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Is Killing a lizard a good act

Q:

To kill a lizard is an act of Naiki…If a person kills it by throwing boiling water over it as it can be killed easily ..Is it right?..

A:

Salam alaykum,

Apparently, there is nothing in the traditions that would indicate that it is recommended to kill a lizard. There are traditions that indicate that in the past some sinner were transformed into lizards due to their evil deeds (Wasa’il al-Shia, v. 24, p. 111). There is also something in certain jurisprudential works that would indicate that it is recommended to perform the gusl after one kills one. (Jawahir al-Kalam, v. 5, p. 58) However, there is nothing to indicate that killing one is a good deed. These also do not wish to imply that all lizards were previously evil people. The lizards that were the transformations of those evil people were, not the ones around us today. That is like saying that just because some people were transformed into monkeys in the past, all monkeys, even the ones that exist today were previously evil people. It might even be a sin to kill one unnecessarily or to harm it by throwing it in boiling water. After all, it is a creature of God, like you. Hope that helps.

Regards
Sheikh Shiraz