The Animal Fable of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʼ in Context: The Ontological and Moral Status of Animals in Early Islamic Thought

Abstract

Undoubtedly the most interesting medieval Arabic text from the perspective of animal ethics is a fable by the 10th-century group of philosophers known by the name of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʼ (The Brethren of Purity). In the fable, animals sue the mankind to court to challenge the latter’s claim for the right to subject animals to their servitude. While the Ikhwān’s animal fable is well-known, it has not often been studied from the perspective of animal ethics.