If all animals are supposed to be “Muslim” in the sense that they acknowledge and constantly obey God, then it makes sense that they were have some sort of awareness and consciousness.
Very true, and they do have a high level of awareness as the following hadiths and verses show.
In the story of the ant in Surah an Naml. (27:18).. When they approached the valley of the ants, one ant said, "O you ants, go into your homes, lest you get crushed by Solomon and his soldiers, without perceiving."
Allah subhana wa ta 'ala gives commands His creatures to do things:
Also when Qabil killed his brother Habil, Allah SWT sent a crow to show him how to bury his brother's body.
He (the murderer) said: "Woe to me! Am I not even able to be as this crow and to hide the dead body of my brother?" Then he became one of those who regretted. Surah 5:27-31
Almighty Allah recounted: And, verily, Jonah was one of the Messengers. When he ran to the laden ship, he agreed to cast lots and he was among the losers, Then a big fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame. Had he not been of them who glorify Allah, he would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick and We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him. And We sent him to a hundred thousand people or even more, and they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while. (Ch 37:139-148 Quran).
The Hadith
“If someone kills a sparrow for sport, the sparrow will cry out on the Day of Judgment, “O Lord! That person killed me in vain! He did not kill me for any useful purpose.” Sunnan An Nasai
One of Prophet Muhammad’s companions narrates, “We were on a journey and during the Prophet’s absence, we saw a bird with its two chicks; we took them. The mother bird was circling above us in the air,
beating its wings in grief. When Prophet Muhammad returned he said, “
Who has hurt the feelings of this bird by taking its chicks? Return them to her.”Ibid
The Prophet(s) forbade all living creatures to be slaughtered while tied up
and bound. (id (Ref. No. 46); Hadith No. 4817; p. 1079).
The Messenger of Allah was heard forbidding to keep waiting a quadruped or any other animal for slaughter. (Bukhari. Also Muslim; Vol. 2, Chapter 11; Section on 'Slaying'; 10:739; verse 152. Also 'Robson' (Ref. NO. 15), p. 872).
The Holy Prophet(s) said to a man who was sharpening his knife in the presence of the animal:
'Do you intend inflicting death on the animal twice - once by sharpening the knife within its sight, and once by cutting its throat?' (Al-Furu Min-al-Kafi Lil-Kulini; 6:230).
Hazrat Imam Ali says: "Do not slaughter sheep in the presence of other sheep, or any animal in the presence of other animals."
During a journey, somebody picked up some birds eggs. The bird's painful note and fluttering attracted the attention of the Prophet (pbuh), who asked the man to replace the eggs (Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari).
A companion came to him with the young ones of a bird in his sheet and said that the mother bird had hovered over them all along. He was directed to replace her offspring in the same bush (Mishkat, Abu Dawud)
The Prophet(s) said: 'Do not clip the forelock of a horse, for a decency (in another version pride) is attached to its forelock; nor its mane, for it protects it; nor its tail, for it is its fly-flap'. (Narrated by 'Utbah ibn Farqad Abu Abdillah al-Sulami. Abu Dawud. Also Awn, 7:216, 217, Hadith No. 2525 (Ref. No. 32)).
All these verses and hadiths show that creatures are not just obedient to Allah's commands, but also that they feel emotions such as pride, shame, hurt, fear and know when they are wronged. They are able to think and anticipate what's coming and make decisions based on their judgment of a situation. SubhanAllah wal hamdulillah wa la ilaha illAllah wallahu akbar!