Abu Dawud 5268 — The hummarah's chicks and the burned ant-hill

أبو داود 5268 — الحُمَّرة وفرخاها وقرية النمل المحروقة

In the Book of General Behaviour, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah via his father: the Companions took the two chicks of a hummarah and she came fluttering; the Prophet ﷺ said 'Who has pained her for her young? Return her young' — and seeing the ant-hill they had burned: 'None should punish with fire but the Lord of Fire.' The most famous text on mercy to animals.

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At a glance

«فَرَأَيْنَا حُمَّرَةً مَعَهَا فَرْخَانِ فَأَخَذْنَا فَرْخَيْهَا فَجَاءَتِ الْحُمَّرَةُ فَجَعَلَتْ تُعَرِّشُ، فَجَاءَ النَّبِيُّ فَقَالَ: مَنْ فَجَعَ هَذِهِ بِوَلَدِهَا؟ رُدُّوا وَلَدَهَا إِلَيْهَا. وَرَأَى قَرْيَةَ نَمْلٍ قَدْ حَرَّقْنَاهَا فَقَالَ: مَنْ حَرَّقَ هَذِهِ؟ قُلْنَا نَحْنُ، قَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يُعَذِّبَ بِالنَّارِ إِلَّا رَبُّ النَّارِ»

A verbatim excerpt of the text, forty words at most; the full text is in the edition cited under sources

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Mentions
The birds· The ant

People and things also explored

Abu Dawud 5265 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant· Abu Dawud 5266 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant· Abu Dawud 5267 — He forbade killing four creatures· Bukhari 3019 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant· Bukhari 3319 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant· Ibn Majah 3225 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant· Muslim 1887 — The souls of the martyrs in green birds: I shall tell them about you· Muslim 2241 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant

Sources

  • Sunan Abi Dawud
  • hadith-api (fawazahmed0): open hadith editions
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abu Dawud 5268 — The hummarah's chicks and the burned ant-hill”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/passage/abudawud-5268/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Related

Abu Dawud 5265 — A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant

A hadith qudsi in Sunan Abi Dawud, no. 5265: A prophet stung by an ant: why not just the one ant. The Prophet relates it from his Lord; the Hadith Qudsi Browser gathers its narrations across the six books and the Muwatta.