JIHAD SECTION · 62 – RESERVE ANIMALS
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “For the devils there is a camel, and for the devils there is a house. But I have indeed seen the devil’s camel. It is as if one of you takes out his reserve camel with him, well-fed. He does not ride it. It encounters a brother in faith stranded on the road, whose camel has died, but he does not let him ride it. This is the devil's camel. But I have not seen the devil’s house.” A narrator among them, Said, said: “I think that the devils’ houses are only those cages adorned with dibaj (a type of silk), which cover the nasiyyah (the foreheads of camels) upon which women ride.”
COMMENTARY:
It is inappropriate to burden an animal unnecessarily and cause it discomfort. Necessary situations are excepted from this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) performed his standing at Arafat on a camel’s back.
To refrain from helping a brother in faith stranded on the road, despite having a reserve means of transport, is surely the work of devilish pride. And also, the adorning with dibaj of those cages which are placed alongside camels for women to ride, and are called hevdeç, is also the work of a devilish feeling.