بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful .

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all of his Companions.

To proceed:

Among the doubts raised by atheists in their attempts to undermine the Prophetic Sunnah is their astonishment at the narrations in which the Prophet ﷺ informed us that certain animals, such as a cow and a wolf, spoke. They claim that such an event is impossible, even though their objection is not based on any rational proof, but merely on their assumption that what they are accustomed to observing in the natural world cannot be otherwise.

Before answering this objection, however, it is necessary to establish an important principle that removes the root of the confusion. The Sharīʿah does not affirm what is rationally impossible; rather, it affirms extraordinary events that break the ordinary course of nature.

A rational impossibility is something whose existence is inconceivable in itself, such as the coexistence of two contradictory states, the existence of something that is both existent and nonexistent at the same time, or a part being greater than the whole. These are matters that reason itself judges to be impossible.

An extraordinary event, however, is simply something that departs from what people ordinarily experience, while remaining entirely possible in itself. Reason does not judge it to be impossible; people merely find it astonishing because they are unaccustomed to it.

For this reason, all divine revelations came with miracles and signs that transcended the normal order of nature. The sea was parted for Mūsā (Moses), Allah brought the dead back to life through ʿĪsā (Jesus), and the moon was split for our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. All of these events broke the ordinary course of nature, yet none of them were rationally impossible. They occurred solely by the power of Allah, the Exalted.

It therefore becomes clear that merely finding something astonishing does not make it impossible. Otherwise, one would be forced to reject every miracle reported by the prophets, as well as many realities of the universe that people once knew nothing about.

Accordingly, whenever a report from Allah or from His Messenger ﷺ is authentically established, it is not permissible to reject it merely because such an event does not normally occur. The One who created the laws of nature and the ordinary course of events is fully capable of suspending them whenever and however He wills.

Thus, whoever denies that a cow or a wolf could speak simply because he has never witnessed such a thing has effectively made ordinary experience the judge over Allah’s power. This reverses the proper order, for the ordinary course of nature does not limit Allah’s power. Rather, it is Allah who established the ordinary course of nature, and He is fully capable of overriding it whenever He wills.

The First Argument: The Scholars’ Position Regarding the Ḥadīth

Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“A man was riding a cow when it turned toward him and said: ‘I was not created for this. I was created only for plowing.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘I believe this, and so do Abū Bakr and ʿUmar.’

Then a wolf seized one of a shepherd’s sheep. The shepherd pursued it, whereupon the wolf said: ‘Who will look after it on the Day of the Beast, the day when it will have no shepherd other than me?’ The Prophet ﷺ again said: ‘I believe this, and so do Abū Bakr and ʿUmar.'”

Abū Salamah added:

“At that time, neither Abū Bakr nor ʿUmar was present with the people.”

Recorded by: al-Bukhārī (3690, 3663, 3471, 2324) and Muslim (2388).

Imām al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“This ḥadīth establishes the possibility of the miraculous honors (karāmāt) granted to the righteous and of extraordinary events that break the ordinary course of nature, and this is the position of the people of truth. Al-Dāwūdī said: ‘The Day of the Beast’ refers to the day when a wild beast drives the shepherd away, leaving me alone with the sheep after he flees, so that I may do with it as I wish. Al-Nawawī said: The stronger opinion is that it refers to times of widespread tribulation, when people abandon their livestock without shepherds, leaving them as prey for wild beasts. Thus, the beast is described as its shepherd, meaning that it alone remains with it. The word al-sabuʿ is pronounced with a ḍammah on the letter bā’. And Allah knows best.”

Source: Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (8/170).

Notice how Imām al-Nawawī accepted this ḥadīth without hesitation. He did not question the possibility of a cow or a wolf speaking. Rather, he focused on explaining its meaning, clarifying its wording, deriving its legal and theological benefits, and considering it an example of an extraordinary event that Allah brings about by His power—a principle upheld by Ahl al-Sunnah.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (may Allah have mercy on him) likewise said:

“This ḥadīth has been used as evidence that animals should only be employed for the purposes for which they are customarily used. It is also possible that the cow’s statement, ‘We were created only for plowing,’ was intended merely to indicate its primary purpose, not to restrict its purpose exclusively to that. Such exclusivity is unanimously rejected, since it is also agreed that among the purposes for which cattle were created is that they may be slaughtered and eaten.”

Source: Fatḥ al-Bārī (6/580).

Thus, Ibn Ḥajar did not dispute the occurrence of the incident itself. Rather, he explained the intended meaning of the cow’s statement and clarified the wording of the ḥadīth, exactly as the scholars of ḥadīth consistently approached authentic narrations. Their principle was to accept whatever is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then explain its meaning and derive its lessons.

Ibn Ḥajar also said:

“Al-Bukhārī included this narration under the chapter concerning the Children of Israel, which suggests that, in his view, this particular incident occurred before Islam. However, there is another narration in which a wolf spoke to one of the Prophet’s Companions in a similar incident.”

He then cited the narration of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him):

“A shepherd was grazing his flock in the volcanic plains when a wolf snatched one of his sheep. The shepherd rescued the sheep from the wolf. The wolf then sat back on its tail and said: ‘Do you not fear Allah? You have prevented me from taking provision that Allah has provided for me.’ The shepherd replied: ‘How astonishing! A wolf sitting on its tail speaking with the speech of human beings!’ The wolf answered: ‘Shall I tell you of something even more astonishing than this? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is between the two lava fields of Madinah informing the people about the events of previous nations.’

The shepherd then drove one of his sheep to Madinah, secured it in one corner of the city, and went to the Prophet ﷺ to inform him of what had happened. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to the people and said to the shepherd: ‘Stand and tell them.’ The shepherd stood and recounted the story, whereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘The shepherd has spoken the truth. Indeed, one of the signs of the Hour is that wild beasts will speak to human beings.'”

Source: Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah by Abū Nuʿaym (234). Declared authentic by al-Albānī in al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (122).

After quoting this narration, Ibn Ḥajar commented:

“The Prophet’s ﷺ statement, ‘I believe this, and so do Abū Bakr and ʿUmar,’ was made because he knew that if they heard this report, they would believe it immediately without any hesitation.”

Source: Fatḥ al-Bārī (6/581).

This, then, is how the leading scholars of Islam approached this ḥadīth. They did not reject it because it described something extraordinary, nor did they attempt to reinterpret it away from its apparent meaning. Rather, they accepted it, explained its wording, and derived from it legal rulings and beneficial lessons, because they knew that Allah’s power is not limited by what people are accustomed to witnessing, and that whenever an extraordinary event is authentically established through sound revelation, it must be accepted with faith and submission.

Indeed, this was not an isolated report without parallel. Another authentic narration likewise records a wolf speaking, and the Prophet ﷺ informed us that “wild beasts speaking to human beings” will be among the signs of the Last Hour. This serves as yet another proof that such an event is entirely possible through the power of Allah, Glorified and Exalted.

The Second Argument: Allah, the Exalted, Is Able to Make Anything Speak

Whoever finds it astonishing that a cow or a wolf could speak has measured Allah’s power by what people ordinarily observe, forgetting that Allah is the Creator of the natural order and is fully capable of suspending it whenever He wills.

If Allah created mankind from nothing, brought the dead back to life, parted the sea, and caused inanimate objects and animals to speak on other occasions, then what prevents Him from making a cow or a wolf speak for a wisdom that He intends?

For this reason, the Qur’an explicitly affirms that Allah is capable of making anything speak. Allah, the Exalted, says:

“And on the Day when the enemies of Allah are gathered to the Fire, they will be driven in ranks. Until, when they reach it, their hearing, their sight, and their skins will testify against them concerning what they used to do. They will say to their skins, ‘Why have you testified against us?’ They will reply, ‘Allah has caused us to speak—the One who has caused everything to speak. He created you the first time, and to Him you are returned. And you did not hide yourselves lest your hearing, your sight, and your skins should testify against you, but you assumed that Allah did not know much of what you used to do.'”
(Qur’an 41:19–22)

Imām al-Ṭabarī (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Allah says: ‘Until, when they reach the Fire, their hearing will testify against them concerning what they used to listen to in this worldly life, and their sight concerning what they used to look at, and ‘their skins concerning what they used to do.’ It has also been said that the word skins here refers to the private parts.”

Source: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī (11/99).

Reflect on Allah’s statement:

“Allah has caused us to speak—the One who has caused everything to speak.”

This is an explicit declaration that causing created beings to speak is entirely within Allah’s power. He grants speech to whatever He wills, whenever He wills, and however He wills.

Allah also says:

“On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will testify against them concerning what they used to do. On that Day Allah will repay them in full with the recompense they deserve, and they will know that Allah is the Clear Truth.”
(Qur’an 24:24–25)

And He says:

“Today We shall seal their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify concerning what they used to earn.”
(Qur’an 36:65)

Imām al-Ṭabarī commented on the verse in Sūrat al-Nūr:

“This will occur when one of them denies the sins he committed in this worldly life after Allah confronts him with them. Allah will then seal their mouths, and their hands and feet will testify against them concerning what they used to do. If someone asks: ‘How can their tongues testify when their mouths have been sealed?’ The answer is that the tongues of some people will testify against others—not that their own tongues will speak after their mouths have been sealed.”

Source: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī (9/292).

If Allah will cause skins, hands, feet, hearing, and sight—all of which do not normally speak in this worldly life—to testify on the Day of Resurrection, then why should anyone find it impossible for Allah to make a cow or a wolf speak for a purpose that He wills?

All of this falls under His universal statement:

“Allah has caused us to speak—the One who has caused everything to speak.”

Another example of this principle is that Allah caused certain human beings to speak at an age when speech is ordinarily impossible—while they were still infants in the cradle.

Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

“No one spoke in the cradle except three: Jesus, and among the Children of Israel there was a man named Jurayj…”

The Prophet ﷺ then mentioned the story of Jurayj, in which the infant declared:

“My father is the shepherd.”

He also mentioned the story of a woman nursing her child. A man of great status passed by, and she said:

“O Allah, make my son like him.”

The infant replied:

“O Allah, do not make me like him.”

Then a slave woman passed by, whom people falsely accused of adultery and theft. The mother said:

“O Allah, do not make my son like her.”

But the infant said:

“O Allah, make me like her.”

He then explained that the powerful man was an oppressive tyrant, whereas the slave woman was innocent of the accusations made against her.

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (3436) and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2550).

Allah also says concerning Jesus (peace be upon him) while he was still in the cradle:

“He said, ‘Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined upon me prayer and charity as long as I live, and He has made me dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me arrogant or miserable. Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive.'”
(Qur’an 19:30–33)

If every Muslim believes that Allah caused Jesus (peace be upon him) to speak while he was an infant in the cradle, and it is authentically established in both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that other infants likewise spoke miraculously, then what rational obstacle remains to Allah causing a cow or a wolf to speak?

All of these are examples of extraordinary events that break the ordinary course of nature. They are not rational impossibilities.

Whoever fails to distinguish between these two categories has confused what merely astonishes people with what is genuinely impossible—and the difference between the two is immense.

Conclusion

After this clarification, it becomes evident that this objection rests on neither scientific nor rational foundations. Rather, it arises from confusing a rational impossibility with an extraordinary event that breaks the normal course of nature.

It has become clear that:

• Islamic revelation does not present rational impossibilities. Rather, it presents events that transcend the ordinary course of nature while remaining entirely possible in themselves. This is precisely the nature of the miracles and signs that Allah granted to His prophets.
• The ḥadīth of the speaking cow and the speaking wolf is authentic, being recorded in both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. The leading scholars of Islam accepted it without hesitation, explained its wording, and derived legal and theological benefits from it. They did not reject it merely because it describes something outside ordinary human experience.
• The Qur’an explicitly affirms that Allah is “the One who has caused everything to speak.” It also informs us that on the Day of Resurrection Allah will cause skins, hands, feet, and other body parts to testify, just as He caused certain infants to speak while still in the cradle. All of this demonstrates that granting speech to created beings is fully within Allah’s power.

After all of this, nothing remains except mere astonishment.

But astonishment is not evidence of falsehood, nor is it a valid basis for rejecting authentic revelation. At most, it shows that a person is unfamiliar with such an occurrence—and unfamiliarity is not the same as impossibility.

For this reason, the believer must use reason as a means of understanding revelation, not as a judge over it. He must also recognize that Allah’s power is not limited by what people are accustomed to witnessing. Rather, Allah does whatever He wills, and nothing in the heavens or on the earth can frustrate His power.

We ask Allah to grant us beneficial knowledge, sincere faith, and complete submission to His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet ﷺ, and to protect us from doubts and misguidance. Indeed, He is All-Hearing and Ever Responsive.

الحمد لله رب العالمين