Compassion for Animals
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
Allah has commanded you to treat all creatures with kindness. When you slaughter an animal do so kindly. Sharpen the knife well and give comfort to the animal being slaughtered. (Muslim)
Al Shaddad Bin Aous (Allah be pleased with him) has quoted this tradition of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him): "Allah calls for mercy in everything, so be merciful when you kill and when you slaughter. Sharpen your blade to relieve the pain."
Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) narrated a tradition that once a man started sharpening his knife after laying down a goat for slaughter. The Prophet said to him, "How many times do you want to kill this goat? Why did you not sharpen your knife before laying the animal down?" (Hakim)
Umar (Allah be pleased with him) saw someone dragging a goat along by its leg to be slaughtered. Seeing this he said, "May Allah have pity on you. Lead this animal to its death with kindness."
In the Days of Ignorance people used to cut off the lumps of camels and the fatty tails of rams, which was very cruel and painful to the animals. Therefore, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) held the practice of severing the limbs of live animals to be unlawful. He said, "If a part of the limb of a live animal is cut off, it will be treated as carrion." (Ahmad, Abu Dawood). These examples show the extent of the emphasis laid by Islam on the importance of kind treatment to animals.