Is Man a Thinking Animal?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Actually, the word “haywan” (animal) means “alive/living or creature with a spirit” in Arabic. As for the word of “Thinking”, it means “creature that has mind-reasoning”. Within this context, according to Aristotle’s view, man is called “thinking animal” that is “a living thing with a mind who thinks.”  

However, from the point of view of the value that the Qur’an gives man, it is not appropriate to call man “a thinking animal” because man is a creature who was created in the best stature (ahsan taqwim), vicegerent on the earth, equipped with superior qualities over all other creatures and has been favored with Allah’s thousand and one names and a practitioner of His orders and prohibitions on the earth.

The expression “Thinking or talking animal” is far away from defining man because man is not only a creature who thinks but also a supervising officer whose imagination is extensive, an owner of a mind mechanism, capable of traveling on the sea, land and sky and establishing communication with Allah (SWT) via angels/revelation, favored with inspiration and equipped with sixth sense.

Questions on Islam