animals

[Guest guest]

Well, this is just for fun or information. Since we have been talking

about animals, I felt like sharing this with you. No, it isn't about

sex with animals (what is the English word for that, by the way –

bestophilia?), which is another very interesting subject (maybe we

could talk about all its implications some day ...), but it is about

the ten sacred animals according to Islam. These were the only ten

animals that were admitted into Paradise:

1. The whale who swallowed Jonah, the prophet.

2. Salomon's ant [One day gathered his army, which had

different battalions of men, jinns, birds, and animals. He marched

them to the country of Askalon. While they were passing through a

valley, an ant saw the approaching army and cried out to warn the

other ants: " Run to your homes! Otherwise, unaware, and his

army might crush you! " , hearing the cry of the ant, smiled.

He was glad that the ant knew him to be a prophet who would not

intentionally harm Allah's creation. He thanked Allah for saving the

ants' lives.]

3. The lamb who was sacrificed in place of Isaac.

4. Queen Belkis' bird [in Persian legend Simurgh is a gigantic,

winged monster in the shape of a bird; a kind of peacock with the

head of a dog and the claws of a lion. Its natural habitat is a place

with plenty of water. According to legend, the creature is so old

that it has seen the world destroyed three times over. In all that

time, Simurgh has learned so much that it is thought to possess the

knowledge of all ages.]

5. The prophet Salih's camel [There are a number of ancient accounts

of this camel and its miraculous nature. It was said that the she

camel was miraculous because a rock in the mountain split open and it

came forth from it, followed by its young offspring. Other accounts

said that the she camel used to drink all the water in the wells in

one day, and no other animals could approach the water. Still others

claimed that the she camel produced milk sufficient for all the

people to drink, on the same day that it drank all the water, leaving

none for them. At first, the people of Thamud were greatly surprised

when the she camel issued from the mountain rocks. It was a blessed

camel, and its milk sufficient for thousands of men, women and

children. If it slept in a place that place was abandoned by other

animals. Thus it was obvious that is was not an ordinary camel, but

one of Allah's signs. It lived among Salih's people, some of whom

believed in Allah while the majority continued in their obstinacy and

disbelief.]

6. Balaam's Ass. [The animal who reproached her master, the Gentile

prophet Balaam, when he beat her unjustly. ...Suddenly the animal

raised her head, opened her mouth, and spoke. 'What have I done to

thee, that thou hast struck me 3 times?' 'Why,' said Balaam, 'thou

has made sport of me. And if my stick had been a sword I would have

slain thee.' But have I not served thee faithfully to this very day?

Have I ever failed thee?' And Balaam had to answer, No.]

7. Kratim, the dog of the seven sleepers. [The seven Christian youths

of Ephesus. According to legend they fled during the Diocletian

persecution (250 CE) to a cave in Mount Celion. The cave was walled

up by their pursuers and they fell asleep. Some 200 years later,

during the reign of Theodosius II, they awoke. One of them went into

the city for provisions and upon his return, they fell asleep again;

this time until the resurrection. Their names are given as

Constantius, Dionysius, Joannes, Maximianus, Malchus, ianus and

Serapion.]

8. Moses' ox. [?]

9. Al Borak, Muhammad's horse. [The lightning " . In Arabian myth, the

winged horse brought by to carry the great prophet Muhammad

from earth to the Seventh Heaven. The horse itself was received into

paradise. It had the face of a man but the cheeks of a horse; its

eyes were like jacinths, but brilliant as the stars; it had the wings

of an eagle, spoke with the voice of a man, and flattered all over

with radiant light.]

10. The dove who brought the olive leaf to Noah, after the flood.

José