Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2020 April 22

= April 22 =

Human being
Are human beings are also a type of animals (in Islam) - ImMuslimandimnotaterrorist (talk) 15:15, 22 April 2020 (UTC)
 * , I've not found any such thing in Islamic texts. Best. - Aaqib Anjum Aafī (talk) 15:47, 22 April 2020 (UTC)


 * You're not likely to find that in the text of any major religion, at least not explicitly. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:18, 22 April 2020 (UTC)


 * In colloquial use, the word "animal" excludes human beings, as when someone says, "We are not animals", or when a mother reprimands her child, "You eat like an animal!". Of course she does; she is an animal. Most people who have not had a formal education may not be aware that the biological sciences place the human species (Homo sapiens) in the biological kingdom Animalia, in the same tribe as chimpanzees. While, as far as I'm aware, there is no direct similar placement in Islamic texts, the sura Al-‘Ankabūt says, "Every soul must taste of death, then to Us you will be returned" (Qur'an 29:57). Here "every soul" is generally interpreted as including animals. The word translated as "soul" is نَفْسٍ (nafs), of which the primary meaning is "living creature", related to an Arabic word that can mean both "soul" and "breath". (The English word "animal" comes from Latin animalis, which literally means, "possessing an anima", where Latin anima can likewise mean "soul" and "breath".) So I think any separation between humans and other animals is not an absolute one in Islamic thought; all are God's creatures who God at some time will call back.  --Lambiam 18:16, 22 April 2020 (UTC)
 * See also our article Animals in Islam. --Lambiam 18:22, 22 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Lambiam gave a good answer. One decent resource for questions like this is the Islam Stackexchange. Temerarius (talk) 23:06, 22 April 2020 (UTC)