General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)

The Messenger of Allah said: Whoever leaves snakes alone for fear that they will pursue him is not one of us. We have been at war with them, not at peace, since we began fighting them.

Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib said to the Messenger of Allah: We want to sweep Zamzam, but there are some of these jinnan in it—meaning small snakes. The Prophet ordered that they be killed.

The Messenger of Allah said: Kill snakes, and kill dhu al-tufyatayn and al-abtar, for they impair sight and cause pregnancies to miscarry. Abdullah used to kill every snake he found. Abu Lubaba—or Zayd ibn al-Khattab—saw him chasing a snake and said: He has forbidden killing the household snakes.

Abu Lubaba reported that the Messenger of Allah forbade killing the small snakes found in houses, unless they were dhu al-tufyatayn or al-abtar, for they impair sight and cause what is in women’s wombs to miscarry.

After Abu Lubaba had told him about the matter, Ibn Umar later found a snake in his house. He ordered that it be taken out—to al-Baqi cemetery, that is.

Nafi said: I later saw it in his house.

Abu Said al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah said: Vermin are among the jinn. If anyone sees something in his house, let him warn it three times. If it returns, let him kill it, for it is a devil.

Abu al-Saib said: I came to Abu Said al-Khudri. As I sat with him, I heard something moving beneath his bed. I looked and saw a snake. I stood up, and Abu Said asked: What is the matter? I said: There is a snake here. He asked: What do you intend to do? I said: Kill it. He pointed to a house in his courtyard, facing his own, and said: A cousin of mine used to live in that house. On the day of the Confederates, he asked the Messenger of Allah’s permission to visit his family; he had only recently married. The Messenger of Allah gave him permission and told him to take his weapon. He went to his house and found his wife standing at the doorway. He pointed his spear at her. She said: Do not hurry until you see what brought me out. He entered the house and found a dreadful snake. He thrust his spear into it, then came out carrying it on the spear as it writhed. I do not know which died sooner, the man or the snake. His people came to the Messenger of Allah and said: Pray to Allah to restore our companion. He said: Seek forgiveness for your companion. Then he said: Some jinn have accepted Islam in Medina. If you see one of them, warn it three times. If afterward you still decide to kill it, then kill it after the third warning.

A shortened version of the report says: Warn it three times; if afterward you decide to kill it, kill it, for it is a devil.

Abu al-Saib visited Abu Said al-Khudri and related a similar account, adding: Give it three days’ warning; if afterward you decide to kill it, then kill it, for it is only a devil.

The Messenger of Allah was asked about snakes in houses. He said: When you see any in your homes, adjure them by the covenant that Noah took from you, and by the covenant that Solomon took from you, not to harm us. If they return, kill them.

Ibn Masud said: Kill all snakes except the white jann, which is like a silver rod. Abu Dawud said: Someone told me that the jann does not bend as it moves. If that is true, it may be a distinguishing sign, Allah willing.

The Messenger of Allah ordered that geckos be killed and called them little wicked creatures.

The Messenger of Allah said: Whoever kills a gecko with the first blow receives such-and-such a number of good deeds. Whoever kills it with the second blow receives fewer good deeds than for the first. Whoever kills it with the third blow receives fewer than for the second.

A version from Abu Huraira says: For the first blow, there are seventy good deeds.

The Prophet said: One of the prophets rested beneath a tree and an ant bit him. He ordered his belongings removed from beneath the tree, then ordered the ant colony to be burned. Allah revealed to him: Why not just one ant?

The Messenger of Allah said: An ant stung one of the prophets, so he ordered an ant colony to be burned. Allah revealed to him: Because one ant stung you, did you destroy a community that glorifies Me?

Ibn Abbas said: The Prophet forbade killing four creatures: the ant, the bee, the hoopoe, and the shrike.

Abdullah said: We were travelling with the Messenger of Allah. He went away to relieve himself. We saw a small bird with two chicks and took the chicks. The mother bird came and began fluttering about. The Prophet came and said: Who has distressed this bird by taking its young? Return its young to it. He also saw an ant colony that we had burned and asked: Who burned this? We said: We did. He said: It is not fitting for anyone to punish with fire except the Lord of Fire.

A physician asked the Prophet about a frog that he wanted to use in a medicine. The Prophet forbade him to kill it.