38 Preface وَما مِن دابَّةٍ فِي الأَرضِ وَلا طائِرٍ يَطيرُ بِجَناحَيهِ إِلّا أُمَمٌ أَمثالُكُم ۚ ما فَرَّطنا فِي الكِتابِ مِن شَيءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلىٰ رَبِّهِم يُحشَرونَYusuf AliThere is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you.1 Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.“Animals living on the earth” include those living in the water-fishes, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, as well as four-footed beasts. Life on the wing is separately mentioned. “Ta'ir,” which is ordinarily translated as “bird,” is anything that flies, including mammals like bats. In our pride we may exclude animals from our purview, but they all live a life, social and individual, like ourselves, and all life is subject to the Plan and Will of God. In 6:59 we are told that not a leaf falls but by His Will, and things dry and green are recorded in His Book. In other words they all obey His archetypal Plan, the Book which is also mentioned here. They are all answerable in their several degrees to His Plan (“shall be gathered to their Lord in the end”). This is not Pantheism: it is ascribing all life, activity, and existence to the Will and Plan of God.