animals.pdf

ANIMALS

IN THE GLORIOUS

QUR’AN

Relating Their Own Stories

AHMAD BAHJAT

IN THE GLORIOUS

CONTENTS

Introduction .............................................................................................

• The Sons of Adam and the Crow..........................................................

• Salih's Camel..........................................................................................

• Ibrahim's Birds .......................................................................................

• Prophet Yusuf and the Wolf..................................................................

• Yunus and the Whale.............................................................................

• The Blessed Cow of the Children of Israel ..........................................

• The Staff of Musa ..................................................................................

• Sulayman's Hoopoe ...............................................................................

• The Ants of Prophet Sulayman .............................................................

• The Termite ............................................................................................

• 'Uzayr's Donkey .....................................................................................

• The Dog of the People of the Cave.......................................................

• 'Isa and the Clay .....................................................................................

• The Elephant and Abrahah ....................................................................

• The Army of Elephants and the Flocks of Birds .................................

• The Spider of the Cave ..........................................................................

• References ..................................................................................

Introduction

The Ever-Glorious Qur'an presents to us the stories of the Prophets and the friends of Allah.

Within these stories we find a group of animals that have played a great and significant role in

history.

• The crow that Allah sent to Adam's son in order to show him how to hide the dead body

of his brother.

• The birds that Ibrahim (Abraham) had killed and divided upon the mountaintops and then

Allah gave them life again.

• The cow of Banu Israel that Musa (Moses) ordered to be slaughtered in order to disclose

the identity of a mysterious murderer.

• The wolf that was falsely accused of eating Yusuf (Joseph).

• The hoopoe of Sulayman (Solomon) that informed him about the Queen of Sheba.

• The termite that ate the staff of Sulayman on which he was leaning while he was sitting

dead on his chair. After the termite had eaten through the wood, the Prophet fell down

and his death became known.

• `Uzayr's donkey whom Allah put to death for a hundred years and then gave it life once

again, right in front of his owner's eyes.

• The whale that swallowed Yunus (Jonah) for a while and then threw him out to the land

because he was among those who praise Allah.

• The dog of the people of the cave that slept with them for three hundred and nine years.

• Sulayman's ant that had called the ants to escape to their dwellings, lest Sulayman and his

hosts crush them, while they perceive not.

• Abrahah's elephant that was ordered to destroy the Ka'bah but was frozen in its place

because of his fear of Allah and so he could not proceed.

This group of animals was mentioned in the Ever-Glorious Qur'an along with another

group that included a bird, animal or plant but was actually a miracle of Allah. For example,

Musa's staff that was turned into a snake. 'Isa's clay that he had formed and breathed onto it, and

it became a real bird by Allah's Permission. The flocks of birds that Allah (Exalted and Glorified

be He) sent to the companions of the elephant to strike them with stones of baked clay.

The spider of the cave is also another creature that was not mentioned in the Ever-

Glorious Qur'an but was mentioned in the purified Sunnah. It wove its web over the door of the

cave in which Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companion Abu Bakr were hiding.

In these stories we come to know a group of beings from the animal kingdom that played

their roles in life and appeared on the platform of events for a while before the curtain was finally

let down. The Ever-Glorious Qur'an has only mentioned them or flashed a certain instance of

their life before us, while the details of their lives remain vague.

During my childhood, I loved this group of animals. I would read or listen to the stories of the

Prophets but I was not able to absorb their deep meanings because of my young age. So, it was

enough for me to think only about the animal that enjoyed the Prophet's company or served him.

Later on, as I got a little older, my love for animals took on a whole new horizon. Every stray

dog on the road was a dog I wanted to feed, and pat its head. It may be a distant grandson of the

dog of the people of the cave. Every skinny donkey in the rural areas was for me a beloved

creature and friend. It may have been a distant relative of Uzayr's donkey that had experienced

death and resurrection.

Moreover, throughout my teens I was looking for a hoopoe. Then, a friend of mine was able

to catch one and he gave it to me as a present. I took the hoopoe home, set it loose in my room

and looked at it. It was a desperate looking hoopoe and its loss of freedom put it to death on the

second day after it refused to eat or drink. I remember the deep sense of sadness I felt when it

died. I did not know what to do with him. So I brought out the Ever-Glorious Qur'an and started

reading the story of Sulayman and the hoopoe to it. I remember that the hoopoe had lifted up its

beautiful head once or twice while it was listening to the Qur'anic verses then it rested his head

and surrendered its soul.

At that time, I imagined that it had died content while listening to the glories of its distant

grandfathers.

My love for animals caused me a lot of problems. Countless times I returned home

carrying a small puppy or a stray cat to my family. Then, a conflict would begin between them

and I... My family would usually refuse this new and strange guest. I tried uselessly to convince

them that I would die if I gave it up.

I was a frequent visitor to the zoo. I would stand in front of the animals' cages, trying to break

the barrier of silence that encompasses these creatures and try to understand what they wanted to

say and what we fail to comprehend.

The writer of these lines has grown older. He has come to believe that truth is the greatest

value in existence; and he has found it as a raw material in animals just like you find unpolished

diamonds in the ground. When an animal looks at you, it looks at you with a frank, straight and

steady look. A look void of illusion, lies and obscurity. Even if this animal that looks at you is a

beast in the jungle, you will find that its eyes reveal a clear desire to devour you. It does not lie or

deceive you. It is that pure truth, which is aligned to nature that we find in beasts, that has no

place among human beings.

If an animal's savageness is sincere, then its pain is even more sincere and its tears are the

most sincere. Sometimes a human cries as a part of a pre-conceived plan. However, when an

animal cries, it is from true pain.

The writer of these lines grew older and older. My love for the animals that enjoyed the

company of the Prophets became greater and greater. My body does not feel the essence of this

love, as I cannot touch any of them. However, I managed to replace the body with the soul and I

have read a lot about the behavior and habits of animals.

I stood in a state of consternation in front of the Glorious Qur'an that was revealed fourteen

centuries ago, concealing within its lines hints to these tales about animals that kept the

company of Prophets and the friends of Allah. My amazement stemmed from the fact that no

book has been written about this group of animals. "Why? What secret lies behind that

indifference?" I asked myself. Such a question troubled me greatly, then I was guided to the

secret. Is it because this group of animals was at the service of Allah's Prophets and friends?

In fact, I have written many books about the tales of the Prophets and the friends of Allah.

However, it was not possible to pay attention to such weak creatures in the serious stories that

discuss the salvation of man and the Hereafter.

Animals were considered too trivial to deserve any attention concerning their thinking, if they

originally had any kind of thought or the ability to express their astonishment while they were

living with Prophets, witnessing marvelous miracles or constituting an integral part of these

miracles. In such away, this group of animals was subject to the oppression of being ignored

throughout fourteen centuries. We know that when the sun rises, the light of the stars sets. This is

exactly what happened with this group of animals. They remain in their place, but their star like

light melted in the brilliant light of the Prophets (peace be upon them). For example, in the story

of `Uzayr, who died by the Permission of Allah for one hundred years along with his donkey, and

then Allah resurrected him and then his donkey before his eyes, we care for nothing but the

Prophet `Uzayr. Who pays attention to1he donkey except one of his own species?

Moreover, in the story of Yusuf (Joseph) (peace be upon him) whose brothers accused the

wolf of devouring him, we are moved by Ya'qub's sadness over his son. At the same time, who

cares about the wolfs innocence or sadness except a wolf like him? This is also what we can find

concerning the dog, the whale and the other animals that were in the company of the Prophets.

The experience of this group of animals has remained a silent secret looking for a tongue to

express its stories, especially after the death of Sulayman and Dawud, who were able to talk to

them and understand the language of birds and animals.

I think that I envy Sulayman and Dawud a great deal. I do not envy Sulayman for the gold

that covered the walls of his castles, for I know that when Sulayman died, he did not take

anything with him. For sure, like any human being, Sulayman was born naked, with nothing in

his hands and died barehanded.

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