KAMAL
AND THE GLOW-WORM
On
summer evenings Kamal and his family used to eat their evening
meals in the garden. One summer evening, as they were getting
up from the table, Kamal saw a light going on and off amongst
the trees at the edge of the garden. He went over to the trees
to see what was going on, and he noticed an insect flitting
about. But this insect was very different from those he was
used to seeing in the daytime. It was giving off light as
it flew.
The insect stopped flying for a moment, and came up to Kamal.
"Hello," it said. "You look very surprised. You've been watching
me for a long time. My name's Glow-Worm, what's yours?"
"My
name's Kamal. You're right, I've never seen an insect that
flickered with light in the way you do before. Yellowish green
rays are coming from your body. I remember that once when
I touched a light bulb it burned my hand. Doesn't having this
light coming from your body hurt you?"
The glow-worm nodded. "You're right, Kamal, when you say
that lamps are really very hot while giving off light. Light
bulbs use electrical energy to produce light, and some of
that energy turns into heat. That causes the bulb to become
hot. But we do not take energy from outside for the light
that our bodies give off."
Kamal
thought he understood. "So does that mean you don't get hot?"
he asked.
"That's right," agreed the glow-worm. "We produce energy
ourselves and we use this energy very carefully. That means
that none of our energy is wasted and it doesn't produce heat
which would damage our bodies."
Kamal considered for a moment, "That's a really well thought
out system."
"Yes,
it is," agreed his friend. "When Allah created us He planned
everything we need in the best possible way. When we're flying
we beat our wings very quickly. Of course, that's a job which
needs a lot of energy. But because our light doesn't use up
much of our energy we have no problem with it."
Kamal had something else he wanted to ask, "What do you use
the light you give off for?"
His
friend explained: "We use it both to pass messages amongst
ourselves and to defend ourselves. When we want to say something
to one another we talk by flickering our lights. At other
times we use it to frighten our enemies and keep them away
from us."
Kamal was very impressed by what his friend had been telling
him: "So everything you need is inside your own bodies, and
there's no need to tire yourselves out!"
"That's
right," the glow-worm agreed. "Despite all their best efforts,
scientists have been unable to develop a system quite like
ours. As I said before, Allah created us in the most beautiful
way and in the way most suited to our needs, just like all
other living things."
Kamal smiled. "Thank you. What you have told me is very interesting.
I now realize what the verse I read yesterday means,
'Is He Who creates like him who does not create? So will you
not pay heed?' (Surat an-Nahl: 17) When you think of
all the living things Allah created and ourselves, there are
plenty of examples to take heed of!!"
"Yes Kamal, every living thing is a proof of the superior
creative art of Allah. Now, whenever you look at anything,
you will be able to see this. Now I should go. But don't forget
what we have been talking about!"
Kamal waved his friend goodbye: "It was nice to have met
you. Hope to see you again..."
On the way to home, reflecting on the amazing design in the
glow-worm, Kamal was eager to tell his family about his conversation
with his little friend.
He is Allah-the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To
Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens
and earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.
(Surat al-Hashr: 24)
The
Red Sea lies between two deserts. No rivers or other running
fresh water drain into it. In other words, there is no transfer
of oxygen or nitrogen. Normally this sea would be a barren
desert like the lands which surround it, yet it contains corals
of all kinds. The corals which manage to live here in spite
of the difficult conditions are able to do so because of the
symbiosis (the way they live together with other living things)
they have established with other creatures resembling plants,
called algae. The algae hide themselves from their enemies
within the coral reefs and use sunlight to perform photosynthesis.
The harmonious lifestyle of these two creatures is yet another
proof of Allah's wondrous creation.
AHMAD AND THE GREEN FROG
 At
the weekend Ahmad went fishing on a lake with his father.
While his father was preparing the rods, Ahmad asked him for
permission to wander round a little. His father allowed him
to do this on condition that he did not go too far away.
Ahmad began walking amongst the thickets at the edge of the
water. A frog jumped out suddenly from between two bushes
and landed on a stone right in front of him.
"You nearly trod on me!" complained the frog.
"I'm sorry," said Ahmad. "You are exactly the same color
as the leaves, so I didn't notice you, little frog. My name's
Ahmad and I'm taking a walk."
The
frog smiled: "Pleased to meet you, Ahmad. It's quite normal
that you didn't notice me. I live among these bushes and my
color matches the leaves. That way my enemies can't spot me
any more than you could. I can hide from them very easily."
Ahmad thought for a moment: "Yes, but what if they do see
you? Then what do you do?"
"If you look carefully," said the frog, holding up a foot,
"You'll see there are webs between my toes. When I'm jumping
I open my toes out and that way I can glide in the air. Sometimes
I can fly as much as 40 feet (12 meters) in a single bound."
"What about when you want to land?" wondered Ahmad.
"I use my legs when I fly. I use the webs on my feet like
a parachute to slow myself down when I land," the frog explained.
"That's very interesting," mused Ahmad. "It never occurred
to me before that frogs can fly."
The frog grinned: "Some species of frog can fly as far as
they can swim. This is a blessing our Lord gave us. Allah
created our colors to camouflage us in the surroundings we
live in. That allows us to survive. If Allah hadn't created
us like this, we'd soon have been killed off by other animals."
Ahmad saw the point: "The webs between your toes are necessary
for you to be able to jump long distances. I don't have webs
on my feet because I don't need them. The needs of every living
creature are different, aren't they?"
"Yes, you're right, you put it very well."

Ahmad answered: "Allah created us in the best way to make
our lives easier. We should be very grateful to Him for that."
"Right
again, Ahmad," agreed his friend. "Our Lord created all living
things according to the environment they live in. He gave
us everything we need when we were born."
"Yes," said Ahmad. "Now, little frog, I have to go, otherwise
my father will be wondering what's happened to me. It was
great talking to you. If I come here another time, I'll visit
you again."
"I shall look forward to that. Nice to have met you. Goodbye,
Ahmad..." croaked the frog as it hopped back into the bushes
and disappeared from sight.
The Webbed Feet of Frogs
One of the striking creatures which Allah has created is
a kind of frog that lives in virgin forests. The most interesting
characteristic of this little tree frog, which has thin
legs and webs between its toes, is that it can use its legs
to fly by gliding. When it flies from trees it uses its legs
like parachutes when it wants to soften its landing. By opening
the webs between its toes it doubles the surface area of its
body. Flying frogs can glide through the air for up to 40
feet (12 meters) before landing in a tree. By moving their
legs and changing the shape of their webbed feet they can
even control the direction they fly in.
HAMEED AN THE LONG-LEGGED
STORK
Hameed
was a very intelligent and cheerful boy. He was very interested
in birds and wanted to get to know all of them well. He somtimes
looked after birds in his house, but later let them go. He
took great pleasure in their free lifestyles. One morning
in spring, Hameed saw a flock of long-legged birds all flying
together and right away he went out onto the terrace of his
house to watch them more closely. When he got outside he saw
that two of these birds had landed on the chimney and he was
very happy to see them. He waved and called out to them:
"Hello, I'm Hameed. Who are you?"
"Hello, Hameed. I hope we're not giving you any trouble by
landing here. We'd like very much to talk to you and get to
know you," said one of the pair.
"By
all means," said Hameed: "I love all birds very, very much.
Can you tell me a bit about yourselves, please?"
"Of course," replied the first bird. "We are storks. We are
migrating birds with big snow-white wings between 3.5-5 feet
(one and one-and-a-half meters) long and long black tails.
It is the red color of our beaks and our long legs that give
us such an attractive appearance."
Hameed agreed. "You really do look lovely!"
"What people notice most about us is our flying style," continued
the stork. "We fly with our beaks stretched forward and our
legs stretched out behind. This makes us able to fly much
faster by using the air."
Hameed was curious, "And where are you traveling now?"
"Every
year we migrate in large flocks, Hameed, because we can't
live in cold places. In doing this we also bring people the
good news that warm summer days are on the way. During the
summer we live right across a huge area that stretches from
Europe to North Africa and from Turkey to Japan. When the
weather starts to get cold we migrate to the southern hemisphere,
to tropical Africa and India."
Hameed was puzzled, "But how do you know when the weather
begins to get colder?"
The stork smiled: "That really is a very good question. Of
course, the answer is that Allah taught us. All at the same
time we feel a need to move to warm countries. Allah makes
us feel that. It is Allah Who shows us the way to fly, and
when fall comes again He makes sure we can return over a distance
of thousands of miles and find our old homes again. It is
Allah with His inspiration Who teaches us all these things."
"It really is very interesting that you can travel such long
distances and return and find your old nests without making
a mistake, as though you had a compass in your hands," said
Hameed, impressed.
The stork went on, "Of course this kind of powerful memory
and wonderful direction finding ability are the result of
Allah's supreme creation, Who gave them to us."
Hameed had another question for his new friend, "You live
close to human beings, don't you?"
"Yes," replied his friend. "We make our nests on the roofs
of houses. And we build nests on the top of trees and chimneys..."
The other stork then stood up and said, "Sorry, Hameed, we
have to be on our way again."
Hameed watched his new friends grow smaller and smaller as
they flew on their way.
There is no creature crawling on the earth
or flying creature, flying on its wings, who are not communities
just like yourselves-We have not omitted anything from the
Book-then they will be gathered to their Lord. (Surat al-An'am,
38)
NABEEL AND THE SEAL
 Nabeel
was watching television after returning home from school one
day. There was a documentary program on one channel. Nabeel
enjoyed watching documentaries about animals he had never
seen in real life. This time the program was about seals.
Nabeel sat forward and began watching with interest.
But suddenly he felt cold. He looked round and realized that
he was now inside the TV picture. Right beside him was the
seal he had just seen on the screen!
"Hello!" he said, shivering a little, to the seal. "It's
very cold here, don't you feel it?"
"You must be new here!" answered the seal. "It's always cold.
It's 23 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 5 degrees Celsius) at its
warmest, even in spring. That suits me just fine because we
seals love the cold. We never feel it. How come? Because of
our fur, this wonderful coat that Allah has given us! Of course
the fat in our bodies also helps protect us against the cold."
"Is that your mother over there?" Nabeel pointed to a much
larger seal some distance away. "I think she's looking for
you. Call her and let her know where you are if you like..."
The
seal went on: "We seals live in big herds and, yes, we look
very much like one another. But our mothers never confuse
us with any other seal. This is an ability that Allah has
given them. As soon as her baby is born, the mother gives
him a welcome kiss. Because of this kiss, she recognizes his
smell and never gets him mixed up with any other baby. This
is one of Allah's countless blessings He has given us. We
are grateful to our Almighty Lord because He gave our mothers
this ability to recognize us amongst the crowds we live in."
Nabeel had something else he wanted to ask: "I remember reading
that you spend most of your time in the water. So how did
you learn to swim?"
His new friend explained: "Allah created all of us according
to the conditions we live in and made us ready for them. Just
as He created the camel according to the conditions of the
desert, He created us according to these cold conditions.
It is Allah's will that when we are born our bodies have a
layer of fat called baby fat. Our little bodies stay warm
thanks to this fat. And because the fat layer is lighter than
water it acts as a kind of lifebelt when our mothers are teaching
us to swim. After two weeks of swimming lessons we become
really great swimmers and divers."
"So,
Allah created a special lifebelt inside your bodies for you
so you can learn to swim! How wonderful!"
"That's right," said the little seal. "Every living thing
He created so perfectly is a proof that Allah has power over
everything."
Just at that moment Nabeel was awakened by a warm kiss on
the cheek from his mother. The documentary on the television
was still going on. Nabeel remembered the dream he had just
had and smiled at the little seal on the screen.
... If you tried to number Allah's blessings,
you could never count them... (Surah Ibrahim: 34)
Among His Signs is the creation of the
heavens and earth and all the creatures... (Surat ash-Shura:
29)
RESISTANT SEALS
The
waters of the ocean are very cold, especially in the depths.
For this reason Allah created seals, which live in cold water,
with a thick layer of fat beneath their skin. This layer prevents
the seals from losing their body heat quickly. Another interesting
thing about seals is that the females produce the richest,
the most nourishing milk known in nature. This milk makes
the babies they raise under difficult conditions grow very
quickly.
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