Getting rid of ants and insect Islamic way?

Question

In summer days my house inhabits a lot of ants.I searched for a anti insect drug but they told me that there is no drug that gets rid of ants without killing. I don't want to make a sin what do I have to do? Does Islam allow me kill insects in situations like this? what do you offer me as a Muslim?

Answer 1

It is prohibited to kill ants. The Prophet {Peace Be Upon Him} has prohibited the killing of ants and three other creatures:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas :

The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) prohibited to kill four creatures: ants, bees, hoopoes, and sparrow-hawks.

حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَهَى عَنْ قَتْلِ أَرْبَعٍ مِنَ الدَّوَابِّ النَّمْلَةُ وَالنَّحْلَةُ وَالْهُدْهُدُ وَالصُّرَدُ ‏.‏

So it is haram to kill ants, it would also be bad to have someone else like an exterminator kill the ants, for it would mean that he will also be doing haram.

Furthermore, if someone stops at a place, or goes to bed at night and says:

أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

I seek refuge in the Perfect Word of Allah from the evil of what He has created

Nothing would harm him, until he moves from that place. Narrated by Muslim

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The only things that could be given is tips on how to rid of them without killing them. Marc Gravell gave a link a good link

Some of the tips:

• Pouring lemon juice around areas ants frequent.
• Pouring boiling water over their tracks (destroys the scent trail)
• [Put a] sugar trail away from the house to [the] compost pile and put out the intent that they would find a greater feast there.

Answer 2

According to Shia jurisprudence any insect that harm or we suspect they may harm is allowed to be killed, even though its name appear in Quran, including ants. As a more general rule, if I've understood right, killing animals or insects or plants for a reasonable and religiously-admittable reason is allowed (exceptions always may arise though!); but for not admittable reasons, like for fun or as sport and etc. it would be a place for problem. Killing some animals like snakes and scorpions may even be encouraged. Specifically, there is a Hadeeth from Imam Sadiq peace be upon him that killing the ants is allowed whether they will harm any or not "ِلَا بَأْسَ بِقَتْلِ النَّمْلِ آذَيْنَكَ أَوْ لَمْ يُؤْذِينَك‏", however, there are Ahadeeth that suggest not to kill the honey bees, and there are Ahadeeth that allows killing some insects like mosquitoes only if they harm you.

Also note that sometimes apparently contradicting Ahadeeth may be found that are not really contradicting, they are either wrongly narrated or the translations are problematic, e.g. for ant we have at least two Arabic word: "النمل" and "الذر". Consult here and here, all in Persian, for more explanations, from Fiqh perspective and from Ethic perspective. Also see the section "بَابُ جَوَازِ قَتْلِ الْحَيَّاتِ وَ النَّمْلِ وَ الذَّرِّ وَ سَائِرِ الْمُؤْذِيَاتِ وَ كَرَاهَةِ قَتْلِ حَيَّاتِ الْبُيُوتِ مَعَ عَدَمِ الْخَوْفِ مِنْ أَذَاهَا" of the great Hadeeth book "وسائل الشیعة". Finally note that this is never true while being in Hadj!

Meanwhile, it is reported from an authentic tradition from Imam Ali (A.S.) that whoever recites the following Duala at bed-time his poverty and problems will disappear, and will not be harmed by any dangerous insect:

اَلّلهُمَّ اَنْتَ اْلاَوَّلُ فَلا شَيْءَ قَبْلَكَ وَاَنْتَ الظّاهِرُ فَلا شَيْءَ فَوْقَكَ وَاَنْتَ الْباطِنُ فَلا شَيْءَ دُونَكَ وَاَنْتَ اْلآخِرُ فَلا شَيْءَ بَعْدَكَ اَلّلهُمَّ رَبُّ السَّمواتِ الْسَبْعِ وَرَبُّ اْلاَرَضينَ السَّبْعِ وَرَبُّ التَّوْراةِ وَاْلاِنْجيلِ وَالزَّبُورِ وَالْقُرآنِ الْحَكيمِ اَعُوذُبِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ دابَةٍ اَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِناصِيَتِها اِنَّكَ عَلى صِراطٍ مُسْتَقيمٍ

Allaahumma Antal Awwalu Falaa Shay'a Qablaka Wa Antadh-Dhwaahiru Falaa Shay'un Fawqaka Wa Antal Baatwinu Falaa Shay'a Doonaka Wa Antal Aakhiru Falaa Shay'a Ba'adaka. Allaahumma Rabbas-Samaawaatis-Sab'I Wa Rabbal Aradheenas-Sab'I Wa Rabbat-Tawraati Wal Injeeli Waz-Zaboor Wal Qur'aani-l Hakeem. Aoodhu Bika Min Sharri Kulli Daabbatin Anta Aakhizun Bi Naaswiyatihaa, Innaka Alaa Swiraatum Mustaqeem.

source

This dua has worked fine for me at bedtime but I haven't tested this solution in other times.

Answer 3

Generally the fitwa of Shia scholars is that if they are harmful they can be killed but if not harmful you are not allowed to kill.

There are chemicals for killing them if they are harming. But blocking their whole may cause them go other place.

Ants are free in my home. But they are not too much. They walk and eat some food they find on floor and live in peace and we have no problem with them. Sometimes one of them want to eat my skin when I am sleeping and I blaw it. It reminds me when I will be in grave and insects eating me.

The Prophet said:

فاکثروا ذکرالموت

Increase remembering death.

They are useful for this hadith.

Also about animals there is an interesting story.

One scholar at way saw a baby sparrow fallen from tree and children playing with it. He did not care and passed.

At night he felt has not the proper spiritual state like past. He made dua to know the cause. At dream he saw one said him a sparrow complained against you to God. He was sad until one day he saw another sparrow fallen and a snake wants to eat it. And he saved the complain with his wand. Again at dream he heard one said hm: appreciated you a sparrow to God.

It is said that some scholars at winter when sparrows cannot find seeds on snow go and provide wheat for them.

Answer 4

I am not a Muslim to provide you authentic references from Quran and Hadith, but as far as my knowledge is concerned I will try to address your queries ad seriatim

• During the Hajj Pilgrimage, my friend told me that, any Muslim should be in the state of IHRAM and should be completely away from killing ants, lice and any parasites. " Killing insects: It is forbidden to kill insects or even throwing them down or brush-off an insect originating from one's own body e.g. parasites, lice, bugs, fleece, etc. There is no harm to transfer them from one place to another and the expiation for this rule being violated is to give a handful of food to the poor. " . I am adding the source here.
• Its really a happy thing that Islam ( I started reading scriptures before short time, and hence don't know that they exist in the religion ) speaks about love towards such small creatures, on the other hand as I said previously ( refer to my comments above ) we have no right to dominate over other creatures. Every creature is a mere creation of God, and that is the humanitarian approach. "The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was asked by his companions if kindness to animals was rewarded in the life hereafter. He replied: 'Yes, there is a meritorious reward for kindness to every living creature'." (Bukhari) " , All creatures on earth are sentient beings. "There is not an animal on earth, nor a bird that flies on its wings - but they are communities like you." (The Quran, 6:38) clarifies these points.
• There is not a single religion on the face of this world that teaches to be cruel. Islam also says the same thing, as I gave the references above. We can't call anything a predator. Many people kill rats for coming into their fields and eating away the paddy. I ask them, do they create the Paddy by their own? They take the help of the nature's sun-light, nature's water, and nature's earth. I heard one joke that my friend shared.

  God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, "Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy." God laughs, saying to Himself, "I am going to take his life, and this man says he will save it!" The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the Master. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string, saying to each other, "This side is mine and that side is yours." He laughs and says to Himself, "The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion."

So we are living on mutual exchange policy. No land belongs to us, even though we have registrations etc, but AN ANT HAS A SAME RIGHT TO LIVE AND ENJOY THE RESOURCES AS A HUMAN HAS. Not only ant, any creature for that instance. If we call, other creatures as predators, we are the worst predators, for taking the milk from cows, stealing the honey from honey-bees , cutting the plants and building houses etc.,

God never created these things for us . Even though Bible and Quran speaks that God has made the creatures for consuming and other purposes, they should be respected as homo sapiens, only that they don't have rationality. If God created the creatures for Eating purpose, why could he give the element of pain for them? (He could have created them , in such a way that they couldn't experience pain and don't have relations ). The present day science ( bee intelligence and ant intelligence ) reveal that, they too have feelings, and they too keep relation-ships in their language.

I am happy that Quran and other scriptures have revealed it thousands of years ago, when Science didn't advance. You can read more on this here . The reference provides beautiful words in Quran that condemn testing animals, blood sports and hunting.

Salute to Quran's kindness towards creatures. People due to their misconceptions change the rules to satisfy themselves. But no religion says to be cruel towards other animals.

-Thank you.