Q: My eight year old nephew has asked me a question that I do not have full knowledge about. His teacher in school was discussing dinosaurs with them, he wants to know what is the Islamic version or truth about these creatures. I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but I appeal to you to assist me with some information.
A: The purpose of man's existence in the world is in order to worship Allah Ta'ala and fulfil His commandments in accordance to the mubaarak Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). We are commanded in the Hadith to refrain from "laa ya'ni" i.e. occupying ourselves with things that do not concern us in our Deen or dunya. Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: “The beauty and perfection of one’s Islam is that one abstains from all things that do not concern him”.
Discussions regarding the existence of dinosaurs are vain and futile discussions, which will not benefit us in our Deen nor dunya. Furthermore trying to prove their existence through scientific researches by examining exhumed bones or fossils and attributing it to a creation called dinosaurs is nothing but estimations. Hence it is difficult to conclusively establish the existence of dinosaurs through mere scientific researches. Thus Islam commands us that we do not exhaust our energies and resources on something that revolves around speculations and estimations.
عن أبي هريرة قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم من حسن إسلام المرء تركه مالا يعنيه رواه الترمذي
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