Should a Muslim believe in Dinosaurs?

Question

There are plenty of fossils that shows the existence pre historic animals like Dinosaurs. However they have never been mentioned either in the Holy Quran or in Hadis. They fact that they lived for millions of years before anyone of us were here and not being mentioned in Quran is hard to accept for me. Is it OK to believe in Dinosaurs as a Muslim or we should condemn it as there is no evidence from Quran and hadis, therefore we should not believe in it.

In other words, does Islam accepts Dinosaurs as valid creatures who existed millions of years ago. It does not hurt my dogma as Muslim?

Answer 1

What we have to understand is that the Quran is not a scientific manual. While it aims to put humanity on the righteous path, it is not a book that aims to be an encyclopedic description of the world around us. When the Quran specifically mentions something, we know that it is true. But if there is something that isn't specifically mentioned does not mean that this thing does not and could not exist.

Answer 2

I am going to approche this question from another angle. Here is a list of animals mention in the holy book:

The Quail
The Hoopoe
The Crow
The Lion
The Whale
The Wolf
The Dog
The Ant
The Cow
The Donkey
The Horse
The Elephant
The Camel
The Bee
The Snake
The Termite
The Spider
The Fly
The Ewe

Do you know any other animals that exist in nature that are not listed above?

If you answere yes, then yes you can believe in Dinosaurs. If you answere no, then that says a lot.

People should not be thinking like, it's not mentioned then it's not possible or does not exist.

The holy book is list rules not a list of things. After all:

طلب العلم فريضة >> seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every muslim

Answer 3

The Quran simply does not mention the existence of dinosaurs (explicitly). It does not confirm or deny it. When there is no existing apparent contradiction between science and religion, why try to make one? :)

In fact, the Quran alludes to the Earth existing before Mankind. See this verse:

And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know." [2:30]

So perhaps between the creation of Earth and Mankind, there were dinosaurs. It's possible; again, the Quran neither confirms or denies it. In reality, the Quran only mentions a few types of animals/plants by name. It doesn't mean they didn't exist or don't exist.

Read this article for more detailed information.

Answer 4

Quran is not a science book but a book of signs. I do not speak Arabic. I have read the Quran in my own language, did not see the word dinosaur. But It says Allah is the Lord of all the worlds, anything we know and we dont know. Even if it did the disbelievers would say "Mohammad must have seen a fossil this is how he knows..."

What is there for us to know if Dinosaurs are mentioned or not? Why is this a big deal? They are gone, history. Quran tells us what is waiting for us, thats what we should focus on. Traffic lights are not mentioned, bermuda triangle is not mentioned either.... Why does quran have to mention about everything? It is less than 7000 verses. How can it possibly mention about everything? Does it have any claim to cover everything? Does it have any claim to be a science book? It is a principle based guidance for those who want to listen. Why the big fuss?? I find this seriously ridiculous...

Answer 5

Why muslims should not believe in dinosaur? Since, believing in dinosaur does not contradict any fundamental beliefs of Islam, We should all believe it.

And before Allah created mankind, the earth existed. So, the dinosaur could exist also, especially when we have discovered fossil of them. I think, believing in dinosaur has nothing to do with the fundamental teaching of Islam.

Answer 6

Allah Almighty did mention dinosaurs in the Noble Quran. While the word "dinosaurs" is a modern word that refers to the gigantic animals that existed perhaps millions of years ago, Allah Almighty referred to all created "beasts" as "dabbah". A "dabbah" in the Noble Quran consists of all animals, including the dinosaurs.

"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which God Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise. (The Noble Quran, 2:164)"

"He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs. (The Noble Quran, 31:10)"

Notice in Noble Verse 31:10, Allah Almighty said that He created the mountains to prevent the earth from shaking (which had been scientifically proven to be true. and then after that He, the Almighty, created beasts and scattered them throughout the land. These first beasts that were created before mankind may be what we call today "dinosaurs".

Answer 7

Yes Islam does believe in dinosaurs. The only thing is that ther is no direct reference to them in the quran.
Allah has said in the Quran

"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which God Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise. (The Noble Quran, 2:164)"

"He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs. (The Noble Quran, 31:10)"

So you can see he created beasts of all kinds so it is possible that dinosaurs were actually created. Also given the fact that humans are not the first creation of Allah it is possible that Dinosaurs came before humans and were eventually wiped out in some way.

Answer 8

People have seen the bones of the dinosaurs, but I have not with my own eyes. Even if I do, I know not that they indeed are from the dinosaurs.
That means that there is a very high chance that dinosaurs exist, but it is not the absolute truth.

For only Allah alone ordains the truth, we barely perceive it within our limitations.

For example, if Allah ordains that they don't exist then all the 'evidences' are from other animals or by human mistake. But since Allah did not mention that, one is safe to reasonably believe that they do exist due to the evidences.

And Allah knows the best.

Answer 9

My question was not the belief in them.. because fundamentally if bones exist, then they were on earth, and since we believe that God Almighty is the creator of all, if we don't believe dinosaurs existed, then what are we implying? That is just like saying that because only a few prophets are mentioned by name, the rest of them didn't exist... My question was whether or not they are mentioned in the Quran... That too was answered. Also dear sir, who started this thread, if its on earth its Allah's so there shouldn't be an issue in the first place should there be? Besides considering the fact that even now, we hardly know about the earth we live in or anything else that Allah has kept concealed, while urging us to go for the quest of knowledge, we should perhaps realize that dinosaurs were one of those secrets that Allah chose to reveal to us, provided we looked hard enough! The Quran says: Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder and We got every living thing out of water. [21:30] The further says: God created every animal from water. [24:45].. Note Allah says every animal and every living thing!.. Hope this helped you decide!

Answer 10

Yes it makes sense becouse Allah created every thing with a purpose and oli that we use today comes from fossiles that have been under the ground for many millions years. You can it look up. Allah is all-wise, all-knowing.

Answer 11

"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which God Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise. (The Noble Quran, 2:164)"

"He created the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; He set on the earth mountains standing firm, lest it should shake with you; and He scattered through it beasts of all kinds. We send down rain from the sky, and produce on the earth every kind of noble creature, in pairs. (The Noble Quran, 31:10)"