Animals (continued)

II. The Study of Animals

The study of animals (zoology) was important to the Muslims of the Middle Ages. A few scholars became famous for their study of animals.

A. The scholar Al-Jahiz lived in the 9th century AD. Around 815 C.E., the young writer moved to Baghdad because the new Abbasid Caliphate encouraged scholarship. (This is where the "House of Wisdom" had just been be built.) Al-Jahiz was the author of the most famous Arab study of zoology, The Book of Animals (or 'Kitab al-Hayawan'). It is an encyclopedia of seven large volumes. It contains lots of scientific information, as well as superstitions, and proverbs. Al-Jahiz discusses his observations in detail on the social organization of ants, animal communication and psychology, and the effects of diet and climate on animals and people. He described how ants store and preserve grain in their nests during the rainy season. He suggested a clever way of getting rid of mosquitoes and flies from a room based on his observation that some insects are responsive to light. Al-Jahiz wrote about the degree of intelligence of animal species and insects. He also observed that certain parasites adapt to the color of their host. But according to one professor, "his Book of Animals has little to do with zoology, but it is a mine of information on Arab proverbs, superstitions, and traditions."

[1] For two biographies, see "Al-Jahiz, 776-868 C.E. by Erols, and "Al-Jahiz, the Great Writer". Learn more about his work, The Book of Animals.

B. Another study of animals was by Ibn Bakhtyshu, who wrote The Uses of Animals in the 8th century. While he was a Christian, he still worked in the House of Wisdom and helped to get Greek manuscripts which were translated into Arabic.

C. Al-Asmai (740 - 828 A.D.) made important contributions to Zoology, Botany, and Animal Husbandry. He was interested in breeding of horses and camels and was responsible for systematic scientific work on breeding.

D. The wealthy Abbasid princes even had zoos (zoological gardens) in their palaces full of exotic animals from around the world of Islam. (The Abbasid zoo was in Samarra, Iraq.)

E. In the late 14th century, Kamal al-Din al-Damari wrote a popular Muslim book, The Great Book on the Life of Animals.

F. Abu Yahya Zakariyya al-Qazwini wrote his encyclopedic work, The Wonders of Creation, in the early 14th century AD. (This was based on the work of Al-Jahiz, listed above.)

Persian Copy of Manuscript named as "Manaeh Al-Hiwan" by Ibn Bakhtyshu or Uses of Animals in the 8th century

III. Animals in Stories and Art

Animals also became characters in stories, like the ones below. The story on the left tells of a trial held by the animals. The painting is a "miniature" - small enough to illustrate a book. In the story on the right a merchant from Isfahan is flying through the air hanging onto the legs of a fabulous bird during his travels to the islands of the South Seas.

. . .

Left: Dimna's Trial, Kalila waDimna, 13th century; Paris, Bibiliotheque National . . . Right: Zakariya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203-1282) 'Aja'ib al-makhluqat Copied in the 4th century in Iraq or Iran. fol.72r Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg

The Qur'an tells of Noah and the Ark. It tells of the Prophet Noah who was chosen to save two animals of each species from a flood. This was commemorated in Islamic art, such as below:

Left: Noah's Ark, Attributed to Miskin, ca. 1590. Right: Noah's Ark, Ottoman, 1583, Zubdat-al Tawarikh in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul.

IV. Extinct and Endangered Animals of Arabia Today

Many of the animals that once roamed freely in the Arabian peninsula have become either endangered or extinct. The government of Saudi Arabia has tried to stop this trend.

Photos courtesy of Arabian Wildlife Magazine

A. The Onager: Hunted into Extinction! The onager, or "wild ass", lived in great numbers in the dry grassy plains of Arabia, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq. Because of its speed and ability to withstand the worst conditions of the deserts, onagers continued to live in large numbers even though hunters enjoyed shooting this game animal with bow and arrows or killing them with spears. It was found in large numbers in the Middle East for thousands of years and it is mentioned in the Old Testament and the Qur'an. But it had almost disappeared by the middle of the nineteenth century. A few lived on in Iraq and southeast Jordan until early this century, but now these are gone as well. It was the invention of guns and automobiles that enabled hunters to destroy this beautiful animal.

B. "The Oryx: On the Verge of Extinction": The Oryx, or Arabian antelope, was extinct in the wild in the 1970s, but a herd was being raised on a farm. A herd of these animals was recently "reintroduced" to the plains and they are doing well back in their natural environment.

V. What does the Qur'an say about Animals?

• Eating of certain animals is forbidden to Muslims in the Qur'an:
  • Pork (meat of pigs or swine)
  • All carnivorous (meat eating) animals and birds, e.g. lions, tigers, vultures, eagles
  • Any animal that has died due to natural causes, killed by some wild animal, by a fall, blow or an animal slaughtered by a non-Muslim.
  • Donkeys, monkeys, elephants, etc. (Read a story told by Ibn Battuta, a 14th century traveler, about some Muslims eating elephant meat and the elephants getting revenge!)
• Certain animals were used as sacrifices to God (for example, sheep sacrificed as part of the Feast of Eid al-Adha in memory of Abraham's sacrifice of a sheep instead of his son Ishmael). Certain meat dishes were parts of Muslim feasts and festivals.
• Animals in Islam - "The universal mercy of Islam embraces not only humans but all other living creatures of Allah as well. Islam has made kindness to animals a part of its faith and cruelty to them a sufficient reason for a person to be thrown into the Fire. [i.e. "hell"]" That is why Muslims should not be cruel to animals and must sacrifice and butcher animals in humane ways. Learn more about the guidelines for slaughter of animals.
• Read a Muslim view of the respect and care humans should have for animals at Animals of Islam (two parts).

Go to Page One: Camels Go to Page Two: Horses and Donkeys Go to Page Three: Herding Animals such as Sheep and Goats Go to Page Four: Other Animals to learn about pigeons, falcons, and locusts. You are here at Page Five: Animals in the Middle Ages