Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes in the 

Quran (Minneapolis and Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica, 

1980); Jane Smith and Yvonne Haddad, The Islamic 

Understanding of Death and Resurrection (Albany: State 

University of New York Press, 1981); Alford T. Welch, 

“Allah and Other Supernatural Beings: The Emergence 

of the Quranic Doctrine of Tawhid.” Journal of the Amer-

ican Academy of Religion 47 (1979): 733–758.

animals

Animals hold a significant place in the religious 

beliefs, rituals, 

arts

, and 

Folklore

 of Muslims. 

They are discussed in the q

Uran

 and 

hadith

,

mentioned in Islamic legal texts, and depicted in 

illustrated manuscripts and decorative arts, and 

stories of them are popular in Islamic religious 

literature and folklore. Islamic tradition gives 

humans dominion over animals—people obtain 

benefits from them such as food and transpor-

tation, but people are also responsible for their 

well-being. In the Quran, where six chapters are 

named after animals, the most frequently men-

tioned species are domesticated ones that live 

in herds, such as sheep, goats, 

camel

s, 

horse

s,

and cattle. Wild animals, such as birds, snakes, 

fish, and insects, are also mentioned, but not in 

great detail. All creatures are believed to have 

been created by God for the benefit of humans, 

and they serve as signs of God’s power. The most 

famous stories in the Quran that involve animals 

include the raven that showed Cain how to bury 

his murdered brother (Q 5:31), Noah’s ark (Q 

23:27), the hoopoe bird that served as a mes-

senger between King Solomon and the queen 

of Sheba (Q 27:20–28); the staff of m

oses

 that 

turned into a serpent (Q 7:107; 26:32), the fish 

or whale that swallowed Jonah (Q 37:139–145), 

the birds J

esUs

 created from clay (Q 3:49), the 

d

og

 that guarded the seven sleepers in the 

cave (Q 18:18, 22), and the flock of birds sent 

by God to destroy “those of the elephant” who 

were about to attack m

ecca

 (Q 105). The Quran 

also contains stories about people whom God