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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