Thus, the so-called rational beings (humans, angels, and jinn) are part of the animal world, an understanding that is plainly expressed in many medieval Arabic lexicons whose definitions are shaped by the Qur’anic treatment of the animal concept. However, analysis of the Qur’anic contexts in which the animal concept is treated indicates that this scripture subscribes to the etymological (rather than the conventional) meaning of this word: any being that produces intentional movement, the primary meaning of the verb dabba, is a dābba. In its Qur’anic context, dābba is often understood by both Arabic mufassirūn, English-language translators and other Islamic scholars as a reference to nonhuman animals only, the implication being that the Islamic scripture does not consider humans to be part of the animal world. The word 'dābba,' (animal) both in its singular and plural (dawābb) forms, occurs in the Qur’an a total of eighteen times.
