Animals in the Qur'an

Abstract

The Islamic tradition has always held animals in high esteem, deserving the same level of consideration as humans. The Qur'an opines that "there is not an animal in the earth nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are people like you." This fascinating and highly original book examines the status and nature of animals as they are portrayed in the Qur'an and in adjacent exegetical works, in which animals are viewed as spiritual, moral, intelligent, and accountable beings. In this way, the study presents a challenge to the prevalent view of man's superiority over animals and suggests new ways of interpreting the Qur'an. By placing the discussion within the context of other religions and their treatment of animals, the book also makes a persuasive case for animal rights from an Islamic perspective.

Valuing Biodiversity: A Qur'anic Account

“…Out of 114 surahs (chapters) of the Qur"an, six are titled after animals: Al-Baqarah (the Cow), al-An"am (the Cattles), al-Nahl (the Bee), al-Naml (the Ants), al-"Ankabut (the Spider), and al-Fil (the Elephant). But, as reported by Tlili [3], approximately thirty animal species are mentioned in various Qur"anic surahs. Only one surah bears a plant name, namely, al-Tin (the Fig), 95, but as Khafagi, Zakaria, Dewedar and El-Zahdany indicate, there are about 22 plants belonging to 17 families that are mentioned in the Qur"an [4].…”

Writing humanimals: Critical animal studies and Jewish studies

“…In their edited collection on religion and animals, anthrozoologist Paul Waldau and religious studies scholar Kimberley Patton refer to a “communion of subjects” to indicate the agency and subjectivity of animals, rather than to cast them as objects of human perception or use (Waldau & Patton, ). When writing about animals in different religious traditions, some scholars refer to “non‐human animals” (Tlili, ); some refer to “other‐than‐human animals” (Hobgood‐Oster, ) or “other animals” (Clough, ); and some use neologisms, such as “anymal,” a contraction of “any” and “animal,” which refers to “any animal that does not happen to be the species that I am” (Kemmerer, , p. 17). Philosopher and literary critic Hélène Cixous introduces the neologism “animot” to invoke animals in their plurality alongside their linguistic registers .…”

Islamic Bioethics and Animal Research: The Case of Iran

“…We will examine several of Tlili's claims that are relevant for the use of animals as subjects in biomedical and scientific research. Though Tlili does not go into depth on the topic, she does recognize that it is in modern agribusiness and biomedical research where the largest numbers of animals are used and suffer (, 4). Thus we will be extending her general arguments about animals into the realm of scientific research.…”

“…Contrary to typical readings of the Qur'an, which are used to emphasize the superiority of human beings over the rest of creation and, hence, the subjugation of animals to them, Tlili aims to provide a non‐speciesist reading of the text (, 11). Though we cannot fully explore and do justice to the many layers of her book here, we can engage with some claims that are relevant to animal research.…”

“…However, Tlili's work shows that the Qur'an and classical exegetes did not see this subjugation as including all animals, but rather, was limited to the category of an‘ām . This term is taken to mean some types of livestock, possibly including sheep, goats, cattle, and camels (Tlili , 76). On the other hand, wild animals are not considered to be subjugated to human beings (Tlili , 102).…”