I was talking to my Muslim friend the other day and he informed me that the Quran teaches that animals do not have souls and they are only tools here for human's to use. If that is true then how come most animals and dogs in particular have strong emotional bonds with their owners? Animals start gaining trust and respect, they feel that you are helping them and they try to help and serve you in return. That to me is proof of a soul because something like a robot that has no soul would not understand these concepts. Sure you can program a computer to do the same thing you to do it to do it back to you, but animals are different, you can take care of a dog your whole life then when you are in trouble the dog will defend you. Computers won't realize that you are even in trouble.
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did you asked for the reference of his interpretation? if not then please ask him and edit your question to provide reference.– ZiaNov 29, 2013 at 6:22
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@Zia I did ask him and he told me his reference is that the "Quran teaches that animals do not have souls and they are only tools here for human's to use." I checked the wikipedia for Islam and animals (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_animals) and even there I get a contradicting answer. It states: "The Qur'an strongly enjoins Muslims to treat animals with compassion and not to abuse them." Then later on it says: "The Qur'an explicitly allows the eating of the meat of certain halal animals."– SSpokeNov 29, 2013 at 6:37
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@Zia I go into "Halal" and there is only like 15 words regarding animals. The majority of that page talks about halal being "objects and food".– SSpokeNov 29, 2013 at 6:38
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i mean which aya'h specifically he is talking about ?– ZiaNov 29, 2013 at 7:44
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AFAIK every living thing has a soul !– ZiaNov 29, 2013 at 7:46
2 Answers
Yes they have. But their soul is different from that of humans.
Quran says:
And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered. http://tanzil.net/#6:38
This verse says animals will be alive and gathered on the Day of Judgement like humans. If they have no soul this action of God will be meaningless.
Reference: Question: do animals have soul and if yes do they have responsibility against their deeds?
(you can read this page using Google Translate)
Yes animals do have souls but no other has any match with humans' soul because humans are best creature of Allah. An interesting analogy can be drawn with the following verses where Prophet Jesus (pbuh) blows something into clay birds to make them into a living being
003:049:
...'I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God's leave...
Some volition is also inferred by the following verse which speaks of the animal kingdom in general.
006:038:
There is not an animal in the earth, nor a bird that flies with its wings, but (are) communities like you. Nothing have we neglected from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord
