Explanation of the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): (While a man was walking along a road, he was overcome by thirst, so he found a well and went down into it and drank . . .)

The Shaykh : Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
This is the sensitive feeling and perception where a person feels for others as he feels for himself. He said: So he responded to this feeling with his mouth merely because he watered the thirsty dog. "They said: O Messenger of Allah, do we have a reward for animals?" He said: So when a person waters such a creature, even if it is an animal, as long as it has a moist liver, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) appreciates this person's action and records a reward for him for it. This is a very important matter: that a person's mercy toward an animal results in a reward being recorded for him. It is necessary because the Messenger establishes this principle by saying: , but sometimes this reward is a very great reward such that it covers all the sins of that person who showed mercy to that animal, and Allah forgives all his sins. In another hadith, which is also authentic, and I recall that I extracted it in the beginning of the series "Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah" in a specific chapter, namely the chapter on gentleness with animals, this same story happened to a prostitute, meaning a woman who commits zina. She became thirsty on the road, found a well, went down to it, and drank from it. When she came out of the well, she found a dog panting. She said, just as this man said, that this dog had the same thirst that had been in her. So she went down, took off her sandal, and filled it with water. How much water does this sandal take? A small amount. Then, while climbing up from the well with her hands, she held the sandal in her mouth. When she climbed up to the outside of the well, she presented this sandal with the water in it to the dog until it was satisfied. And she was a prostitute. Therefore, a person must think and not belittle any good deed, because this good deed may have such good consequences and such a noble, good status with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) that He estimates it for its doer and rewards him with a great reward, to the point that He forgives all his sins.