The Signs in the Heavens and on the Earth

The Signs in the Heavens and on the Earth

Assume that you set up a big city by bringing millions of Legos
together. Let there be in this city skyscrapers, twisting roads,
railway stations, airports, shopping malls, subways and also rivers,
lakes, forests and a beach. Let there also be living in it thousands
of people wandering in its streets, sitting in their homes and working
in their offices. Take every detail into account. Even the traffic
lights, box offices, and the signboards at the bus stations.

If someone came up to you and said that all the Legos of this city,
which you had founded by planning it right down to the smallest
detail, and each piece of which you had picked up with great pains,
had been brought together by coincidence to produce this city, what
would you think of the mental state of that person?

Now, go back to the city you have built and consider that the whole
city would be levelled to the ground if you had forgotten to put into
place even a single Lego, or changed its place. Can you imagine what
great balance and order you have had to establish?

Life in the world where we live is also made possible by the
accumulation of such a great number of details incomprehensible to the
human mind. The absence of even one of these details might mean the
end of life on the earth.

Everything, every detail from the atom, the smallest unit of matter,
to the galaxies harbouring billions of stars, from the moon, an
inseparable adjunct of the world, to the solar system, all work in a
perfect harmony. This well-organised system runs flawlessly, just like
a watch. People are so confident that this billions-of-years-old
system will go on functioning without leaving out even the smallest
detail that they can freely make plans about something they think will
be realised in the next 10 years. No one is worried about whether the
sun will rise the next day. A great majority of people do not think
about 'whether the world may ever chance to break free from the
gravitation of the sun and start to move towards the unknown in the
pitch-dark space'; or ask 'What keeps this from happening?'

In the same manner, when people are about to sleep, they are very
confident that their hearts or respiratory systems will not relax as
their brains do. However, even a few seconds' halt in any one of these
two vital systems may well cause results that will cost one's life.

When the 'glasses of familiarity' which surround the whole of life and
cause every event to be assessed as if 'it is taking place in its
natural course' are taken off, one is free to see that everything is
made up of such closely interdependent, meticulously planned systems
that it is as if we were hanging on to life by the skin of our teeth.
You notice an excellent order prevailing in every spot you turn your
eyes on. Certainly, there is a great power that creates such an order
and harmony. The possessor of this great power is Allah, Who created
everything out of nothing. In a verse of the Qur'an, it is said:

He Who has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another: no
incongruity will you see in the creation of the Most Gracious. And
turn your vision (upon it) once more: can you see any flaw? Yea, turn
your vision (upon it) again and yet again: (and every time) your
vision will fall back upon you, dazzled and truly defeated. (Surat al-
Mulk, 3-4)
When we look at the living beings in the heavens, on the earth and in
all that lies between them, we see that they all prove the existence
of their Creator in their own right. In this chapter, we are going to
dwell on the natural phenomena and living beings that every one sees,
yet never thinks about, and how they have come into being and continue
their existence. If we were to write down all the signs of Allah in
the universe, they would fill many thousands of volumes of
encyclopaedias. Therefore, in this chapter, we will only deal briefly
with some subjects that deserve to be pondered upon at length.

However, even these brief mentions will help the conscientious 'men of
understanding' to notice the most important fact of their lives or at
least will help them remember it once again.

For Allah Exists.

To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth and He is
known through reason.




THE MIRACLES IN OUR BODY

'A Half-Developed Eye Cannot See'

What comes to your mind first when you hear the word 'eye'? Are you
aware that one of the most crucial things in life for you is your
ability to see? Even if you are, have you ever thought what other
signs your eye bears?

The eye is one of the most manifest pieces of evidence that living
creatures are created. All sight organs, including animal eyes and the
human eye, are extremely striking examples of a perfect design. This
exceptional organ is so overwhelmingly complex that it surpasses even
the most sophisticated devices in the world.

In order for an eye to see, all of its parts have to co-exist and work
in harmony. For instance, if an eye happened to have lost its eyelid,
but still had all the other parts such as the cornea, conjunctiva,
iris, pupil, eye lenses, retina, choroid, eye muscles, and tear
glands, it would still be greatly damaged and soon lose its seeing
function. In the same manner, even if all its organelles were present,
if the tear production were stopped, the eye would soon dry out and
become blind.

'The chain of coincidences' posited by evolutionists loses all its
meaning against the complex structure of the eye. It is not possible
to explain the existence of the eye other than as a matter of special
creation. The eye has a multi-sectioned complex system and, as
discussed above, all of these individual sections had to come into
existence at the same time. It is impossible for a half-developed eye
to function at 'half capacity'. In such a circumstance, the act of
seeing can by no means take place. An evolutionist scientist admits to
this truth:

The common trait of the eyes and the wings is that they can only
function if they are fully developed. In other words, a halfway-
developed eye cannot see; a bird with half-formed wings cannot fly.
13
In this case, we again face that very important question: who created
all of the components of the eye all at once?

The owner of the eyes is obviously not the one who makes the decision
about their formation. For it is impossible for a being devoid of the
knowledge of what seeing is like, to desire to have a seeing organ and
have it attached to his body. So we have to accept the existence of a
Possessor of superior Wisdom Who has created living beings with senses
such as seeing, hearing, and so on. Another claim is that unconscious
cells gained consciousness-requiring functions such as seeing and
hearing by their own desire and effort. It is very clear that this is
impossible. In the Qur'an, it is stated that seeing has been bestowed
upon living beings by Allah:

Say: He it is Who brought you into being and made for you the ears and
the eyes and the hearts: little is it that you give thanks. (Surat al-
Mulk, 23)
The Army Inside Man

Every day, a war is fought in the innermost parts of your body
unperceived by you. On the one side are viruses and bacteria that aim
to intrude into your body and take it under control and on the other
are the immunity cells that protect the body against these enemies.

The enemies wait in an offensive state to make their way into the area
they aim at and they head towards the target area at the first
opportunity. However, the strong, organised and disciplined soldiers
of the target area do not easily give in to the enemies. First, the
soldiers who swallow and neutralise the enemy soldiers (phagocytes)
arrive at the battleground. However, sometimes the fight is tougher
than these soldiers can handle. On such occasions, other soldiers
(macrophages) are summoned up. Their involvement causes alarm in the
target area and other soldiers (auxiliary T cells) are also called to
battle.

These soldiers are very familiar with the local populace. They quickly
distinguish their own army from that of the enemy. They immediately
activate the soldiers assigned to weapon production (B cells). These
soldiers have extraordinary abilities. Although they never see the
enemy, they can produce weapons which will render the enemy
ineffectual. In addition, they carry the weapons they produce as far
as they should be taken. During this journey, they succeed in the
difficult task of not causing any harm either to themselves or to
their allies. Later, the striker teams cut in (killer T cells). These
discharge the poisonous material they carry on themselves at the most
vital spot of the enemy. In case of victory, another group of soldiers
arrives at the battleground (oppressive T cells) and sends all the
warriors back to their camp. The soldiers who arrive at the
battleground last (memory cells) record all relevant information about
the enemy, so that it can be used in the event of a similar invasion
in the future.

The excellent army discussed above is the immunity system in the human
body. Everything explained above is done by microscopic cells
unobservable to the naked eye. (For more information please see For
Men of Understanding: The Signs in the Heavens and the Earth by Harun
Yahya)

How many people are aware that they have such an organised,
disciplined and perfect army inside their bodies? How many of them are
aware that they are surrounded on all sides by microbes that, if
unimpeded, would cause them to catch serious illnesses or even die?
Indeed, there are many dangerous microbes in the air we breathe, the
water we drink, the food we eat, and the surfaces we touch. While one
is unaware of all that is going on, the cells in one's body make
strenuous efforts to save one from an illness that may even bring
about one's death.

The ability of all immunity cells to distinguish enemy cells from body
cells, the ability of B cells to prepare a weapon to neutralise the
enemy that they have never seen, their ability to carry these weapons
as far as they have to be taken without adversely affecting any body
cells, the signal-receiving cells' fulfilling their duty completely
without making any objections, each of them knowing what to do, their
returning to their places without any problem as soon as they are
finished with their work, and the abilities of the memory cells are
only some of the distinctive characteristics of this system.

For all these reasons, the story of the formation of the immunity
system is never taken up by any evolutionist writer.

It is extremely difficult for a person without an immunity system or
with an ill-functioning one to survive, since he would be exposed to
all the microbes and viruses in the outside world. Today, such people
can exist only in special enclosures with no direct contact with
anyone or anything outside. Therefore, it is impossible for a person
without an immunity system to survive in a primitive environment. This
leads us to the fact that an extremely complex system such as the
immunity system could only have been created all at once and with all
of its elements.

A System Planned in its Every Detail

Breathing, eating, walking, etc, are very natural human functions. But
most people do not think how these basic actions take place. For
example, when you eat a fruit, you do not think how it will be made
useful to your body. The only thing on your mind is eating a healthy
meal; at the same time, your body is involved in extremely detailed
processes unimaginable to you in order to make this meal a health-
giving thing.

The digestive system where these detailed processes take place starts
to function as soon as a piece of food is taken into the mouth. Being
involved in the system right at the outset, the saliva wets the food
and helps it to be ground by the teeth and slide down the oesophagus.

The oesophagus helps the food be transported to the stomach where a
perfect balance is at work. Here, the food is digested by the
hydrochloric acid present in the stomach. This acid is so strong that
it has the capacity to dissolve not only the food but also the stomach
walls. Of course, such a flaw is not permitted in this perfect system.
A secretion called mucus which is secreted during digestion covers all
the walls of the stomach and provides a perfect protection against the
destructive effect of the hydrochloric acid. Thus the stomach is
prevented from destroying itself.

The rest of the digestive system is likewise planned. The useful food
pieces broken down by the digestive system are absorbed by the small
intestine walls and enter the blood stream. The inner surface of the
small intestine is covered with tiny tendrils called 'villus'. On top
of the cells over the villus are microscopic extensions called the
microvillus. These extensions function as pumps to absorb the
nutrition. This way the nutrition absorbed by these pumps is delivered
all around the body by the circulatory system.

The point that deserves attention here is that evolution can by no
means explain the system briefly summarised earlier. Evolution
maintains that today's complex organisms have evolved from primitive
beings by the gradual accumulation of small structural changes.
However, as stated clearly, the system in the stomach could in no way
have been formed step by step. The absence of even one factor would
bring about the death of the organism.

When food is received into the stomach, the gastric juices acquire the
ability to break down food as a result of a series of chemical
changes. Now, imagine a living being in the so-called evolutionary
process in whose body such a planned chemical transformation is not
possible. This living being, unable to acquire this ability, would not
be able to digest the food it ate and would starve to death with an
undigested mass of food in its stomach.

In addition, during the secretion of this dissolving acid, the stomach
walls simultaneously have to produce the secretion called mucus.
Otherwise, the acid in the stomach would destroy the stomach.
Therefore, in order for life to continue, the stomach must secrete
both fluids (acid and mucus) at the same time. This shows that not a
step-by-step coincidental evolution but a conscious creation with all
its systems must, in effect, have been at work.

What all this shows is that the human body resembles a huge factory
made up of many small machines that work together in perfect harmony.
Just as all factories have a designer, an engineer and a planner, the
human body has an Exalted Creator.




ANIMALS AND PLANTS

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. 14 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 down. 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. 15 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. 16 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 channel leading outward
from the beetle's body. 17 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 incomprehensible 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, a woodpecker can peck a hard tree
trunk 38-43 times in just two or three seconds and nothing happens to
it. 18

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. 19

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. 20

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 they 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. 21

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. 22
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.


http://www.beautifulislam.net/atheism/

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