A question from Miss Dima Al-Sadr: "In the verse: {And there is no creature on the earth nor a bird that flies with its wings except that they are nations like you. We have not neglected anything in the Book; then to their Lord they will be gathered} 1 , is it possible that the word 'nations' (umam) refers to number, for example? Meaning that these animals were nations in terms of their quantity, just as humans are nations in terms of their numbers? Furthermore, since worldly life is a test for us upon which we will enter Heaven or Hell—if a two-year-old child dies, we usually say their soul is pure and they will inevitably enter Heaven because they committed no sins. But how can they enter Heaven without the worldly test?"
The Answer (and God is the Granter of correctness): Regarding the phrase "like you" (amthālukum), I have noted that it does not only imply likeness in sustenance or likeness in marriage and gender, nor does it only imply likeness in number.
This is why I have established through Quranic verses that wild beasts are presented before God for accountability on the Day of Resurrection, and I have shown that animals speak, reason, know God, and distinguish between correct and corrupt religion—as occurred with the hoopoe. Animal