126 — Tenth narration: From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “While a man was walking along a road he became intensely thirsty. He found a well, went down into it, drank, and came back out. There he saw a dog, panting and licking the damp earth from thirst. The man said, ‘This dog has reached the same degree of thirst that I had reached.’ So he went down into the well again, filled his leather sock with water, held it in his mouth, climbed up with his hands, and gave the dog a drink. Allah appreciated his deed and forgave him.” They asked, “Messenger of Allah, is there a reward for us even in caring for animals?” He replied, “For every creature with a moist liver there is a reward.” Agreed upon.

In another wording recorded by al-Bukhari: “Allah appreciated his deed, forgave him, and admitted him to Paradise.”

A further narration collected by both al-Bukhari and Muslim states: “While a dog was circling around a well, on the verge of dying from thirst, a prostitute from the Children of Israel saw it. She removed her leather sock, drew water with it, and gave the dog a drink. Because of that, she was forgiven.”

(The mūq is a leather sock or shoe; yutīf means ‘to circle round’; a rakiyyah is a well.)

[Explanation]
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—includes in the chapter on the many paths to goodness this remarkable story narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). A man was travelling along a road when thirst overtook him. He went down into a well, drank until his thirst was quenched, and came back out. As he emerged he found a dog eating the damp, wet soil out of thirst—that is, it was chewing the moist earth in order to draw from it whatever moisture it contained