Islamic Mythology - Subcategories

Subcategories

The mythology of Islam can be grouped into academic categories:

• Cosmogonic myths are myths that describe the creation of the world. The Judeo-Christo-Islamic creation account is a cosmogonic myth.
• Creation myths (also called etiological myths) explain the origins of natural phenomena and human institutions. While cosmogonic myths describe how the universe itself was created, creation myths build on cosmogonic myths, describing the creation of phenomena within the universe. The Qur'an's isolated creation story of God creating iron is an example of a creation myth.
• Legends are stories that take place recently (relative to the mythological age of origins) and generally focus on human characters rather than divine ones; some scholars (for instance, professional folklorists) strictly distinguish them from "true" myths. The story of Abraham almost sacrificing Ishmael is an example of legend.
• Eschatological myths describe the afterlife and the end of the world. The Islamic story of Qiyamat is an example of eschatological mythology: it describes the Day of Judgment, when God will reward the good and punish the evil.