Short answer: dinosaurs are not named in the Quran or the hadith, and nothing in either denies that they lived. The Quran says Allah created every living creature from water, some walking on two legs and some on four, and that He "creates that which you do not know". Scholars such as Ibn Uthaymin said great creatures like these may have lived on earth before Adam. When they lived and how they died out are questions for science. The Quran's aim is guidance, not a list of every animal Allah made.
What the Quran says about animals
The Quran does not list animals by species. It speaks of creatures as signs of Allah and as communities of their own. Two verses are especially relevant:
وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَآبَّةٍۢ مِّن مَّآءٍۢ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِى عَلَىٰ بَطْنِهِۦ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِى عَلَىٰ رِجْلَيْنِ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِى عَلَىٰٓ أَرْبَعٍۢ ۚ يَخْلُقُ ٱللَّهُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ
Wallaahu khalaqa kulla daaabbatim mim maaa'in faminhum mai yamshee 'alaa batnihee wa minhum mai yamshee 'alaa rijlaine wa minhum mai yamshee 'alaaa arba'; yakhluqul laahu maa yashaaa'; innal laaha 'alaa kulli shai'in Qadeer
"Allah has created every [living] creature from water. And of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent."
Quran 24:45 · translation by Sahih International
وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَٰٓئِرٍۢ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِى ٱلْكِتَٰبِ مِن شَىْءٍۢ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ
Wa maa min daaabbatin fil ardi wa laa taaa'iriny yateeru bijanaahaihi illaaa umamun amsaalukum; maa farratnaa fil Kitaabi min shai'in summa ilaa Rabbihim yuhsharoon
"And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered."
Quran 6:38 · translation by Sahih International
The second verse says every creature on earth and every bird belongs to a community "like you", and that nothing is left out of Allah's record. Dinosaurs, if they lived, are among those communities, known to Allah even though the Quran does not name them. The word "dinosaur" itself was only coined in 1842.
Did creatures live on earth before Adam?
The Quran describes a conversation before the creation of Adam:
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Wa iz qaala rabbuka lil malaaa'ikati innee jaa'ilun fil ardi khaleefatan qaalooo ataj'alu feehaa mai yufsidu feehaa wa yasfikud dimaaa'a wa nahnu nusabbihu bihamdika wa nuqaddisu laka qaala inneee a'lamu maa laa ta'lamoon
"And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know.""
Quran 2:30 · translation by Sahih International
The angels asked how Allah could place on earth one who "causes corruption therein and sheds blood". How did they know? The exegetes gave several answers:
- Some early exegetes, in reports Ibn Kathir collects, said jinn lived on the earth before Adam and caused corruption, so the angels expected the same.
- Others said Allah had told the angels what humans would do, or that they understood it from the nature of the creature He described.
The scholar Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, explaining this verse, said it suggests there were creatures on earth before Adam, and others have added that dinosaurs may have been among them. That is a possibility drawn from the verse, not something it states.
The six days and the age of the earth
The Quran says Allah created the heavens and the earth "in six days" (7:54). It also says that days with Allah are not measured as we measure them:
وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِٱلْعَذَابِ وَلَن يُخْلِفَ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥ ۚ وَإِنَّ يَوْمًا عِندَ رَبِّكَ كَأَلْفِ سَنَةٍۢ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ
Wa yasta'juloonaka bil'azaabi wa lany yukhlifal laahu wa'dah; wa inna yawman 'inda Rabbika ka'alfi sanatim mimmaa ta'uddoon
"And they urge you to hasten the punishment. But Allah will never fail in His promise. And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count."
Quran 22:47 · translation by Sahih International
Another verse speaks of a day "the extent of which is fifty thousand years" (70:4). For this reason many scholars, early and modern, said the six "days" of creation (ayyam) are periods whose length Allah knows, not necessarily days of twenty-four hours. The Quran and the Sunnah do not give the age of the earth. A Muslim can study the evidence for how old the earth is without that being a question of faith.
Fossils and science
Fossils are part of Allah's creation, and studying them is studying His signs. The Quran repeatedly tells people to "travel through the land and observe how He began creation" (29:20). Muslim scholars have long separated three kinds of question:
| Kind of question | Example | Where the answer comes from |
|---|---|---|
| What the texts state clearly | Allah created everything; Adam was created by Allah | The Quran and authentic Sunnah |
| What the texts are silent on | Which animals lived millions of years ago | Observation and study |
| What is beyond our reach | The unseen: angels, the soul, the Hereafter | Revelation only |
Dinosaurs belong to the second kind. How humans began is a separate question that this page does not cover. Islam teaches that Adam was created by Allah (3:59), and that belief does not depend on anything we learn about dinosaurs.
Giant creatures in the Sunnah
The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah created Adam sixty cubits tall, and that people have kept growing shorter since.1 This hadith is about humans, not dinosaurs, but it shows that the Sunnah does not find great size in early creation strange. Nothing in the hadith ties it to dinosaurs, so we should not stretch it to say more than it says.
Claims with no basis
- "Dinosaurs were jinn." No source says this. Jinn are made of fire (55:15) and are usually unseen; fossils are bones.
- "The beast of the earth (dabbat al-ard) is a dinosaur." The beast in 27:82 is a sign of the Last Day still to come. It is not a dinosaur.
- "Dinosaurs were on Nuh's ark." Nothing in the Quran or authentic hadith says so.
- "Muslims must reject dinosaurs." No. Nothing in the texts denies them, and scholars did not reject them.
The Quran's way with creation is to ask us to reflect, not to settle every detail: "And He creates that which you do not know" (16:8). If your child asks, a good answer is: Allah made dinosaurs, as He made every animal, and they are one of the signs of how great His creation is.
FAQ
Are dinosaurs mentioned in the Quran?
No. The Quran does not name them, but it says Allah created every creature from water and "creates that which you do not know" (24:45, 16:8). Nothing in it denies that they lived.
Did dinosaurs exist in Islam?
Islam does not deny it. Scholars accepted that great creatures could have lived before humans, and the fossil evidence is a matter of observation, not faith.
Were dinosaurs before Adam?
Possibly. The angels' question in 2:30 suggests to some scholars, such as Ibn Uthaymin, that creatures lived on earth before Adam. The Quran does not say which.
Is it haram to believe in dinosaurs?
No. Believing that dinosaurs lived does not contradict anything in the Quran or the Sunnah.
Why did Allah create dinosaurs?
Allah knows best. The Quran says every creature is a community known to Him (6:38) and that creation is full of signs for those who reflect (3:190).
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3326 and Sahih Muslim 2841, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, on 2:30.
- Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, Tafsir Surat al-Baqarah, on 2:30, as cited by IslamQA answer 166097.
- Quran 24:45, 6:38, 2:30, 7:54, 22:47, 70:4, 29:20, 3:59, 27:82, 55:15 and 16:8, Arabic from the Uthmani text, translation by Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.