If you had 450-500 eggs and if you had to preserve them outdoors, 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 thread-like substance, which they secrete to prevent them from being scattered around. The caterpillars that pop out of their eggs first 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 to life very recently 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.16 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 God Who has created them. The Qur'anic verse stating that God has inspired the honeybee and commanded it to make honey (The Qur’an, 16:68-69) provides an example of the great secret of the world of living beings. This secret is that all living beings have bowed to God'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 left and right are perfect reflections of each other, 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 on 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 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 themselves in accordance with their needs. It is even more implausible to say that all these vital features were shaped over time through a gradual and accidental 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 already there. It is impossible for a non-existent being to master its body and acquire essential traits consciously. So, the very existence of giraffes unquestionably proves that they are created by a conscious creation, that is by God.
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.17 Sometimes sea turtles have to travel as far as 800 kilometres to return 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.18 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 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.19 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. It is clear that 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 design so marvellous it is difficult to believe: 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 God has created all living species uniquely and without the need of any prior example. Even one termite nest is enough for a person to comprehend God 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.20 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.21 Design and planning do not end here. Preferring primarily pine trees, a certain species of woodpecker checks the age of the trees before boring a hole in them and picks 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 the 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.22 These 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 God with a special “design” adapted to their life, they started their lives by bearing all the vital characteristics.
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 God. 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.23 How can a bud in its initial stages of 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 (coleopteran) 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 God, 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.
