THE WONDROUS BEAUTY IN ANIMALS -2-

THE WONDROUS BEAUTY IN ANIMALS -2- In Surat an-Nahl in the Qur'an, God gives the example of the honeybee to demonstrate the extraordinary secrets in the behavior of living creatures. Not only honeybees, but all living things behave according to God's inspiration. It is He Who inspires acts of self-sacrifice in living creatures and gives them their wonderful abilities.Lions are among of the strongest predators in the African continent. They can be very savage towards their enemies and their prey, but very tender towards their own young. When baby lions are born, they are very small. They begin to eat meat at the age of three months, but the mother and other female lions in the pride continue to suckle them until they are six months old. We did not create the heavens and Earth and everything between them, except with truth. The Hour is certainly coming, so turn away graciously. (Surat al-Hijr: 85) He is Lord of the heavens and the Earth and everything in between them, so worship Him and persevere in His worship. Do you know of any other with His Name? (Surah Maryam: 65) There are certainly Signs in the Earth for people with certainty. (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 20) And in yourselves as well. Do you not then see? (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 21) Lions, leopards and other big cats carry their young by the scruff of their neck, and while they are being carried, their babies stay completely still, allowing their mothers to carry them safely. Your God is One God. There is no God but Him, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful. (Surat al-Baqara: 163) Allah, there is no God but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the Earth belongs to Him… (Surat al-Baqara: 255) The care and tenderness that lions show for their young is only one of the proofs that invalidates the claims of evolutionists. They claim that in the natural world only the strong survive; the weak are eliminated and die off. The world of nature, they claim, is dominated by self-interest and a savage struggle for survival. Of course, creatures in their natural habitats hunt to provide themselves with food, and sometimes may even attack to defend themselves and ensure their security. But apart from this, the majority of animals in nature performs remarkable acts of self-sacrifice for their young, their families, and even for other members of their group, placing their own lives in danger. Everything in the heavens and everything in the Earth belongs to Allah... (Surah Al ‘Imran: 129) Almighty Allah, the Creator of all things, teaches these creatures to be tender and compassionate towards their young, to protect other members of their herds or flocks, and to care for them. By means of all the special attributes that He has created in living creatures, Allah shows us His eternal power and dominion over all living things. Mankind! Worship your Lord, Who created you and those before you, so that  hopefully you will guard against evil. (Surat al-Baqara: 21) When their young are in danger, mother animals behave differently than usual. Deer, for example, are usually timid and excitable creatures, but don't hesitate to use their sharp, cutting hooves against any fox or coyote that threatens their young. If they understand that they cannot repel an enemy threatening their fawns, they immediately throw themselves into the attacker's path, to divert the enemy away from their young.9 And horses, mules and donkeys both to ride and for adornment. And He creates other things you do not know. (Surat an-Nahl: 8) Why do these animals put their own lives in danger to protect their young? As stated earlier, proponents of evolutionary theory assert that the world of nature is a battlefield, where creatures are in a constant struggle with one another in which the strong dominate and the weak are killed or die off. But this claim is very erroneous: As is the case with deer, many creatures are willing to risk their lives to protect their young, which fact by itself shows clearly how unreasonable the claims of evolutionists are. With His supreme power, Allah has created gazelles, antelopes, elephants, birds and every other living thing. He is Lord of everything on Earth and in heaven. For a few days after giving birth, a mother giraffe licks and sniffs at her baby. In this way, she both cleans it and learns its scent, which will later allow mother and baby to find each other in a large herd. If the young giraffe is in any kind of difficulty, it makes various vocalizations to attract the mother's attention. She immediately recognizes her baby's voice and runs to its assistance. A mother giraffe never lets her young leave her side. If they are attacked, she pushes the baby under her body and strikes out at the enemy, hard, with her two front legs. Giraffes live in small herds and look after their young together, and adults take turns caring for the young. Because of this cooperative system of "babysitting," other mother giraffes can leave their babies and go kilometers away in search of food.10 All the beautiful creatures in the natural world show us the majesty of Allah. And we must always be mindful of His existence and thank Him for all the blessings He has given us. In the Qur’an, Allah has told us that we must be thankful to Him for everything: Allah brought you out of your mothers’ wombs knowing nothing at all, and gave you hearing, sight and hearts so that perhaps you would show thanks. (Surat an-Nahl: 78) One factor that helps ducks swim so well is their webbed feet. When they push their feet out behind them, the webs spread out to give them more surface area to propel them. Baby ducklings have this ability from the moment of their birth. Allah, with His unlimited knowledge, has created ducks with everything they need to survive. The feathers of a female duck are less colorful than those of the male. This difference in color is an important advantage for the females, who must sit on her eggs in the nest; their lack of bright color makes them less visible to predators as they wait for their eggs to hatch. They blend with their environment, and because of this camouflage it is harder for their enemies to notice them.

9. Russell Freedman, How Animals Defend Their Young, E. Dutton, New York: 1978, p. 57.
10. Janine M. Benyus, The Secret Language and Remarkable Behavior of Animals, p.201