 6 miles to the store and back for a loaf of bread.
Ant colonies depend on the female of the species for their creation and their continued existence. The queen and all the workers are female. Interestingly, scripture clearly indicates the female gender of workers ants-a fact that could not have been known when the Quran was revealed and certainly not when the Old Testament was written. Yet Proverbs chapter 6, verses 6 through 8 says :
Go to the ant, O sluggard, study her ways and learn the wisdom; for though she has no chief, commander or ruler, she procures her food in the summer, stores up her provisions in the harvest.
And in the Quran, sura 27, entitles "The Ant" there is the charming story of Solomon's troops verses 18 and 19:
"When they approached the valley of the ants, one ant said, "O you ants, go into your homes, lest you get crushed by Solomon and his soldiers, without perceiving. "He (Solomon) smiled and laughed at her statement..."
Both references are pointedly feminine, again something that would not have been known at this time.God has provided some amazing ways of life among the many species of ants. There are ants which steal eggs from other ant colonies and raise them as slaves. There are army ants which are constantly moving and hunting down insects. There are ants which keep herds of aphids and actually milk them, enjoying the substance the aphids produce from flowers. There are ants which work in teams to sew leaves together to use in building their nests. And there are "parasol" ants which carry large leaf segments over their heads like umbrellas back to the nest,, where they partially chew them, then use them as mulch to grow mushrooms-their food of choice.
"He created the earth for all creatures... Which of your Lord's marvels can you deny ?" Quran, 55 :10,13)
Of all the animals mentioned in the scriptures-dogs, horses, donkey, birds, locusts, etc.-God picked the camel as the one we should reflect on. In Quran in 88:17
Camels creation is its own miracle. The camel is not always seen as a beautiful animal. But it is absolutely perfect for what it needs to do and where it needs to survive. This is a gift from God. Without camels, no one could travel in the deserts , so huge sections of the world would be not just difficult to live on, but completely unlivable. All of the camel is practical for his survival and for his service to man.
A camel's feet, although hoofed, have large pads that spread out in the soft sand to keep the animal from sinking in. His face is designed as protection from sun and sand. The thick eyebrows, heavy eyelids and thick lashes all keep out sand, and there's even a third eyelid that can close in heavy storms. The still nostrils have special muscles which the camel can close against blowing sand. The ears have thick hair inside the ear, as well as outside to prevent dirt and sand from getting down inside the ear, and possibly causing infection.
A camel's hump is a lump of fat. This is used as a source of energy when food is scarce. The hump may actually shrink when no food is available, but the camel can live off it for many days. And it will reform perfectly when food is again available. Because food is so scarce in the desert, the camel must be able to eat anything (even the tents). The lining of the mouth is very tough so that the camel can bite and chew thorny cactus plants without harm to the mouth.
Most incredible is how the camel deals with heat and lack of water. First of all, camels have a low metabolic rate, so energy is used slowly. The body temperature has a wide range of normal. It may start the day at 94 and hit 105 in the heat of the afternoon.. (Human's normal temperature is 98 and at 101, we are sick). The camel is one of few animals that can sweat. The coarse body hair, which acts as a protection against the direct sun, also allows the camel this ability to sweat. Sweating is a more efficient cooling system than panting (as in dogs) as less precious fluid is lost. Additionally, in its incredibly efficient way, the camel does not sweat until its body temperature is near the top of its range.
No other creature can process water in the same way. It does not lose water from blood, only from the tissue. Thus the blood stays properly thin enough to circulate and remove body heat. The camel will only drink when needed and only replace what's lost. If he lost 5 gallons over the last two days, he will drink 5 gallons and walk away. He may not drink at all in winter. And the camel can quickly replace all water lost - 25 gallons in a very short time. Other animals drinking too fast can die from water intoxication.
So camels are truly remarkable animals. When we reflect on their creation, as God instructs us to do, we cannot help but marvel at the ways God made them fit perfectly into their niche. May God help each of us to fit our own niche as well.