Kindness to Animals: The Bahá’í Faith and Animals

Kindness to Animals-The Teachings of Bahá’í Faith and Animals

Kindness to animals is one of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. Bahá’u’lláh makes this one of the pre-requisites for anyone embarking on a spiritual search.

It says in the Bahá’í Writings: “It is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that whereas human beings can appeal to the authorities against injustice, animals do not have that option, which means that humans have to take great care in their treatment of animals.

A leaflet, “Treatment of Animals”, which deals with this issue is available by Warwick Bahá’í Bookshop.

The Bahá’í Faith teaches that animals should be treated with kindness, and that this is a matter of great importance.

Bahá’u’lláh listed kindness to animals as one of the qualities which must be acquired by anyone searching for God.

In other words, spiritual development requires that we love and respect all of our fellow-creatures, humans or otherwise. All of creation is inter-related, and the realization of the oneness of all life is fundamental to the Bahá’í view. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the son of Bahá’u’lláh said:

“Unless ye must, Bruise not the serpent in the dust, How much less wound a man, And if ye can, No ant should ye alarm, Much less a brother harm.”

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Bahá’í Quotes about Kindness to Animals

To blessed animals the utmost kindness must be shown, the more the better. Tenderness and loving-kindness are basic principles of God’s heavenly Kingdom.

Ye should most carefully bear this matter in mind. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 160

Educate the children in their infancy in such a way that they may become exceedingly kind and merciful to the animals.

If an animal is sick they should endeavor to cure it; if it is hungry, they should feed it; if it is thirsty, they should satisfy its thirst; if it is tired, they should give it rest.