Settling of scores among the animals on the Day of Resurrection
Question

                I have heard that there will be a settling of scores among the animals on the Day of Resurrection. Is this true? If it is true, how will that be done if they are not accountable?
Praise be to Allah. 
          It was narrated from the Prophet 
          
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – in a hadeeth that has 
          many corroborating reports and isnaads – that he said: “Allaah will 
          judge between His creation, jinn, men and animals. On that Day, Allaah 
          will let the hornless animal settle its score with the horned until, 
          when there is nothing left to be settled, Allaah will say to them, ‘Be 
          dust.’ At that point the kaafir will say, ‘Would that I were dust.’” 
 
          (Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in  
          al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, no. 1966) 
 
          Among the versions of this hadeeth which we may mention 
          are the following:
 
          ·“All creatures will settle 
          the scores between them, even the hornless animal with the horned one, 
          and even one ant with another)
 
          ·It was narrated from Abu 
          Dharr that the Messenger of Allaah 
          
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sitting, and two sheep 
          locked horns until one of them defeated and subdued the other. The Messenger 
          of Allaah 
          
          (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) smiled and someone asked 
          him, “Why are you smiling, O Messenger of Allaah?”  He said, “It 
          is amazing. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, their score will be 
          settled on the Day of Resurrection.”
 
          ·“O Abu Dharr, do you know 
          what they are fighting over?” He said, “No.” He said, “But Allaah knows 
          and He will judge between them.” 
 
          Al-Nawawi said in Sharh Muslim, 
          under the hadeeth of al-tarjumah: 
 
          “This clearly indicates that the animals will be gathered 
          on the Day of Resurrection and that they will be resurrected on the 
          Day of Resurrection like humans who are accountable, and as children, 
          the insane, and those whom the call did not reach will also be resurrected. 
          There is also evidence in the Qur’aan and Sunnah to support that. Allaah 
          says (interpretation of the meaning):
 
          “And when the wild beasts shall be gathered 
          together”
 
          [al-Takweer 81:5]
 
          If there is a phrase in a text of sharee’ah whose apparent 
          meaning is not impossible whether according to sharee’ah or reason, 
          then it must be interpreted according to its apparent meaning. The scholars 
          said: reward and punishment are not essential features of the gathering 
          and the resurrection. The settling of scores between the hornless and 
          horned animals is not based on accountability, because they are not 
          held accountable, rather it is retaliation in kind for the sake of justice. 
          And Allaah knows best.”
 
          Shaykh ‘Ali al-Qaari quoted him in  
          al-Murqaah (4/761) as saying: 
 
          “If it is said that a sheep is not accountable, how can 
          scores be settled with it? (Our response is) that Allaah does as He 
          wills, and He cannot be questioned as to what He does. The point is 
          to demonstrate to people that rights will not be neglected, rather the 
          rights of the oppressed will be settled at the expense of the oppressor”
 
          al-Qaari’ said: “This is a good point. 
          The point is that this settling of scores points in the most eloquent 
          manner to the perfect justice with which all those who are accountable 
          will be dealt. If this is the situation with regard to animals who are 
          not accountable, then how about those who possess reason, lowly and 
          noble, strong and weak?” 
See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, p. 
          612