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EVERY LIVING THING IS MADE OF WATER
Consider the following Qur’aanic verse:
“Do not the Unbelievers see that
the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one Unit of Creation),
before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing.
Will they not then believe?” [Al-Qur’aan 21:30]
Only after advances have been made in science, do we now know that
cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell is made up of 80%
water. Modern
research has also revealed that most organisms consist of 50% to 90% water
and that every living entity requires water for its existence. Was it possible 14
centuries ago for any human-being to guess that every living being was made
of water? Moreover would such a guess be conceivable by a human being in
the deserts of Arabia where there has always been scarcity of water?
The
following verse refers to the creation of animals from water:
“And Allah has
created Every animal from water.” [Al-Qur’aan 24:45]
The following verse refers to the creation of human beings from water:
“It is
He Who has Created man from water: Then has He established
Relationships of lineage And marriage: for thy Lord Has power (over all
things).” [Al-Qur’aan 25:54]
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PLANTS CREATED IN PAIRS, MALE AND FEMALE
Previously humans did not know that plants too have male and female gender
distinctions. Botany states that every plant has a male and female gender.
Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and
female.
“‘And has sent Down water from the sky.’ With it have We
produced Diverse pairs of plants Each separate from the others.” [Al-Qur’aan
20:53]
FRUITS CREATED IN PAIRS, MALE AND FEMALE
“And fruit Of every kind He made In pairs, two and two.” [Al-Qur’aan
13:3]
Fruit is the end product of reproduction of the superior
plants. The stage
preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and
ovules). Once pollen has been carried to the flower, they bear fruit, which in
turn matures and frees its seed. All fruits therefore imply the existence of
male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Qur’aan.
In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic
fruit) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. They also
have definite sexual characteristics.
EVERYTHING MADE IN PAIRS
“And of everything We have created pairs.” [Al-Qur’aan 51:49]
This refers to things other than humans, animals, plants and fruits. It may also
be referring to a phenomenon like electricity in which the atoms consist of
negatively – and positively – charged electrons and protons.
“Glory to Allah, Who created In pairs all things that The earth produces,
as well as Their own (human) kind And (other) things of which They
have no knowledge.” [Al-Qur’aan 36:36]
The Qur’aan here says that everything is created in pairs, including things that
the humans do not know at present and may discover later.
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ANIMALS AND BIRDS LIVE IN COMMUNITIES
“There is not an animal (That lives) on the earth, Nor a being that flies
On its wings, but (forms Part of) communities like you.” [Al-Qur’aan
6:38]
Research has shown that animals and birds live in communities, i.e. they
organize, and live and work together.
THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS
Regarding the flight of birds the Qur’aan says:
“Do they not look at The
birds, held poised In the midst of (the air And) the sky? Nothing Holds
them up but (the power Of) Allah. Verily in this Are Signs for those who
believe.” [Al-Qur’aan 16:79]
A similar message is repeated in the Qur’aan in the verse: “Do they not
observe The birds above them, Spreading their wings And folding them
in? None can uphold them Except (Allah) Most Gracious: Truly it is He
That watches over all things.” [Al-Qur’aan 67:19]
The Arabic word amsaka literally means, ‘to put one’s hand on, seize, hold,
hold someone back,’ which expresses the idea that Allah holds the bird up in
His power. These verses stress the extremely close dependence of the birds’
behaviour on Divine order. Modern scientific data has shown the degree of
perfection attained by certain species of birds with regard to the programming
of their movements. It is only the existence of a migratory programme in the
genetic code of the birds that can explain the long and complicated journey
that very young birds, without any prior experience and without any guide,
are able to accomplish. They are also able to return to the departure point on a
definite date.
Prof. Hamburger in his book ‘Power and Fragility’ gives the example of
‘mutton-bird’ that lives in the Pacific with its journey of over
15,000 miles in
the shape of figure ‘8’. It makes this journey over a period of 6 months and
comes back to its departure point with a maximum delay of one week. The
highly complicated instructions for such a journey have to be contained in the
birds’ nervous cells. They are definitely programmed. Should we not reflect
on the identity of this ‘Programmer’?
THE BEE
“And thy Lord taught the Bee To build its cells in hills, On trees, and in
(men’s) habitations; Then to eat of all The produce (of the earth), And
find with skill the spacious Paths of its Lord.” [Al-Qur’aan 16:68-69]
Von-Frisch received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on the
Behaviour and communication of the bees. The bee, after discovering any new
garden or flower, goes back and tells its fellow bees the exact direction and
map to get there, which is known as ‘bee dance’. The meanings of this
insect’s movements that are intended to transmit information between worker
bees have been discovered scientifically using photography and other
methods. The Qur’aan mentions in the above verse how the bee finds with
skill the spacious paths of its Lord.
The worker bee or the soldier bee is a female bee. In Soorah Al-Nahl chapter
no. 16, verses 68 and 69 the gender used for the bee is the female gender
(fa’slukî and kulî), indicating that the bee that leaves its home for gathering
food is a female bee. In other words the soldier or worker bee is a female bee.
In fact, in Shakespeare’s play, “Henry the Fourth”, some of the characters
speak about bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and that they have a
king. That is what people thought in Shakespearean times. They thought that
the worker bees are male bees and they go home and are answerable to a king
bee. This, however, is not true. The worker bees are females and they do not
report to a king bee but to a queen bee. But it took modern investigations in
the last 300 years to discover this.
SPIDER’S WEB / HOME IS FRAGILE
The Qur’aan mentions in Soorah Al-‘Ankabût,
“The parable of those who
Take protectors other than Allah Is that of the Spider, Who builds (to
itself) A house; but truly The flimsiest of houses Is the Spider’s house – If
they but knew.” [Al-Qur’aan 29:41]
Besides giving the physical description of the spider’s web as being very
flimsy, delicate and weak, the Qur’aan also stresses on the flimsiness of the
relationship in the spider’s house, where the female spider many a times kills
its mate, the male spider.
LIFESTYLE AND COMMUNICATION OF ANTS
Consider the following Qur’aanic verse:
“And before Solomon were
marshaled His hosts – of Jinns and men And birds, and they were all
Kept in order and ranks. “At length, when they came To a (lowly) valley
of ants, One of the ants said: ‘O ye ants, get into Your habitations, lest
Solomon And his hosts crush you (Under foot) without knowing it.’” [Al-Qur’aan
27:17-18]
In the past, some people would have probably mocked at the Qur’aan, taking
it to be a fairy tale book in which ants talk to each other and communicate
sophisticated messages. In recent times, research has shown us several facts
about the lifestyle of ants, which were not known earlier to humankind.
Research has shown that the animals or insects whose lifestyle is closest in
resemblance to the lifestyle of human beings are the ants. This can be seen
from the following findings regarding ants:
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The ants bury their dead in a manner similar to the humans.
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They have a sophisticated system of division of labour, whereby they have managers, supervisors, foremen, workers, etc.
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Once in a while they meet among themselves to have a ‘chat’.
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They have an advanced method of communication among themselves.
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They hold regular markets wherein they exchange goods.
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They store grains for long periods in winter and if the grain begins to bud, they cut the roots, as if they understand that if they leave it to grow, it will rot. If the grains stored by them get wet due to rains, they take these grains out into the sunlight to dry, and once these are dry, they take them back inside as though they know that humidity will cause development of root systems and thereafter rotting of the grain.
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HONEY HAS HEALING PROPERTIES
The bee assimilates juices of various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms
within its body the honey, which it stores in its cells of wax. Only a couple of
centuries ago man came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee.
This fact was mentioned in the Qur’aan 1,400 years ago in the following
verse:
“There issues From within their bodies A drink of varying colours,
Wherein is healing for men.” [Al-Qur’aan 16:69]
We are now aware that honey has a healing property and also a
mild
antiseptic property. The Russians used honey to cover their wounds in World
War II. The wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar
tissue. Due to the density of honey, no fungus or bacteria would grow in the
wound. A person suffering from an allergy of a particular plant may be given
honey from that plant so that the person develops resistance to that allergy.
Honey is rich in fructose and vitamin K. Thus the knowledge contained in the
Qur’aan regarding honey, its origin and properties, was far ahead of the time
it was revealed.
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BLOOD CIRCULATION AND THE PRODUCTION OF MILK
The Qur’aan was revealed 600 years before the Muslim scientist Ibn Nafees
described the circulation of the blood and 1,000 years before William Harwey
brought this understanding to the Western world. Roughly thirteen centuries
before it was known what happens in the intestines to ensure that
organs are
nourished by the process of digestive absorption, a verse in the Qur’aan
described the source of the constituents of milk, in conformity with these
notions.
To understand the Qur’aanic verse concerning the above concepts, it is
important to know that chemical reactions occur in the intestines and that,
from there, substances extracted from food pass into the
blood stream via a
complex system; sometimes by way of the liver, depending on their chemical
nature. The blood transports them to all the organs of the body, among which
are the milk-producing mammary glands.
In simple terms, certain substances from the contents of the intestines enter
into the vessels of the intestinal wall itself, and these substances are
transported by the blood stream to the various organs.
This concept must be fully appreciated if we wish to understand the following
verse in the Qur’aan:
“And verily in cattle there is A lesson for you. We
give you to drink Of what is inside their bodies, Coming from a
conjunction Between the contents of the Intestine and the blood, A milk
pure and pleasant for Those who drink it.” [Al-Qur’aan 16:66]
“And in cattle (too) ye Have an instructive example: From within their
bodies We produce (milk) for you To drink; there are, in them,
(Besides), numerous (other) Benefits for you; And of their (meat) ye eat.” [Al-Qur’aan
23:21]
(Translation of this Qur'aanic verse is from the book “The Bible, the Qur’an and Science” by Dr. Maurice Bucaille.)
The Qur’aanic description of the production of milk in cattle is strikingly
similar to what modern physiology has discovered.
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