6:38Sahih International
"And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered."
45:4
Sahih International"And in the creation of yourselves and what He disperses of moving creatures are signs for people who are certain [in faith]."
(from Quran.com)
Although it is an obvious fact that Quran has not been intended to be a science guide for men to discover the world and expand his worldly knowledge, there are fascinating verses every now and then, which are meant to be undeniable signs of God in the nature all around us. Our similarities with all moving creatures on earth is one of such cases.
We can probably study the resemblance between human and moving creatures in two aspects, physical and behavioral.
Physically, the first striking similarity in appearance is the symmetrical structure of their bodies. All moving creatures from insects to animals, birds and human seem to have an amazing symmetry which makes us wonder what it could represent. Of course, if you ask this question from a science educated person, as I asked, S/he may answer "Since life grows through a basically symmetrical process of cell division, symmetry in larger forms should not be in any way surprising." Kevin Colby from "Philosophy of Mind", a Google community.
I believe it is the same argument with rain and all the other natural phenomena. If you ask an atheist what is the reason for rain they would most probably tell you that it is about one of the most basic natural science concepts that is the cycle of evaporation and condensation of water. They will even go further proving their case by explaining that today human is capable of manipulating the water molecules in air and create rain without divine intervention.
So, while it is true that physical cause of rain or generally the cause for all natural phenomena is another natural cause, a disbeliever would deny a metaphysical driving force underlying the chain of natural causes. This is despite the fact that throughout Quran God keeps reminding us that there is no slightest movement taking place on earth ,a falling tree leaf for example, without his permission and his knowledge, as emphasized in the verse 6:59. Quran basically claims that it is indeed God who is the only cause for all that is happening in the whole universe.
We can therefore, see that we may never be able to directly link the seen world to the unseen through science which is based on our five senses unless we want to see God as the ultimate cause of all the developments of the seen world, no matter how small or how large they are. That is why it will be always a matter of faith ,which is based on findings of our heart, to believe in the unseen in order to qualify for being guided by God. The kind of guidance that ,for the most part, consists of being exposed to God sings and miracles on a personal levand and on daily basis, recognizing which would increasingly enable us to see more of God's light lighting the whole world as we move along our life.
The second physical similarity between us and other moving creatures is having the two main organs of brain and heart. While I do not have any expertise in biology and I have no intention of providing any scientific claim, it appears some insects, bees and ants (termite) included, have a heart. What is special with bee and termite is that they are mentioned in Quran in verses 16:68, 16:69 and 34:14. As stated God has inspired them directly to do specific tasks.
As far as the behavioral similarities are concerned, in all moving creatures from the insects to the largest animals and including birds they all seem to demonstrate a kind of decision making behavior in their daily life. That is to say, they all have to go through a thinking process to find their food, to hunt, to keep away from danger and so on. what is most interestingly is the fact that they also show sings of hesitation when they are deciding based on the information they gather from their environment. This clearly means they have a freedom of choice to a certain degree like human.
Another amazing behavioral aspect of moving creatures is that they all seem to have feelings and emotions. The numerous videos on the Internet showing one animal helping another of his species or even from other species ,in rare cases, evidence this. Also they way they take care of their family members or show emotional reactions to human is more or less corroborating the same fact. Dogs of course are known to have the highest emotional understanding when it comes to interactions with human.
Based on the above arguments, I wish to draw the following conclusions as a matter of personal opinion.
So, while it is true that physical cause of rain or generally the cause for all natural phenomena is another natural cause, a disbeliever would deny a metaphysical driving force underlying the chain of natural causes. This is despite the fact that throughout Quran God keeps reminding us that there is no slightest movement taking place on earth ,a falling tree leaf for example, without his permission and his knowledge, as emphasized in the verse 6:59. Quran basically claims that it is indeed God who is the only cause for all that is happening in the whole universe.
We can therefore, see that we may never be able to directly link the seen world to the unseen through science which is based on our five senses unless we want to see God as the ultimate cause of all the developments of the seen world, no matter how small or how large they are. That is why it will be always a matter of faith ,which is based on findings of our heart, to believe in the unseen in order to qualify for being guided by God. The kind of guidance that ,for the most part, consists of being exposed to God sings and miracles on a personal levand and on daily basis, recognizing which would increasingly enable us to see more of God's light lighting the whole world as we move along our life.
The second physical similarity between us and other moving creatures is having the two main organs of brain and heart. While I do not have any expertise in biology and I have no intention of providing any scientific claim, it appears some insects, bees and ants (termite) included, have a heart. What is special with bee and termite is that they are mentioned in Quran in verses 16:68, 16:69 and 34:14. As stated God has inspired them directly to do specific tasks.
As far as the behavioral similarities are concerned, in all moving creatures from the insects to the largest animals and including birds they all seem to demonstrate a kind of decision making behavior in their daily life. That is to say, they all have to go through a thinking process to find their food, to hunt, to keep away from danger and so on. what is most interestingly is the fact that they also show sings of hesitation when they are deciding based on the information they gather from their environment. This clearly means they have a freedom of choice to a certain degree like human.
Another amazing behavioral aspect of moving creatures is that they all seem to have feelings and emotions. The numerous videos on the Internet showing one animal helping another of his species or even from other species ,in rare cases, evidence this. Also they way they take care of their family members or show emotional reactions to human is more or less corroborating the same fact. Dogs of course are known to have the highest emotional understanding when it comes to interactions with human.
Based on the above arguments, I wish to draw the following conclusions as a matter of personal opinion.
- The similar physical symmetry in the appearance of the body and in the main organs of moving creatures including birds with that of human could mean that these creatures have also a metaphysical side of their being which is commonly referred to as soul in a very general sense.
- Having the same main organs of brain and heart as human's could mean that other moving creatures potentially have a freedom to choose between good or bad through a kind of thinking process similar to human's and also because they have heart they could be inspired by God directly again similar to the same capability of men.
Finally, we can perhaps, conclude that since all moving creatures have souls, have freedom of choice, and they can be inspired by God hence they will also be held accountable for their actions just like human will in after life. This is how I believe the first verse at the top of this page can be understood when God says :
"And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered."
صدق الله العلي العظيم
From Google images
