In the Name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful!
My mom planted a rose plant in my backyard, a few years ago, marked by the stones/pebbles around it. Masha'Allah. We have two outdoor cats - Pichu and Lucy. Pichu is a hunter. When we moved into our home, there were mole holes around our foundation. However, when our two cats came in, the holes disappeared by the grace of God.
Pichu will hunt rats, mice, and lizards. She doesn't eat the rats - only kills them - but she will eat the lizard, leaving the head behind. Once in a while, she will hunt a bunny or a bird. When she does it, she gets a little bit of a scolding from me - she realizes she can't hunt bunnies. They are a wild lot and shouldn't be hunted. Pichu will leave what she has hunted or what she has left behind on our floor mat. Every few days, I will pick up Pichu's leftovers and bury them in the Rose Garden. It has become a Pet Cemetery of sorts. The rose plant hasn't sprouted flowers yet - it doesn't get any sun - however, all the animal carcasses have been feeding it. SubhanAllah.
We wish to keep goats and chickens someday insha'Allah. Growing up, my grandma had chickens and a cow, and our family always had chickens. I named my chickens - one was called the Helicopter - it flew around and the other one was named after our dentist - it had a really long chin. Our dad would hatch new chicks in shoe boxes with hay and a light bulb in the cold winters of Abbottabad. Now, it doesn't snow there. We also had sheep and goats when Eid ul Adha would come in and we would keep them for the upcoming animal sacrifice. Masha'Allah. Sheep are really cute and friendly. They follow you around.
The young people of today have no experience with farms. They are not growing their own food, hatching their own eggs, or milking their own cows or goats. It's a strange era. Everyone stays on their phone and monitors their likes. Mental health is deteriorating. Parents don't have time for their children. Children are defiant and don't appreciate their parents.
I have been wanting to keep chickens and goats for a while but our HOA wouldn't let it. For the City of Garland, there has to be a certain distance to our neighbor's fence to keep a chicken coop but that law gets superseded by the HOA law which doesn't allow any chickens. I am hoping insha'Allah that Allah creates a way for our family to get back to basics.
All of our Prophets (may the mercy of God be upon them) were shepherds. Looking after their animals in the wide quiet desert gave our Prophets the qualities of leadership, and courage while they looked after their animal flock. It prepared them for their human flocks. Plus, spending that quiet time alone gave them the time to connect with Allah in quiet natural spaces.
May Allah make it easy for all of us to return to a more natural way of life where we grow our own food, tend our own vegetable gardens, hatch our own eggs, milk our own milk, and have a lot of time for families to interact with each other. A'meen.
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