By Niggy
We human beings value our freedom. We want to be free to express our opinions on virtually everything under the sun. We want the freedom to live the way we want and to think as we wish. But the desire to be free is not something that is specific to human beings alone. Animals and birds have been blessed with the desire to enjoy freedom. Wild animals love to roam about freely in the vast grasslands or the dense forests. Birds love to soar freely in the open skies. One might even say that, in a sense, rivers love to rush down mountainsides, heading towards the ocean, and that clouds love floating about in the sky.
All components of Nature exist in their natural balance as defined by God. Left to themselves, they would all live in equilibrium. It is we human beings who interfere with them and cause harm and distress to animals, birds, trees and the bounties of Nature. Now, I’m not an exception to this myself. I remember when I was a child, I stubbornly demanded a chick to play with. When I got it, I realized that the baby bird was in no mood to play with me but only wanted to be free. I remember holding the chick in my palms. I loved that—but did the chick feel the same way? Perhaps it was missing its mother all the while. Finally, I let it go back to its freedom.
When I was little, there used to be lots of small silver-coloured butterflies where I lived. I would catch them and then let them go, and they would leave behind a silvery sort of powder on my fingers. I would also trouble dragonflies. I thought all of this was fun, but I now realise it must have been sheer trauma for the delicate winged beings. May God forgive me for my ignorance and the pain I had inflicted on these beautiful creatures.
Growing up, I developed love and compassion for animals and birds. Reading books on tiger conservation, I would daydream about protecting them, living with tigers—my heroes—in the jungle. Well, although that didn’t happen, instead of these big cats, many cats and kittens came into my life and gave me the opportunity to serve them. I also got the chance to help birds in distress, seeking assistance from rescue centres. Deep in my heart, I felt very happy doing some good for animals and birds.
As I sit writing these lines, from the window I can see an enclosure in a neighbour’s compound that contains some lovely birds. The birds flit about and chirp. But are they happy? Maybe they are calling out to say that they wish they could escape the confines of the enclosure and fly away to freedom. Maybe they look up at the sky and see other birds happily flying about and dream that they could do so too.
I feel sad looking at these trapped creatures. They might be getting good food, but they cannot spread their wings to soar into the open sky. I think, “Why can some people be so cruel as to trap lovely creatures like these? How would they like it if someone kept them in a cage?”
In recent times, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many people, in different parts of the world, have experienced ‘lockdown’, for some days or weeks or months. But while we humans have the hope of such ‘lockdown’ being lifted, birds that are trapped in enclosures might have to remain in their own sort of ‘lockdown’ for the rest of their lives. I hope their so-called ‘owners’ have a change of heart and set them free, or else that through a Divine miracle, their cages open up and they are able to fly away into freedom!
Refraining from physical cruelty to animals and birds is not enough. Equally important is abstaining from mental cruelty to them. Even a bird’s emotional distress should be treated seriously. I’d like to share a beautiful insight in this regard. One of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad narrates,
We were on a journey and during the Prophet’s absence, we saw a bird with its two chicks. We took them. The mother bird was circling above us in the air, beating its wings in grief. When Prophet Muhammad returned, he said, “Who has hurt the feelings of this bird by taking its chicks? Return them to her”. (Source: Sahih Muslim)
A person who loves God demonstrates their faith by respecting all of God’s creatures—including trees and plants, animals and birds.