Encyclopedia of Islam

animals

  

43  J

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transformed into pigs and apes because of their 

wrongful deeds (Q 2:65; 5:60). Quran com-

mentaries and literature about the lives of the 

prophets added more detail to these stories and 

also included more animal tales, such as one 

about the peacock and the serpent who helped 

s

atan

 enter the Garden of Eden to seduce a

dam

and

  e

ve

. Specific commands in the Quran and 

hadith concerning food and sacrifice provided 

the basis for the system of rules about what kinds 

of animals should be eaten and how they should 

be slaughtered (see 

dietary

 

laWs

). Thus, when an 

animal is to be sacrificed or slaughtered for food, 

the act must be done in accordance with detailed 

rules to make sure that it is permissible to eat the 

animal and to minimize its pain and suffering. In 

general, Islamic law does not condone cruelty to 

animals or blood sports such as cockfighting and 

bullfighting. Such rules and prohibitions furnish 

the basis for modern discussions of animal rights 

in Islam, even though acts of cruelty toward ani-

mals do indeed occur in Muslim societies. There 

is also a belief based on the sayings of Muham-

mad that people will be held accountable in the 

aFterliFe

 for the way they treated animals during 

their worldly existence.

Animals are popular subjects in the literary 

traditions and folklore of Muslim peoples. Pre-

Islamic Arabic poetry is especially rich in refer-

ences to camels, horses, ostriches, and lions, all 

animals connected to life in the Arabian Desert. 

One of the enduring classics of medieval lit-

erature is Kalila wa Dimna, a collection of fables 

that was brought to Persia from India and was 

translated into Arabic by Ibn Muqaffa in the 

eighth century. This book drew upon animal lore 

to provide moral lessons and practical advice to 

rulers. Arabic stories such as the b

rethren

 

oF

p

Urity

’s “Dispute between Animals and Man” 

(10th century) and Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy ibn Yaqzan

(12th century) underscore the special responsi-

bility humans have in caring for animals. Indeed, 

according to tales about Muslim saints, showing 

kindness toward animals was characteristic of 

saintly virtue. One of the masterpieces of medi-

eval Persian mystical literature is Farid al-Din 

Attar’s Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-tayr, 12th 

century), an allegorical poem about a flock of dif-

ferent kinds of birds who set out to find their true 

king, only to discover that their journey is really 

one of self-discovery. The birds in this poem 

represent Sufi disciples in quest of God. Middle 

Eastern lore also has stories about mythological 

animals, such as the b

Uraq

 (Muhammad’s winged 

riding animal), the s

imUrgh

 (the phoenix), and 

the Rukhkh (a giant bird mentioned in the legend 

of Sinbad).

Although conservative 

Ulama

 prohibited the 

portrayal of humans and animals, both were 

depicted in illustrated book manuscripts and 

the decorative arts. Among the most popular 

books containing illustrations of both domestic 

and wild animals in the Middle Ages were al-

Hariri’s Maqamat, Ibn Muqaffa’s Kalila wa Dimna,

and the Shahnama (the Persian epic of kings). 

Manuscripts commissioned by the rulers of the 

Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires (ca. 16th 

century to 19th century) often contained illustra-

tions that showed animal and human subjects in 

exquisite detail. Animals were also portrayed in 

ceramics, metalwork, carpets, and woodwork. 

They never appeared, however, in Quran manu-

scripts and mosque decorations because of the 

fear that this would violate the Islamic ban on 

idolatry

.

See also a

rabian

 n

ights

; 

cat

.