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wa-mā min dābbatin fī l-ʾarḍi wa-lā ṭāʾirin yaṭīru bi-janāḥayhi ʾillā ʾumamun ʾamthālukum mā farraṭnā fī l-kitābi min shayʾin thumma ʾilā rabbihim yuḥsharūna
There is no animal on land, nor a bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like yourselves. We have not omitted anything from the Book. Then they will be mustered toward their Lord.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-‘An’am, Verse 38
38. "And there is no creature (that walks) on the earth nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but they are communities the like of you, We have not neglected anything in the Book, then unto their Lord shall they (all) be mustered."
This verse speaks about Resurrection and the general assemblage of all living creatures, i.e. all kinds of animals, in Hereafter. At first, the verse says:
Thus, similar to human beings, each kind of animals and birds are a community by themselves. That is, they also have knowledge, awareness, and perception in their own conditions, and they know the Lord Whom they glorify and sanctify as much as they are able to, although the standard of their perception is lower than that of human beings. Then, in the next phrase of the verse, the Lord says:
"….We have not neglected anything in the Book...."
And at the end of the verse, the statement is:
".... then unto their Lord shall they (all) be mustered."
Hence, the verse warns the polytheists that the Lord, Who has created all groups of animals and supplies their necessities and who watches whatever they do, has appointed a resurrection for them entirely. How is it possible that He does not appoint a resurrection and a gathering for you? And, as some pagans say, there would not exist anything beyond this life and death?
Is there a Resurrection for Animals?
No doubt that the first condition of reckoning and rewards is the existence of intellect and awareness and, thereafter, duty and responsibility come forth. The adherents of this idea believe that the life of many animals continues with an interesting and surprising regularity that denotes to their high level of perception and awareness. There are a few persons who have heard no words about ants, bees, their formicaries, their beehives and their wonderful order and their surprising system.
It is certain that we cannot simply count it as a phenomenon resulted from instinct. Natural disposition is usually the source of monotonous and constant activities. But the deeds that are not predictable in some specific conditions, done as reactions, are more similar to perception and awareness than instinct. For example, when a lamb, which has never seen a wolf in its life, sees that savage animal for the first time, it recognizes well that this enemy is dangerous. So, the lamb tries to defend and to save itself from the danger by any means that it can find.
Apart from all of these, there are recited some meanings in a lot of verses of the Qur'an which can be counted as a considerable reason for the existence of perception and awareness in some animals. For instance, the story of ants and their escape from the army of Solomon; the story of the hoopoe when it came into the zone of Sheba and brought some exciting news for Solomon, are a few evidences to this claim. In Islamic literature, there are also many traditions upon the resurrection of animals, including as follows:
It is narrated from Abu thar who says: "We were at the presence of the Prophet (S) where, in front of us, two goats bunted each other. The Prophet (S) said
'Do you know why they bunted each other?'
The audience answered: 'No, we do not know'. The Prophet (S) said:
'But Allah knows why, and He will judge between them soon '."