Can animals see the angels and jinn and hear the cries of the dead?

Question

I recently heard a Sunni hadith that said roosters can see the angels at the time of fajar and that is why they make that sound of theirs. And also donkeys cry when they see jinn or the shaithan. I am not sure if this hadith or its interpretation is authentic.

I have heard incidents where the Prophet has mentioned that animals can hear the cries of the people in barzakh. Makes sense to me because we don't see animals or birds near the graveyard.

So is the above true?

EDIT: The Hadith in question is: Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying :” When you listen to the crowing of the rooster, ask Allah for His favor as it sees Angels and when you listen to the braying of the donkey, seek refuge in Allah from the Satan for it sees Satan. (Muslim Book 035, Number 6581).

There is a very unscientific discussion here, as well. But that is not my point. I couldn't find Hadith anywhere else. Is it authentic?

Answer 1

I have heard incidents where the Prophet has mentioned that animals can hear the cries of the people. Is it true?

Yes.

Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Anas: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad ? He will say: I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Apostle. Then it will be said to him, 'Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.' " The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, 'I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him, 'Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Qur'an).' Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and jinns." ~ Sahih al-Bukhari 1338

Narrated `Aisha: Two old ladies from among the Jewish ladies entered upon me and said' "The dead are punished in their graves," but I thought they were telling a lie and did not believe them in the beginning. When they went away and the Prophet (ﷺ) entered upon me, I said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Two old ladies.." and told him the whole story. He said, "They told the truth; the dead are really punished, to the extent that all the animals hear (the sound resulting from) their punishment." Since then I always saw him seeking refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave in his prayers. ~ Sahih al-Bukhari 6366

Answer 2

The hadith you are referring to is in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim (see below). Generally, both of these are considered about about as authentic as it gets in terms of hadith. See the top answer to Is Sahih al-Bukhari considered as 100% authentic by Sunni scholars?.

Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When you hear the crowing of cocks, ask for Allah's Blessings for (their crowing indicates that) they have seen an angel. And when you hear the braying of donkeys, seek Refuge with Allah from Satan for (their braying indicates) that they have seen a Satan." -- Sahih al-Bukhari 3303

Sahih Muslim:

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying. When you listen to the crowing of the cock, ask Allah for His favour as it sees Angels and when you listen to the braying of the donkey, seek refuge in Allah from the Satan for it sees Satan. -- Sahih Muslim 2729

Answer 3

I checked some science channels to check for it...there s definitely some difference in the eyes of humans and animals...we r limited for our vision but some animals have superceeded us in this As for chicken or the rooster, their colour vision is more stronger than humans as they have 5 types of light receptors in their retina, their ability to see in the day light and to differentiate between colour wavelength is very strong than that of humans. https://www.livescience.com/8099-chickens-color-humans.html

its an article of live science website presented in 2010, u can read the details

Second for the donkeys too its been explored that their far vision and night vision is too much stronger than humans, and to some extent their sense of hearing is also marvellous

there are other animals with great eyesight like eagles and other predators bt these are wild animals

while chicken and donkeys animals are found everywhere in our towns and farms, thats why there names were mentioned in this hadith so that ppl can remains aware of their surrounding, as though they cant see bt their accompanying animals can see and inform them about the surroundings.

Rest Allah s the best knowing of all

thanks and jazakAllah kher