Story of the Woman and the Thirsty Dog in Islam

Where the story is told

This story comes from the Sunnah, not from the Quran. The companion Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated it from the Prophet ﷺ. It is found in Sahih al-Bukhari 3321 and 3467, and in Sahih Muslim 2245.

The woman and the dog

The Prophet ﷺ said that a woman of Bani Israil passed by a dog that was circling a well, panting. The narrations say that thirst was almost killing it. One adds that it was a hot day.

She had no bucket. According to the narration in Sahih al-Bukhari 3321, she took off her leather sock (khuff), tied it to her head cover (khimar), and drew water for the dog with it. Another wording says she used her mawq, also a kind of leather sock.

The Prophet ﷺ said that she was forgiven because of this act.

The narrations describe her with words that mean a prostitute (mumisah in one wording, baghiy in another). The Prophet ﷺ did not give her name, and he said nothing more about her life before or after this moment.

The other woman: the cat

Another authentic hadith speaks of a woman who was punished because of a cat. Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet ﷺ said that a woman entered the Fire because of a cat that she tied up. She did not feed it, and she did not let it eat from the small creatures of the earth (Sahih al-Bukhari 3318). In Sahih Muslim 2242 the wording says that she shut it in until it died.

The two reports are often read together: kindness to a thirsty animal was a reason for forgiveness, and keeping an animal confined without food or water is mentioned as a reason for punishment.

There is also a related report about a man who gave a thirsty dog a drink, and Allah thanked him and forgave him. When the companions asked whether they would be rewarded for kindness to animals, the Prophet ﷺ answered that there is a reward in every living being, using the words "in every moist liver" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2363).

What the narrations do not tell us

The hadith does not give the woman's name, her town or her time, and it does not say what became of her afterward. We should not add details that are not in the text.

What is clear is the act, and the Prophet ﷺ's words that she was forgiven because of it.

What scholars said

Scholars who explained these hadith generally took from them that giving water or food to an animal is a rewarded deed, and that mercy in Islam is not limited to human beings.

They also said that forgiveness belongs to Allah alone. He forgives whom He wills, and He appreciates sincere kindness, even when it looks small to us. This does not make sins light: believers are still taught to avoid sins and to repent, and the story does not mean that one deed cancels every sin whatever a person does next.

Scholars also advise us not to judge anyone's final state. Only Allah knows what is in hearts and how He will deal with each person.

Lessons from this story

• Mercy to animals is part of good character. Giving a thirsty animal water can be an act of worship that Allah rewards.
• No good deed is too small to do. A drink of water, given with a sincere heart, was a reason for forgiveness.
• Do not look down on anyone. We do not know which sincere deed Allah may accept from a person.
• Hope in Allah's mercy, and still take sins seriously and turn back to Him in repentance.

Sources

• Sahih al-Bukhari 3321
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3467
• Sahih Muslim 2245
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3318
• Sahih Muslim 2242
• Sahih al-Bukhari 2363