My son Aafiq always asks me to tell him a story before he sleeps. Sometimes I tell him stories of Prophets, Companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and the great ‘ulama of the Muslims. At other times, I make up stories for him. What follows is one of the stories I created for Aafiq (of course, when I read it to him, I used a more toddler-friendly version), a story about King ‘Ādil. Alhamdulillah, as a great lover of dinosaurs, Aafiq really enjoys this story. Here is the tale—I hope you enjoy it too!
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The Tale of King ‘Ādil
About 67 million years ago, lived a King who ruled with immense justice. Because of the justice he brings, he is called King ‘Ādil from the Arabic word that means “Justice.”
One day, King ‘Ādil stood hidden behind thick bushes, watching a river quietly. Along the riverbank, a herd of Edmontosaurus were grazing on grass and drinking from the water. Beside King ‘Ādil stood his young daughter, Princess ‘Ādil, who was also hiding and peeking through the bushes.
“My child,” said King ‘Ādil softly, “watch carefully what I do, and do not follow unless I succeed. May Allah will that we eat today.”
Princess ‘Ādil nodded. Her stomach was rumbling, hungry.
“Now look carefully,” King ‘Ādil continued. “Which one do you think would be best for us to catch?”
Princess ‘Ādil observed attentively and thought for a moment. “That big one!” she said, pointing. “The one playing with its child near the trees!”
King ‘Ādil nodded. “Good. That is a wise choice. It has plenty of meat, it also looks weak, and we can sneak on it.”
After sneaking as close as possible, King ‘Ādil suddenly charged out from the trees and attacked the Edmontosaurus. The animal tried to run, and the rest of the herd fled in panic. Luckily for King ‘Ādil, as the Edmontosaurus turned quickly to escape, it crashed into a large rock nearby. King ‘Ādil immediately took it down.
Father and child ate the food that Allah had provided for them until they were full. They praised Allah in gratitude and were about to leave.
Suddenly, they saw a baby Edmontosaurus from the corner of their eyes. It seemed confused. Instead of running away, it slowly came closer to them.
“What is it doing here?” Princess ‘Ādil asked.
“Its probably confused,” said King ‘Ādil. “It is still young and has much to learn.”
Princess ‘Ādil’s eyes lit up, and she approached the baby Edmontosaurus while preparing to attack. “I want to practice hunting!” she said.
But King ‘Ādil stopped her. “No, dear. Let it go.”
In the distance, the herd of Edmontosaurus that had fled earlier could be seen. King ‘Ādil let out a loud roar right in front of the small Edmontosaurus, frightening it. The little one ran away, and King ‘Ādil made sure it ran toward its herd.
“Father, why can’t I practice hunting with it?” Princess ‘Ādil protested. “I want to hunt and eat what I catch myself.”
King ‘Ādil smiled and led her up to the top of a mountain. From there, they could see Allah’s earth stretching wide and fertile before them.
“Are you still hungry?” asked King ‘Ādil.
“I’m full, Father,” Princess ‘Ādil replied. “But I could eat again if I wanted to.”
King ‘Ādil looked far into the distance. “Look around us,” he said. “What do you see?”
Princess ‘Ādil looked carefully. “I see the Edmontosaurus herd still walking along the river. But over there, in the bushes, there’s a group of Dakotaraptors. It looks like the Edmontosaurus cannot rest for long.”
She looked another way. “There is a forest full of huge trees and bushes. It’s so vast… and I see many Alamosaurus walking through it, munching leaves from the treetops.”
“I see mountains, the sun, and clouds,” Princess ‘Ādil continued excitedly.
King ‘Ādil then said, “Listen carefully, my dear. Allah has decreed that I rule over all that you can see. One day, you will replace me, and together with your future husband, you will take your turn ruling over all of this. As a leader, you must understand justice and act justly over what you rule.”
Princess ‘Ādil listened closely and asked, “What does it mean to be just, Father?”
“Allah created the sun and the moon to move in perfect measure,” King ‘Ādil explained. “The stars and the trees prostrate to Allah in their own ways. The sky itself is upheld upon justice. My child, justice means that everything is in its proper place and given its proper share. Balanced—nothing more than it should be, and nothing less.”
“You must never disturb that balance,” he continued. “That is why you must act justly and understand the balance around you, so you do not destroy it.”
King ‘Ādil glanced toward the Edmontosaurus again. The Dakotaraptors were no longer visible—perhaps hiding more carefully now.
“Allah has guaranteed our sustenance. If we eat more than we need, we must be ready to face destruction. If we carnivores eat too much, the plant-eaters will decrease, and the balance of nature will be broken. We will starve, and plants will grow wildly but weaken the soil until everything is damaged.”
“But if we carnivores eat too little, the plant-eaters will grow too many and destroy all the plants. This is what happens when there is no justice. That is what we call zulm –injustice.”
Princess ‘Ādil gasped. “That’s scary. But I only wanted to eat one.”
King ‘Ādil smiled gently. “Justice begins with each individual, and then others follow. Injustice is the same—it begins with one, and others follow. Allowing a small wrong opens the door to a bigger one. The same is true for justice.”
Princess ‘Ādil thought deeply. “Does that mean if we are just, we will live forever?”
King ‘Ādil laughed, and soon Princess ‘Ādil laughed too.
“We will live, whether just or unjust, until Allah decides we pass on. Our duty is to strive. When there is justice, we must strive to be part of it. When there is injustice, we must strive to not be part of it—or to be part of removing it.”
King ‘Ādil’s face grew serious as he remembered what Allah had inspired him with.
“My child, I must tell you something. The day will come when this place will no longer be as it is now. There will be trees, but not like these. There will be mountains, but not like these. And there will be animals, but not like these. In that time, Allah will bring forth a new creation to rule this world. Allah will command them to be just and forbid them from oppression—but most of them will turn away from Him.”
Princess ‘Ādil was shocked. “How could that happen?”
“They will love life too much, fear death too much, and act unjustly toward Allah,” said King ‘Ādil. “They will destroy the earth to satisfy their greed, as if they will live forever. So Allah will decree that nature itself responds to their injustice—some quickly, some slowly. Do you know what is worst about many of them?”
Princess ‘Ādil shook her head.
“They do not realize they are being unjust, and they do not care. They become deaf, dumb, and blind to the truth. They grow accustomed to injustice and are misled to believe it is good.”
Princess ‘Ādil was shaken. “I don’t want to be like that. Now I truly understand why you stopped me from hunting that young Edmontosaurus.”
“In the end,” King ‘Ādil said, “they will think injustice is justice, and justice is injustice.”
He then ended with a prayer: “May Allah guide us to always act justly and keep us far from injustice.”
With her lips and her whole heart, Princess ‘Ādil said, “Ameen.”
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ٱلشَّمْسُ وَٱلْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ (٥) وَٱلنَّجْمُ وَٱلشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ (٦) وَٱلسَّمَآءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ ٱلْمِيزَانَ (٧) أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْمِيزَانِ (٨) وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلْوَزْنَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا۟ ٱلْمِيزَانَ (٩)
“The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation, (5) And the stars and trees prostrate. (6) And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance, (7) That you not transgress within the balance. (8) And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance. (9)”
(Sūrat al-Raḥmān, 55: 5-9)
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67 million years later, in the year 1902 CE, a group of humans were digging in Hell Creek, eastern Montana, United States, when they discovered the remains of King ‘Ādil, who had long since been called back by Allah. What they found were only parts of his skull, his backbone, and a few bones from his legs.
Three years later, a paleontologist named Henry Fairfield Osborn was thinking about what name to give King ‘Ādil.
Osborn came from the United States, a nation that, at that time, had cruelly oppressed and tortured hundreds of thousands of people who were enslaved and taken from Africa. They had also killed millions and millions of the native population and built a country upon their blood. Many decades after Osborn’s death, the United States would become the most powerful nation in the world—one that has caused, and benefited from, the deaths, oppression, and poverty of billions of people across the earth.
Osborn did not know the future, but perhaps he did not think deeply about the past either. He was deaf, dumb, and blind. From what it seems to us, Allah did not open a path of return for him. The knowledge of justice and wisdom that King ‘Ādil had possessed during his life was not granted by Allah to Osborn.
At first, Osborn recognized correctly that these were the bones of a KING. Their shape also clearly showed that they belonged to a REPTILE, more precisely, a LIZARD.
But what kind of lizard king was this?
“Tyrant,” Osborn thought. “A predator this large must have been a TYRANT.”
Satisfied with this idea, he chose a name—just as Western scientists often do—using the Latin language. That name became famous and has remained a favorite among dinosaur lovers all over the world for more than a hundred years, even until today.
King: Rex
Lizard: Sauros
Tyrant: Tyrannos
King ‘Ādil, whose justice once filled the land he ruled, is now remembered as The Tyrant Lizard King — Tyrannosaurus rex.
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صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
“Deaf, dumb and blind – so they will not return [to the right path].”
(Sūrat al-Baqarah, 2: 18)
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