I have great concern for animals. I want to know if there is any indication in Revelation that they have souls. Is there not a hadith that states that a woman who locked up a cat and starved it to death will be scratched by that cat when the woman gets to hell? Does that not imply that when animals die on earth, they live on in some sort of afterlife rather than just ceasing to exist? And is there not a Surah that indicates that all living beings have "ruh"? Would appreciate it greatly if you could answer these questions.

Answer

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There is no clear indication from the Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) on the basis of which it may be held that animals do or don't have souls. We can, therefore, not be certain about this issue.

As for the information given in Hadith regarding the woman being punished by the cat, it refers to an event of the hereafter, which relate to the domain of 'Mutashabihaat', about which we cannot know the details with our extremely limited knowledge and exposure in the life of this world.

Thus, in short, Islam does not provide us information as to whether or not animals have souls or even whether or not these animals shall have any place in the hereafter.

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Answer published by Moiz Amjad