204 in the rWUlrpS of tIH Proplltl
mals, thiS clearly consisted in re specting £heir life and their dignity as liv-
ing beings, and in killing them only when necessary while sp aring them
any needless su ffering. 17 The formula accompanying the sacrifice was to
b e understood as the final formula that, in effect, testified that, in its life-
time, the animal had been treated in the light o f the teachings of God and
His Messenger. The formula alone was by no means sufficient to prove
that those teachings had bee n respected: properly sacrificing an animal
according to Istamic riroal after ill-treating i: in its lifetime was therefore,
acco rding to the Islamic principles conveyed by the [\'Iesscngcr, deviation
and treason. The Prophet had threatened: "\'V' hoever kills a sparrow or a
bigger animal witho ut respecting its right to exist will be acco untable to
God fo r it o n the D ay of J udgment."18 ]\'luh ammad thus taught that an
animal's right to be respected , to be spared suffering, to receive the food
it needed, and to be treated well could no t be negotiated: it was part of
the duties of human beings and sho uld be understood as o ne of th e con-
ditio n s of their spiritual elevation.
IUness
A few weeks after the m onth of Ramadan i:1 the eleventh year of Hijrah,
the Prophet went to Uhud, where the second battle between the Muslims
and the Quraysh had taken place, and he performed a farewell prayer for
the men who had been killed th ere. He then went back to the Medina
m osque, sat on the m illbar, and addressed the faithful.^19 First he said, "1
am going ahead of you lin the hereafter] :md I shall be a witness over
rou." T hen he advised th em. and concluded his speech by saying, " I do
not fear your reverting to polyth eism after me, but I fear YOLI will quarrel
over the riches of this world."20 Those words clearly expressed [hat he felt
he must get teady to leave this life. In the same breath, he expresst:d a fear
fo r the future of his spiritual co mmunity: faith would not leave th em, he
said, but the world with its illusions would colonize them, and both
would, unfortunately, coexist within them. The Prophet was in effect
('-.:rf"(·~~ing a fear mat sounded like a prediction: they would continue to
pmy to God, the One, but they would be divided because of honors,
wealth, power, or their different affiliations. which would make them for-
get the frnternity that united them.