Which surah of the holy quran are named after animals?

Answer 1

As was traditional, chapters and verses would be named for some story or particular words mentioned in them. This could include names, things, events, etc. So, for example, Al-Baqarah (the Heifer) is named from the story in it about when Moses was commanded to have his people sacrifice a heifer. Or An-Naml (the Ant) is named after the story of Solomon and his ability to hear the communications of ants, which is mentioned in that chapter.

Other examples are:

Yusuf (Joseph) which speaks of joseph's life.

Ali Imran (the Family of Imran) which speaks of the extended family of Mary and Jesus.

Or As-Sajdah (the Prostration) which has one prostration that people do when they get to the particular verse which mentions prostration.

This was a cultural habit of the Arabs at the time. As I said, it also applied to specific verses, like Al-Kursi (the throne), or An-Noor (the light).

Answer 2

• Al-baqarah (The Cow)
• Al-Anaam (The Cattle)
• Al-Nahl (The Bee)
• Al-Naml (The Ant)
• Al-Ankaboot (The spider)
• Al-Feel (The elephant)