ISLAM

All that is in the heavens and in the earth magnifies God...He knows all that permeates the ground and all that issues from it, what comes down from the heaven and what ascends thither...His is the kingdom of the heavens and to him all things return.
Qur’an 57:1,4,5

"[Allah] is God, Creator, Maker, Fashioner. His are the most excellent Names. All that is in the heavens and in the earth magnify Him." Qur’an 59:24

Both of the above Surahs are quoted from "Readings in the Qur'an," Collins Liturgical Publications, London, translated and copyrighted 1988 by Kenneth Cragg.

The following is excerpted from a story by Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century Sufi mystic and poet.

A Sufi had been travelling and after he stopped at an Inn for the night, and had meditated for a while, he told the servant who took care of the animals to be sure that he mixed a lot of barley with the straw that was to be his donkey's supper. "And please make sure you wet the (uncooked) barley with warm water. He's an old donkey and has trouble chewing." Then the Sufi asked "Did you remove his saddle gently and put salve on the sore he has? Did you currycomb his back--he loves that." The instructions continued and the servant became annoyed. He ended the conversation with the claim that he had taken care of thousands of animals, with no complaints, and that everyone who stayed at the Inn was "treated as family." The Sufi went to sleep but had terrible nightmares about his donkey being attacked by wild beasts and falling, helplessly, into a ditch. And although the details of the dream were wrong, what it conveyed of danger to the donkey was true. "His donkey was being totally neglected, without care, food or water all night long." The caretaker had spent the whole night carousing with his friends. The moral of this story: "Do the careful, donkey-tending work yourself. Don't trust that to anyone else." The nightmares the Sufi had, testified to his doubts about the animals well-being but he was tired and it was late, so he slept. When your compassion and concern extends to another creature, do not trust its care to those who do not have the same concerns.
From The Essential Rumi, Castle Books, Edison, NJ, translated by Coleman Barks, copyrighted by him, 1995.