Animals in the Qur'an for Kids

Most young children love animals before they love almost anything else. They want the dog on the street, the bird on the fence, the ant on the kitchen floor. That love is a wonderful door into the Qur'an, because the Qur'an is full of animals: an ant who warned her friends, a hoopoe who brought news, a whale in the dark sea, a dog keeping watch at a cave. Each one sits inside a true story with a lesson a child can hold. Here are the animals in the Qur'an for kids, with the Surah and ayah for each, the story behind it, and a simple way to share them at bedtime.

The short answer

• Several Surahs are named after animals. Among them are al-Baqarah (The Cow), al-An'am (The Cattle), an-Nahl (The Bee), an-Naml (The Ant), al-'Ankabut (The Spider) and al-Fil (The Elephant).
• Animals are communities, like us. Allah says there is no creature on the earth and no bird flying with its wings except that they are "communities like you" (Surah al-An'am 6:38).
• Most of them belong to a prophet's story. The ant and the hoopoe with Prophet Sulayman (AS), the whale with Prophet Yunus (AS), the she-camel with Prophet Salih (AS), the pairs on the ark with Prophet Nuh (AS).

One animal a night: a simple routine

• Start with the animal, not the lesson. "Tonight's story has a tiny ant in it." Let your child guess what the ant will do.
• Tell the story in a few minutes. Keep it short and plain. The stories below are enough on their own.
• Say where it is in the Qur'an. "This is in Surah an-Naml, the Surah of the Ant." Children like knowing a story has an address.
• Ask one question. "Why did the ant warn the others?" or "How do you think Yunus (AS) felt inside the whale?"
• Finish with a small action for tomorrow. Fill the bird bowl, step around the ants, be gentle with the cat.

On nights when you are too tired to tell it yourself, an audio story can help. Sukun Kids is our app: calm, narrated stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, and the full story of Prophet Yusuf (AS) is free. Stay close while it plays and keep your one question for the end.

The animals of the Qur'an and their stories

The ant who warned her friends. Prophet Sulayman (AS) was taught the language of birds by Allah (Surah an-Naml 27:16). When he and his army came to a valley of ants, one ant called out, "O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers while they perceive not" (27:18). Sulayman (AS) smiled at her words and thanked Allah for His favour (27:19). A great king stopped for the smallest creature in the valley. Read more on the Prophet Sulayman (AS) page.

The hoopoe with big news. In the same Surah, Sulayman (AS) checked on the birds and noticed the hoopoe was missing (27:20). The little bird soon came back and said, "I have come to you from Sheba with certain news" (27:22): a queen and her people were bowing to the sun instead of Allah (27:24). Sulayman (AS) then sent the hoopoe with a letter (27:28). Children love that a bird carried the message.

The whale in the dark sea. Prophet Yunus (AS) left his people in anger and boarded a laden ship (Surah as-Saffat 37:140). Then "the fish swallowed him" (37:142), the great whale of the story. In the darkness he called out, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers" (Surah al-Anbiya 21:87). Allah brought him out onto the shore and made a gourd vine grow over him (37:145-146). It is a beautiful story about saying sorry to Allah. See the Prophet Yunus (AS) page.

The she-camel of Allah. Prophet Salih (AS) told his people, the Thamud, "This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah's land and do not touch her with harm" (Surah al-A'raf 7:73). She was to have her own day to drink, and the people theirs (Surah ash-Shu'ara 26:155). But they hurt her, and destruction came upon them (Surah ash-Shams 91:13-14). The whole test was kindness to one animal and sharing fairly. More on the Prophet Salih (AS) page.

The dog at the mouth of the cave. The People of the Cave were young believers who slept in a cave for many years, and "their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance" (Surah al-Kahf 18:18). People later argued about how many sleepers there were, but every guess counted the dog too, and the Prophet ﷺ was told to say that his Lord knows best their number (18:22). Children are delighted that a dog is remembered in the Qur'an. Read the story on the People of the Cave page.

Two of every kind on the ark. When the flood came, Allah told Prophet Nuh (AS), "Load upon it of each [creature] two mates and your family" along with the believers (Surah Hud 11:40). See the Prophet Nuh (AS) page.

The cow and too many questions. Prophet Musa (AS) told his people, "Allah commands you to slaughter a cow" (Surah al-Baqarah 2:67). Instead of simply obeying, they asked question after question: how old, what colour, which kind (2:68-71). In the end they did it, "but they could hardly do it" (2:71). This is why the longest Surah is called The Cow. Older children can hear the lesson: when Allah asks something of us, we do it willingly. More on the Prophet Musa (AS) page.

The elephant and the birds. Surah al-Fil asks, "Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?" (105:1). An army with an elephant came to destroy the Ka'bah, and Allah "sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of hard clay" (105:3-4). Many children already know this short Surah by heart.

The bee and its honey. Allah inspired the bee to build homes in the mountains and trees, to eat from all the fruits, and from its belly comes "a drink, varying in colors, in which there is healing for people" (Surah an-Nahl 16:68-69).

More animals for older children. The crow that Allah sent to show the son of Prophet Adam (AS) how to bury his brother (Surah al-Ma'idah 5:31). The staff of Prophet Musa (AS) that became a moving snake by Allah's will (Surah Taha 20:20). The four birds Allah told Prophet Ibrahim (AS) to call, which came flying back to show how He gives life (2:260). See Prophet Adam (AS) and Prophet Ibrahim (AS) for the full stories.

Every miracle here happened by Allah's permission and power. The ant, the hoopoe and the whale did what Allah willed, and it is worth saying that to your child plainly. For more of these signs, from the parting sea to the cool fire, see the miracles of the prophets for kids. (Qur'an translations are Saheeh International, as shown on Quran.com.)

Animals by age

• Ages 3 to 4: one animal, one sentence. "The ant said: quick, everyone go home!" Act it out with a toy and let your child be the ant.
• Ages 5 to 7: the full story and a why question. Why did the hoopoe come back with news? Why should the people have shared the water with the camel?
• Ages 8 to 10: the harder stories. The cow and the questions, the crow and the two brothers, the elephant army. Talk about obedience, regret and Allah's protection of His house.

What the Prophet ﷺ taught about animals

The Prophet ﷺ told of a thirsty man who saw a dog licking mud from thirst. He climbed down a well, filled his shoe with water and gave the dog a drink, and Allah forgave him. When the companions asked if there is reward in serving animals, he ﷺ said there is reward for serving any living being (Sahih al-Bukhari 2363). He also warned of a woman who tied up a cat, neither feeding it nor letting it free to find food, and entered the Fire because of it (Sahih al-Bukhari 3318). Two short stories, one clear message for a child: Allah sees how we treat animals. For more stories about gentle hearts, see Islamic stories about kindness, and for how a story turns into caring, how stories build empathy in children. Our page of Qur'an stories for kids has the longer stories.

Where Sukun Kids fits

Full disclosure: Sukun Kids is our app. It narrates stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, written from the Qur'an and classical tafsir, with read-along text and a sleep timer, for children from about 3 to 10. Many of the animals above appear inside the prophets' stories. Start with the free story of Prophet Yusuf (AS), or browse all our Islamic stories for kids by figure.