Millions
of plant and animal types present in the world stand out as evidence
that prove the existence and might of our Creator. All of these
living beings, a limited number of which will be described as
examples here, deserve to be examined individually. They all have
different body systems, diverse defence tactics, unique ways of
feeding, and interesting reproduction methods. Unfortunately, it is
not possible to describe all living beings with all their features in
a single book. Encyclopaedias of many volumes would not be enough for
this task. However, even the few examples we will discuss here will
be sufficient to prove that life on earth can in no way be explained
by coincidences or accidental happenings.
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
If you had 450-500 eggs and if you had to preserve them outside, what would you do? The wisest course for you would be to take precautions to prevent them from being scattered around, say, by the wind, or other environmental factors. Being one of the animals that lay the most eggs at one time (450-500), the silkworms use a very intelligent way to protect their eggs: they unite the eggs with a viscous substance (thread) they secrete to prevent them from being scattered around. The caterpillars that pop out of their eggs firstly find a safe branch for themselves and then get tied to this branch with the same thread. Later, to promote their own development, they start to spin a cocoon for themselves with the thread they secrete. It takes 3-4 days for a caterpillar that has opened its eyes very recently to life to complete this process. During this period, the caterpillar makes thousands of turns and produces a thread an average of 900-1,500 metres long. At the end of this process, it starts a new task through which it undergoes a metamorphosis to become an elegant butterfly. Neither the action taken by the mother silkworm to protect its eggs, nor the behaviour of a tiny caterpillar devoid of any awareness, education or knowledge can be explained by evolution. First of all, the ability of the mother to produce the thread it uses to secure its eggs is miraculous.
The newly-born caterpillar’s
knowing the most suitable environment for itself, its spinning a
cocoon in accordance with it, its undergoing a metamorphosis, and its
coming through this metamorphosis without any problem are beyond
human comprehension. Hence, we can simply say that each caterpillar
is born into the world with a foreknowledge of what to do, which
means that it was ‘taught’ all of these things before it was
born. Let us explain this with an example. What would you think if
you saw a new-born baby standing up a few hours after his birth,
getting together the things he needs to make his bed (like quilt,
pillow, mattress), and later putting all these together neatly,
making his bed and lying down on it? After you recover from the shock
of the event, you would probably think that the baby must have been
taught in an extraordinary way in his mother’s womb to perform such
a process. The case of the caterpillars is no different from the baby
in this example. This again leads us to the same conclusions: these
living creatures come into life, behave and live in the way
determined by Allah Who has created them. The Qur’anic verse
stating that Allah has inspired the honeybee and commanded it to make
honey (Surat an-Nahl, 68-69) provides an example of the great secret
of the world of living beings. This secret is that all living beings
have bowed to Allah’s will and follow the fate determined by Him.
This is why the honeybee makes honey and the silkworm produces silk.
The Symmetry in Wings
When we look at the butterfly wings in the pictures, we see a perfect symmetry prevailing over them. These lace-like wings are so adorned with patterns, spots and colours that each of them is like a work of art. When you look at the wings of these butterflies, you notice that the patterns and colours on both sides are fully identical, no matter how intricate they may seem. Even the smallest dot is present on both wings, thereby introducing a flawless order and symmetry. In addition, none of the colours on these thin wings mixes with the other, each being sharply set apart from the other. Actually, these colours are formed by the amassing of tiny scales clustered one on top of another. Isn’t it a wonder how these small scales that are easily dispersed with your hand’s slightest touch can be arranged in both wings without any mistake in their disposal so as to produce exactly the same pattern. Even the replacement of a single scale would destroy the symmetry in the wings and impair their aesthetics. However, you never see any muddle in the wings of any butterfly on the earth. They are as neat and elegant as if made by an artist. And they are indeed made by an Exalted Creator.
The Animal with the Longest Neck: The Giraffe
Giraffes have many amazing characteristics. One of these is that their neck stands on 7 vertebrae, just like that of all other mammals, even though it is so long. Another amazing fact about giraffes is that they do not have any problem pumping blood up to their brain on top of their long neck. A little thinking would make one notice how difficult it must be to have the blood pumped so high. But giraffes do not have any problem about this, because their hearts are equipped with features to pump blood as high as necessary. This enables them to carry on with their lives effortlessly. Yet they still face another problem while they drink water. Essentially, giraffes should have died of high blood pressure every time they bent down to drink water. However, the perfect system in their necks completely eliminates this risk. When they bend down, the valves in their neck vessels are shut down and they prevent excess blood from flowing to the brain.
There is no doubt that the giraffes did not acquire these
traits by planning them in accordance with their needs. It is even
more implausible to say that all these vital features were shaped
over time through a gradual evolutionary process. In order for a
giraffe to stay alive, it is vital for it to have a pumping system to
transmit blood to the brain and a valve system to prevent high blood
pressure the minute it bends own. If any one of these
characteristics did not exist or did not function properly, then it
would be impossible for the giraffe to go on living. The conclusion
to be derived from all this is that the giraffe species was born into
the world with all the characteristics vital for its living. It is
impossible for a non-existent being to master its body and acquire
essential traits consciously. So, giraffes unquestionably prove that
they are created by a conscious creation, that is by Allah.
Sea Turtles
Sea turtles living in the oceans surge in crowds towards the beach when it is time for them to reproduce. This is no ordinary beach though. The beach they arrive at to reproduce has to be the one where they were born. Sometimes sea turtles have to travel as far as 800 kilometres to arrive there. But a long and tough journey does not change the situation. They arrive at the beach where they were born to give birth to their offspring, no matter what. It is quite unaccountable how a living being can find its way back to the very same beach 20-25 years after its departure from there. It is all the more extraordinary that it can find the direction of its birthplace in the depths of the ocean where so little light penetrates, and then spot it from among numerous similar beaches. Finally, thousands of travellers with no compass meet on the same beach at the same time. Initially a mystery, the reasons underlying this insistent meeting came as a great surprise when finally revealed. Since turtles know that their offspring cannot survive in sea conditions, they bury their eggs under the sand on the beach. But why do all of them meet on the same beach, at the same time? Would not the hatchlings survive if they did the same thing at different times and on different beaches? Those who did research on this topic were faced with a very interesting situation. Thousands of offspring under the sand have to overcome a number of formidable obstacles after breaking their eggs with the hard lump on their head. The hatchlings of an average of 31 grams cannot dig the earth layer above them on their own and they all help each other.
When thousands of hatchlings on the beach start to
dig the earth, they make it to the sand surface in a few days. Yet
before they appear on the surface, they wait for a while for
nightfall. For in the day time, there is the danger of falling a prey
to predators. In addition, it would be quite difficult for them to
proceed by crawling on sands scorched by the sunlight. When night
falls, they go up to the surface after completing the digging
process. Although it is dark, they rush to the sea and depart from
the beach to return there as much as 20-25 years later. It is
impossible for these hatchlings to know that they have to dig their
way up after they pop out of their eggs and wait for a while at a
certain distance from the sea. It is by no means possible for them to
know, when they are still buried in the earth, whether it is day or
night, that predators exist outside and that they could fall a prey
to them, that the sand is scorching because of the sun, that this
could harm them, and that they must rush to the sea. So, how does
this conscious conduct come about? The only answer to this question
is that these hatchlings have been somehow ‘programmed’ to behave
in this way, which means that their Creator has inspired in them the
instinct that helps them protect their lives.
Bombardier Beetle
The bombardier beetle is an insect on which an enormous amount of research has been done. The trait that renders this insect so popular is that it uses chemical methods to protect itself from its enemies. In moments of danger, the insect squirts hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone stored in its body towards the enemy to protect itself. Prior to battle, specialised structures called secretory lobes make a very concentrated mixture of these two chemicals. The mixture is stored in a separate compartment called the storage chamber. This compartment is connected to a second one called the explosion chamber. The two compartments are kept separate from one another by a sphincter muscle. The moment the insect senses danger, it squeezes the muscles surrounding the storage chamber while simultaneously relaxing the sphincter muscle, and the chemical in the storage chamber is transferred to the explosion chamber. A large quantity of heat is released and a vaporisation occurs. The released vapour and the oxygen gas exert pressure on the walls of the explosion chamber and this chemical is squirted at the enemy through a annel leading outward from the beetle’s body.
It is still a great mystery
to researchers how an insect can harbour inside itself a powerful
system potent enough to trigger a chemical reaction that could easily
cause it harm while also isolating itself from the effects of that
system. No doubt, the existence and working of this system is too
complicated to be attributed to the insect itself. It is still a
matter of discussion how the bombardier beetle makes such a system
work within its tiny body measuring about 2 cm in length, when human
experts can perform it only in laboratories. The only apparent truth
here is that this insect is a concrete example completely refuting
the theory of evolution, because it is impossible for this complex
chemical system to have been shaped by a series of coincidental
variations and passed on to future generations. Even a minor
deficiency or ‘defect’ in a single piece of the system would
leave the animal defenceless, so that it would soon be killed or it
would cause it to blow itself up. Therefore, the only explanation is
that the chemical weapon in the insect’s body had come into being
with all its parts all at once and without any defect.
Termite Nests
No one can help feeling surprised at the sight of a termite nest erected on the ground by termites. These nests are architectural wonders, rising as high as 5 or 6 metres. When you compare the size of a termite and its nest, you will see that the termite has successfully completed an architectural project about 300 times bigger than itself. But what is even more astonishing is that the termites are blind. A person who has never seen the huge nests built by blind termites would probably think that they are made up of sand piles heaped upon each other. However, a termite nest proves to be of a marvellous design comprehensible to the human mind: inside there are intersecting tunnels, corridors, ventilation systems, special fungus production yards and safety exits. If you assemble thousands of blind people and give them all kinds of technical tools, you can never make them set up a nest similar to the one made by the termite colony. So, just think:
– How could a termite measuring 1-2 cm. in length have learnt the architectural and engineering information needed to make such a subtle design?
– How could thousands of blind termites manage to work in harmony to build this construction which is an artistic wonder?
-If you divide a termite nest into two during the first stages of its construction, and then reunite it, you will see that all passage-ways, canals and roads fit each other. How can this miraculous event be explained?
The conclusion to be derived from this example is that Allah has created all living beings uniquely and without any prior example. Even one termite nest is enough for a person to comprehend Allah and believe that He is the One Who created all.
The Woodpecker
As we all know, woodpeckers build their nests by boring holes in tree trunks with their beaks. This may sound familiar to most people. But the point many people fail to examine is why woodpeckers suffer no brain haemorrhage when they beat a tattoo so vigorously with their heads. What the woodpecker does is in a way similar to a human being driving a nail into the wall with his head. If a man ventured to do something like that, he would probably undergo a brain shock followed by a brain haemorrhage. However, woodpecker can peck a hard tree trunk 38-43 times in just two or three seconds and nothing happens to it. Nothing happens because the head structure of woodpeckers is ideally created for such a task. The skull of the woodpecker has a remarkable suspension system that absorbs the force of the blows. Its forehead and some skull muscles adjoined to its beak and the jaw joint are so robust that they help lessen the effect of the forceful strokes during pecking. Design and planning do not end here. Preferring primarily pine trees, woodpeckers check the age of the trees before boring a hole in them and pick those older than 100 years, because pine trees older than 100 years suffer an illness that causes the hard and thick bark to soften. This was only recently discovered by science and perhaps you may be reading of it here for the first time in your life; woodpeckers have known it for centuries.
This is not the only reason why woodpeckers prefer
pine trees. Woodpeckers dig cavities around their nests, the function
of which was not originally understood. These cavities were later
understood to protect them from a great danger. Over time, the sticky
resin that leaks from the pine trees fills up the cavities and the
outpost of the woodpecker’s nest is thus filled with a pool whereby
woodpeckers can be protected from snakes, their greatest enemies.
Another interesting feature of woodpeckers is that their tongues are
thin enough to penetrate even ants’ nests in the trees. Their
tongues are also sticky, which allows them to collect the ants that
live there. The perfection in their creation is further revealed by
the fact that their tongues have a structure which prevents them from
being harmed by the acid in the bodies of the ants.Woodpeckers, each
of whose characteristics is discussed in a different paragraph above,
prove with all their detailed features that they are ‘created’.
If woodpeckers had evolved coincidentally as the theory of evolution
claims, they would have died before they acquired such
extraordinarily consistent traits and hey would be extinct.
However, as they were created by Allah with a special ‘design’
adapted to their life, they started their lives by bearing all the
vital characteristics.
Camouflage
One of the defence strategies of animals is camouflage. Some animals have the special protection of a body structure and coloration which are totally adapted to their habitat. The bodies of these living beings are so harmonious with their environment that when you look at their pictures, you cannot tell if they are plants or animals, or distinguish them from their surroundings. As will be seen in the following pages, the incredible similarity of an insect to a leaf helps it escape the notice of its enemies. It is obvious that this tiny animal has not made its body look like a leaf. Maybe it is not even aware that it is being protected because it looks like a leaf. However, the camouflage is so deft that it readily impinges as a defence tactic planned specially and ‘created’.
False Eyes
There are some incredible and unimaginably interesting defence methods in the animal world. One of these is false eyes. With such false eyes, various butterfly, caterpillar and fish species convince their enemies that they are ‘dangerous’. The butterflies in the left pictures open their wings as soon as they sense a danger and display a pair of eyes on each of their wings which appear quite threatening to their enemies. Let us take our time and think: can these extremely convincing eyes be the result of a coincidence? How does the butterfly know that a pair of scary eyes appear when it opens its wings and that this view would frighten its enemy?
Has the butterfly
happened to see the pattern on its wings and decided that this
pattern was frightening and that it could use it in a moment of
danger? Such a convincing pattern can be the result only of a
conscious design, not of coincidences. Moreover, it is by no means
possible to think that the butterfly is aware of the patterns on its
wings and discovered this as a defence tactic by itself. It is
obvious that Allah, Who created the butterfly, bestowed on its body
such a pattern and inspired in the animal the instinct to use it in
moments of danger.
Water Lilies
Little flowers on the earth are mostly considered commonplace by people, notwithstanding their overall perfection. What prevents people from grasping the creation miracles in these flowers is the familiarity brought about by seeing them everywhere and every day. Therefore, flowers that grow in a totally different place, under totally different conditions and in totally different sizes will be assessed without the ‘glasses of familiarity’ and thus help us grasp the existence of Allah. Amazon water lilies that grow in the sticky mud covering the bottom of the Amazon River are interesting enough to remove the ‘glasses of familiarity’ from people, because they continue their lives not in the way people are accustomed to and witness everyday, but with a very different struggle.
These plants
start to grow in the mud at the bottom of the Amazon River, and then
reach out towards the river surface. Their goal is to reach the
sunlight which is vital to their existence. When they finally reach
the water’s surface, they stop growing and develop thorny, round
buds. The buds develop into gigantic leaves with a reach of 2 metres
in as short a time as a couple of hours. ‘Knowing’ that the more
they cover the river surface with abundant leaves, the more will they
be able to make use of sunlight, these water lilies make ample use of
daylight to perform photosynthesis. They ‘know’ that otherwise
they will not be able to survive at the bottom of the river due to
the scarcity of light. It is certainly quite inspiring for a plant to
employ such an ‘intelligent’ tactic. However, sunlight alone does
not suffice for the Amazon water lilies. They also need oxygen
equally, yet it is obvious that this oxygen does not exist in the
muddy ground in which their roots are located. This is why water
lilies stretch out stems developing from their roots upwards towards
the water surface where their leaves float. Sometimes these stems
grow as tall as 11 metres; they are tied to the leaves and function
as oxygen-carriers between the leaves and the root.How can a bud in
its initial stages in life in the depths of a river know that it
needs oxygen and sunlight to survive, that it would not be able to
live in their absence, and that everything it needs is present on the
water surface?
A being recently introduced to life is aware neither
of the fact that this water has an ending point, nor of the existence
of the sun or oxygen. Therefore, if the whole event is assessed from
the standpoint of evolutionists, these plants should long
before have been defeated by environmental conditions and become
extinct. Nevertheless, water lilies are still present today in all
their perfection. The unbelievable life struggle of water lilies
continues well after they reach light and oxygen on the water
surface, where they curl the brims of their huge leaves upward to
prevent them from sinking. They can continue their lives with all
these precautions, yet they also know that these are not enough for
their reproduction. They need a living being that will carry their
pollen to another water lily, and this living being is a beetle
(coleopterans) which has been created with a special weakness for
white colour.
They prefer these white water lilies out of all the
attractive flowers of the Amazon River. When Amazon water lilies are
visited by creatures which will continue their species, they close
all their leaves, imprison them, and offer them ample pollen. They
let them free after keeping them for one night, and then change their
colour so that they do not bring the same pollen back to them. The
once pure white, glorious water lilies will now go on adorning the
Amazon river in pink. Could such flawless and finely calculated plans
be the work of a bud unaware of everything? Of course not. They are
the work of the wisdom of Allah, Who created all things. All the
details summarised here show that plants, like all other living
beings in the universe, came into existence already furnished with
the most convenient systems, and this was thanks to their Creator.
CONCLUSION
Can the wind form an airplane by coincidence?
The famous physicist Sir Fred Hoyle makes a very striking observation about the origin of life. In his book
The Intelligent Universe he writes:
The chance
that higher life forms might have emerged in this way (by
coincidence) is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping
through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials
therein. This comparison of Hoyle’s is quite inspiring. The
examples that we have discussed above also reveal that both the
existence of life and the perfection of its present systems force us
to look for the great power making these come into being. Just as a
hurricane cannot produce an airplane as a result of coincidences,
neither is it possible for the universe to have come into being as a
result of unanticipated happenings and moreover to harbour extremely
complex structures therein. In truth, the universe is furnished with
myriad systems of an infinitely greater complexity than those of an
airplane
Everything we have said in this chapter confronts us with
the evidence of the flawless planning not only in our immediate
surroundings but also in the depths of space. One who assesses these
signs which are so evident as to be undeniable by both reason and
conscience can come to only one conclusion: there is no room for
coincidence in the universe; the universe was CREATED with all the
minutiae contained in it. And Allah, the Creator of this flawless
system, is He Who has infinite might and knowledge.