…it is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved
of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the
utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. [1] For in all physical
respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are
shared by animal and man. Man hath not grasped this truth, however, and he
believeth that physical sensations are confined to human beings, wherefore is
he unjust to the animals, and cruel.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the
Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
[1] “all except animals which are harmful…”
