Historical incident (mentioned critically):

In the book Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din by Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH / 1111 CE), and echoed in other historical works, there is a story of a man in a village who, in anger, killed a cat that used to steal food from his house.

It is narrated that:

The man grew angry because the cat kept eating from his food. One day, he caught the cat and, in a fit of rage, beat it so severely that it died.

Later, that night, the man reportedly had a terrible dream where he saw himself being tortured in a similar manner, and he awoke feeling terrified and regretful.
Local scholars condemned his act, reminding him that the Prophet ﷺ forbade killing cats, and the man then gave charity in repentance.

This story isn’t considered a noble historical event — it’s preserved as an example of cruelty that Islam clearly condemns.
Important: This incident is not from the Prophet ﷺ or the Sahabah, but rather from Muslim society centuries later, as an illustrative moral story.

✅ In summary:

• Cats were deeply respected in Islamic culture.
  
  

• Killing a cat without necessity was and is considered sinful.
  
  

• Incidents of cat-killing are recorded only as examples of cruelty and wrongdoing — not as accepted history.

 True historical story: Killing of rabid or harmful dogs in Medina

During the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Medina had a problem with stray dogs, some of which were rabid and posed a real danger to people.

It is authentically narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that the Prophet ﷺ ordered the killing of rabid, dangerous, or mad dogs.

One such narration:

Abdullah ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered that dogs be killed. Then he said: ‘What is the matter with them? What is the matter with them?’ and he granted a concession to keep dogs for hunting and herding sheep and cattle.”
(Sahih Muslim, hadith no. 1571)

In the early days, the Prophet ﷺ initially ordered to kill all dogs because of widespread harm and disease (especially rabies).
Later, when it became clear that this was too broad and might cause hardship, he restricted it to killing only harmful dogs, and permitted keeping useful ones (like sheepdogs, hunting dogs, and guard dogs).

📜 Historical reality:

• Dogs were actually killed in Medina under these orders.
  
  

• The reason was public safety — rabid dogs had bitten people.
  
  

• Later, the command was moderated to spare harmless dogs.
  
  

Islamic scholars discussed these events to explain that Islam does not allow cruelty, but does allow killing animals that pose a real, direct harm to human life.

✅ In summary:
This is a real, well-documented incident:

The Prophet ﷺ ordered the killing of harmful/rabid dogs in Medina for the safety of people, then allowed keeping dogs for legitimate needs.

 The cow that spoke – A true story from the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

This story is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (vol. 4, hadith no. 2324) and other authentic collections.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

“While a man was riding a cow, it turned to him and said: ‘I have not been created for this purpose; I was created for plowing.’
The people exclaimed, ‘Glory be to Allah! A cow that speaks!’
The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘But I believe this, and so do Abu Bakr and Umar (even though they were not there).’”

📝 Context:

• In ancient times, a man climbed onto a cow and tried to ride it like a horse.
  
  

• The cow miraculously spoke, objecting: “I was not created for riding; I was created for farming work (plowing the land).”
  
  

• People around were amazed that a cow could speak.
  
  

• The Prophet ﷺ told his companions this story to show that Allah can make anything speak if He wills.

✅ Lesson:

This story reminds Muslims of:

• The miracles that happened before and during the Prophet’s time.

• The special status animals have: they were created for specific roles, and humans should respect that.

• Allah’s power over all things.