In a world where right is equated with might, we must learn that what is truly right is pursuing basic human rights and dignity for all.

The highest ideal of human life is an individual elevating to unite with their soul, reaching radiant metaphysical realms, having divine secrets divulged to them, and attaining spiritual pleasures. A soul that takes wing toward this lofty ideal is always happy, and every endeavor made in this direction is internally enlightening and laudable; a person who targets such a life is virtuous, and the land of such people is a land of virtue.

The belief that humanity is nothing more than an animal species has done enormous harm to humanity. This thought first destroyed an individual’s desire for elevating their soul and then closed up the roads that take them to true virtue. And by reducing humanity into swarms of bugs, it deprived them of the comprehension and will to look into and supervise themselves.

According to this understanding, it is perfectly normal and necessary for the strong to destroy the weak, and for those who cannot fight back to be exterminated. When this understanding, which was derived from the idea of natural selection, was applied to human communities, it demolished the feeling of respect for general rights; it made “might” more oppressive; and by accepting unlimited animal freedom as a foundation, it reduced humanity to the level of other creatures. According to this wrong understanding, what was right-with all its aspects-depended on might. This meant that whoever had a strong body or fist, whoever had the better command of written or spoken expression, or whoever had good relations with the upper level of society, were viewed as being right and were even praised. And whoever was weak, whoever lacked power, financial means, and sycophancy – they were always mistreated and scorned.

In the meantime, notions such as the might of the soul, might of the right, and might of belief were erased from memory, in an effort to make younger generations oblivious to them. This situation put the truth and the followers of truth in a weak position before the oppressive powers and humiliated. Lowly considerations of gratifying carnal desires and the sole pursuit of personal pleasures and benefits seized souls completely, and this turned people of faith into a plaything for oppressors. The hungry wolf was respected by society, and he, in return, expected those walking corpses to pay tribute to him.

In the past centuries, the mansions of oppressors were surrounded by circles of people who, for the sake of seeking benefits, accepted being disgraced and despised, and at the same time, flattered their oppressors. Hence, there emerged queues of those who worshipped worldly power. And today as well, might still holds the upper hand, and the right and the rightful are within the grasp of that hand. The only difference is that an oppressive minority has come down and oppression has been widely distributed.

In the past, oppression and cruelty came from a few individuals; the masses are now the oppressors. Instead of the cruel individuals of the past, there are networks of cruelty all around. Nowadays, they cheerfully show up in society, revealing their ill-fated and debauched faces. During this festivity, neither the cry of the oppressed is heard, nor does anybody speak up.

Almost all of these things appeared for the first time when the notion of “right” and the understanding of freedom began to be abused. Then these views spread all over the world under the guardianship of the “industrial revolution” and the resulting technology. Thanks to the non-developed countries’ excessive love and interest for science and technology, these views were welcomed almost everywhere. Thus, the yearning for science and technology degenerated into a terrible open-door policy. Now, everything was taken in; everything was affirmed without asking for a password, without considering whether it suited the nature of that nation-particularly things that harm the social body. After this, people went astray, driven by loose morals, and they competed to deceive and oppress. Might is the only ruler; freedom is an oft-repeated pretext for every kind of corruption…

According to this new philosophy, traders can sell their goods at any price they wish. People have the freedom to hoard goods and sell them when the time comes, and to travel to lands where their ancestors marched in honor, pursuing any ignominious purpose. The media knows no limit in deprivation of character and conveys illicit content to the most remote corners – and they claim to do it to disseminate knowledge. Their publications that are audio-visually charming assail sound thinking, faith, and language; the youth are free to give way to chaos by disregarding every kind of lofty feeling and value; those who abuse religious feelings and thoughts are free to expect some benefit in return for their mumblings… how free, rightful, and wise they are, aren’t they? O freedom, how cruel do you become when abused to allow every kind of corruption!

According to the thought which has taken most of humanity within its grasp today, a good doctor is one who discovers the way to attract many patients to his personal office; a good lawyer is one who speaks for the interests of anyone-rightful or not; a good engineer or architect is one who draws projects to fill his pockets, deprived of scientific morality and a feeling of responsibility; a good singer is one who uses his or her voice to abuse the pure feelings of the people, and so on…

On the other hand, the lofty souls who observe others’ rights as well as their own, and who live for virtue, are viewed as stupid and unwise! In such a world, everything is related to a material purpose, and it is natural and inevitable that human communities and notions of humanity are replaced by a group of animals, by an understanding of humanity based on materialism and sensuality, and the belief that human values and the true notion of right will be forgotten. However, a happy future for humanity seems possible by giving due value to truth, saving it from the transgression of falsehood, taking animal freedom under control, backing the freedom of those who think, strive, live for others, and present the fruits of their lives to society before they depart from this world, making them live “forever.”

We do not wish to see humans act as slaves to carnal desires, getting more miserable every passing day with lowly feelings. We wish to see the faces who have reached inner tranquility by being servants to the Truth, those who kept away from the dark and dirty affairs of oppressors, the pure faces which reflect heavenly beauties on their foreheads. We consider these faces crystallized in colorful lines-by faith and hope, by service and joy, by love and humanity-as the guardian angels of this blissful world, and we applaud them.

How laudable are these people in service of Truth, who have been purified while flowing toward eternity, who smile at their fortune with gratitude, and who seek the Creator-the source of all beauties-through the tongue of the fish in the ocean and the gazelle on the plain, and who are enraptured with the pledge of eternity!

Octopuses are equipped with a very powerful sensing system in addition to their sharp vision. For example, an octopus whose vision is obstructed can sense the size of objects and the distance between them. Regulation and synchronization of vision is realized with internal and external movement of the lens contrary to human beings. When it faces a threat, the octopus releases dark blue-black ink and tries to repel its enemy. Immediately after the spray, its color changes and it carefully leaves that spot. The secretion glands found in the inner face of the bladder have been programmed to secrete ink the moment the animal becomes frightened. Another function of the ink is to blunt the attacking animal’s sense of smell. Even if the animal touches the octopus at this time, it cannot recognize it.

Another striking and important ability given to the octopus is its ability to camouflage. In some situations it tries to protect itself from danger by hiding itself with this capability. If it has not been able to find a suitable place to hide, the octopus swims among the corals and, taking on the color and shape of its surroundings with the help of color cells comprised of richly colored matter (chromatophores) found under the skin, it camouflages itself perfectly.

At first glance the suckers of an octopus are no different from suction cups vacuum pressed onto smooth surfaces. However, in reality this organ is more complex than it appears to be. This organ was not created just for the purpose of sticking on objects. By means of muscles unique to it, the octopus is able to make various maneuvers.

There are approximately 200-250 suckers in two lines on each arm of the octopus. This means there are approximately 2 thousand suckers on its eight arms. There are two small chambers on each sucker. The external chamber is called a cone and the internal one is called a pot. When it sights its prey, the muscles of the external cone take the shape of the surface of the prey and completely cover it. The muscles of the internal pot structure are full of water and, disconnected from the outside world, decrease the inner pressure. This difference from the outside pressure has the effect of a vacuum. The external muscle structure enables the octopus to turn from an erect or parallel angle by decreasing the pressure difference around the object and without destroying the functional structure of the sucker.

In addition to possessing the complex muscle structures explained above, the suckers have an amazing nerve system. The chemical receptors found on the edge of the suckers (chemo-receptors) give feedback regarding the taste of the object, and the pressure and position receptors give information regarding pressure and touch. The nerves of these receptors, gathered in a node, act as a tiny brain. The chain structure extending the length of the octopus’ arm connects the suckers and nodes and synchronizes them. This structure enables the animal to lift and raise its arms without need of a command from the main brain. How this amazing task is accomplished by the brain, arm and suckers is a subject that needs investigation.

Only considering its suckers, the octopus appears before us as a creature adorned with perfect artistry and special capabilities. The characteristics of these animals being in a wise and most appropriate form is one of the clearest proofs of the blessings and benefaction of a compassionate and merciful Creator.

Canoglu is a freelance writer from Turkey with a degree on zoology.

Everywhere I look, I see citizens polluting, communities mistreating and nations exploiting the earth.

I watch them as they misuse and abuse this sacred place, as if it was theirs.

What they fail to remember is that this earth is the same earth the first man and woman called home. It is the same earth countless prophets, saints, and scholars called home. It is the same earth my Ottoman ancestors called home. It is the same earth my country’s natives, the Aboriginal people, called home.

But I could almost see this earth diminish before my eyes. My heart aches with uncertainty of what lies ahead.

What have we left to offer the future generations? What have we done? What have we become?

Divine cleanliness

Everything God created in this world and beyond has perfect order and balance, for He is the Most Powerful and All Wise. So it cannot be He who is responsible for the world’s current state of affairs.

This earth is like a hotel, a guesthouse which is continually filled and emptied by the living and dead. Despite this constant entry and exit, this guesthouse remains totally pure and clean. There is nothing unnecessary, nothing exists without having any benefit or purpose, and not a random piece is put out of place.

If it was not for this remarkable cleaning, in a short amount of time, thousands of animal and plant species would have been suffocated on the face of the earth.

God’s orderliness is everywhere the eye reaches.

Carnivorous animal species clean the seas by gathering up the corpses of other sea-creatures that die every day by the millions, preventing the sea from becoming polluted.

Ants collect the corpses of tiny creatures and small particles and fragments of bounty, preserving them from waste and uselessness.

Flies clean away poisonous substances and microbes which breed diseases that are invisible to the naked human eye, thus preventing the spread of many contagious diseases.

His command is obeyed everywhere by everything, from eyelids cleaning the eye and flies brushing their wings.

Therefore, there is magnificence and harmony in every creation in every corner of the world. With varieties of beauty spread in a myriad of colors and forms, it is so splendid that imaginations are pushed to the limit when trying to imagine anything more beautiful.

It is such a pity that this wonderful world, which God has bestowed upon humans to observe and study free of charge, is no longer given any more care than is given to a heap of junk.

“How deplorably and awkwardly we have treated plains and residential places, which we have changed into deserts and heaps of ruin. How deplorably and gracelessly we have treated seas and rivers, which we have polluted. Again, how deplorably and awkwardly we have treated air and water, and fields, forests, and gardens, which we have made unfavorable to any life. Truly, by changing this Paradise-like world to a hell, how deplorably and awkwardly we have treated ourselves!”

In our eagerness to “progress” and “develop,” we have lost sight of the finite and delicate nature of our world and of humanity’s place in it. So it is when humans improve the condition of this world whose order they have destroyed and polluted, and restore it to its prior balance and beauty, only then will they be able to live a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Guardians of the Earth

The origins of global environmental problems lie in humankind’s deliberate rejection of the physical laws governing environmental management and a persistent disobedience to God’s spiritual laws.

“And do good as God has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, God does not like corruptors.” (Quran 28:77)

The Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, contain instructions to assist humanity in preserving its environment. In the Quran God declares, “It is He who has appointed you viceroys (guardians) in the earth” (6:165). Through this verse it becomes evident that humans have a special place in God’s scheme. They are more than friends of the Earth; they are its guardians.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, lived up to this verse best as a guardian of the earth. He was an “environmental pioneer” who lived with the philosophy that there is a fundamental link and interdependency between all natural elements and that if humans abuse one element, the natural world as a whole will suffer the direct consequences.

For instance, the Prophet pointed out the many benefits in planting trees which he said will last until the Day of Judgment. He said, “If the Hour is imminent and anyone of you has a palm shoot to plant in his hand and is able to plant it before the Hour strikes, then he should do so and he will be rewarded for that action.”

Furthermore, the Prophet recommended and warned that shaded spots where people could rest and spaces under fruit trees should not be dirtied. He also emphasized that there should be no spitting on roads and places of worship, and objects that could injure people should be removed from the roads and put to one side. All of these principles are essential for every person to implement in ensuring a healthy environment and in respect to protecting and keeping the environment clean.

The Quran also emphasizes not harming other living creatures on earth. God declares, “And there is no creature on or within the earth or a bird that flies with its wings except that they are nations (communities) like you.” (6:38)

Recent statistics show that over 60,000 animal species have gone extinct, over 4 million hectares of forests are lost, around 1.8 billion liters of water are used up, and around 10 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into our environment by industries each year. These are massive amounts of waste and destruction that humans have brought upon themselves.

The environmental devastation encapsulating this planet is thus a direct result of these physical laws being broken. These statistics illustrate the results of our law-breaking catching up with us.

The Ottomans: Sultans of Sympathy

The Ottoman era was a period during which an extreme emphasis was placed on the regulation and protection of the environment, such that had legally enforceable consequences. This meant that there was zero tolerance towards any misuse of the environment.

It is possible to see the value, importance, and respect given to the environment by the Islamic world during fifteenth century through the will of the great Ottoman Sultan Mehmet, Fatih the Conqueror. The will reads:

“I, the conqueror of Istanbul, humble servant Fatih Sultan Mehmet, donate 136 shops which I personally and rightfully own in Taslik suburb of Istanbul with the following conditions:

I have assigned two persons for every street in Istanbul to be paid from the profit earned from these shops. These persons are to walk along these streets at specific times of the day with a bucket in their hands which contains limestone and coal powder. They are to conceal any spit found on the streets with these powders and be paid 20 akçe (Ottoman currency) per day.

Furthermore, I have assigned 10 surgeons, 10 doctors, and 3 nurses. They are to walk through the streets of Istanbul on certain days of each month, knock on each and every door and find out whether there are any sick people in that household. If there are, they are to treat them. If this is not possible at the time, they are to be transferred to Darülaceze (nursing homes/hospitals) and be treated there.

Additionally, the families of the soldiers who are fallen martyrs and the poor people of Istanbul are to be fed in the soup kitchen which I have built. However, those who are not able to personally come and eat there or collect their food will be provided with alternative service. Their food is to be sent to their homes in concealed containers after sunset without it being seen by others.”

Another royal document regarding environmental care comes from sixteenth century Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent titled Nisan-i Hümayun. Some important points to note in this document include:

“All homes, shops, and their surroundings are to be kept clean or to get cleaned. Those in charge should identify citizens who litter and get those who are responsible to clean their own litter.

Owners of oxcarts should not disturb local residents by leaving their animals near houses or courtyards. They are to collect and dispose of the dung from their animals to appropriate places outside of the city. People are to be prevented from throwing the carcasses of horses, sheep, etc. onto the streets. Those who refuse to comply with this rule are to be punished publicly.

Used water containing detergent and soap are not to be thrown out onto the streets. No individual has the right to prevent these rules from being implemented and will closely be monitored by law enforcement agencies.”

It is clearly evident that in royal documents like those mentioned above, the leaders took necessary precautions and showed sensitivity towards the implementation of the matters regarding the protection of spiritual and physical wellbeing of the people and the cleanliness of public places.

Animal rights are a contemporary issue that came to public attention only quite recently. Unfortunately, in today’s society, many governments are still struggling with human rights issues, let alone dealing with animal rights.

Ottoman sultans implemented legal measures on the protection and the treatment of animals. In doing so, the care and proper treatment of animals were bound by legal measures and are not left to the individuals’ own judgment.

The Ottoman Empire was known for its vakýf, or foundations, which were first set up to meet the needs of certain groups of people within society but later became an integral part of the Ottoman lifestyle. The most interesting of these vakýf were those dedicated to animals. These foundations were places where generous people would donate certain amounts of money to bakeries and butchers so that they could provide bread and meat for street animals.

Moreover, the sultans did not just stop at providing food for animals, they also made sure that if these animals fell ill, there were specialized hospitals for them to be treated in and looked after.

Ricaut, a British clerk who worked at the British embassy in Istanbul during the Ottoman period (d. 1700) said how impressed he was by the respect and value the Ottoman people had given animals and the importance they had shown towards their nutrition and protection.

“There were not only people, but also cats and dogs that ate from the soup kitchens. In some cities buildings were made for cats, foundations were established for their nutrition, and expenses were paid for the allocation of servants to meet the needs of these animals.”

Aboriginals: The Key to Land Management

Until quite recently the human race, whether in small self-governing native communities or vast empires, functioned instinctively within natural, unwritten boundaries. When these old civilizations died, the forest and natural environment just grew over them. They left no rubbish, pollutants, or waste.

Similarly, Aboriginal tribes of Australia moved around their land for tracking shifts in the availability of important resources. Their respect for the native flora and fauna meant using techniques to ensure their survival.

They actively managed their land through prescribed burning regimes handed down from their ancestors. Aboriginal people burnt to hunt, to promote new grass, to make their land easier to travel through, to clear their land of spiritual pollution left after a death, to create firebreaks for later in the dry season, and for a variety of other reasons whose sole aim was to “bring the land alive again.”

They also had such deep respect for the animals on their land that, for instance, they would slaughter a kangaroo to eat only if the total number of kangaroos in a specific area had reached a certain amount. So until then, they could not touch the kangaroos even if it meant staying hungry and finding something else to eat. Their overall respect for the plants and animals of their land is one that was extremely sacred, one they felt liable to take care of and pass on in good condition to the generations to come.

Conclusion

Today, however, man has much more to offer the world, intellectually and technologically, when compared to the past. Despite having the upper hand in areas such as science and technology, the environment is still struggling and suffering. Who has control over whom? Why is it that tribes, clans, and empires in the past with little advancements had more control over the environment, and today with all the technological breakthroughs, people are still struggling?

Sadly, the harmony that the Prophet promoted between man and his environment has been lost. As we face the effects of chemical pollution caused by industrial wastes, visual pollution caused by rubbish dumping; noise pollution caused by unnecessary sounds, and thought pollution caused by pointless and disorganized overflow of information, it is perhaps time for the world community as a whole, regardless of faith or background, to look into Prophet’s teachings and address the current environmental crisis wisely.

The fundamental solution to these crises lies in humankind respecting the physical laws and embracing the spiritual laws designed by God.

Only then can there be true health, happiness, and healing.

Notes

• Nursi, Bediuzzaman Said. 2008. The Gleams, NJ: Tughra Books, p. 429.
• Gulen, Fethullah. 1996. “The Nature We Have Destroyed,” The Fountain, No. 15.
• Hadith Musnad.
• Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 406.
• Muslim Book 004, Number 1126.
• Worldometers, “World Statistics updated in real time,” http://www.worldometers.info/, Accessed 1 June 2009.
• Özdemir, Ibrahim. “Osmanlý Toplumunda Çevre Anlayisi” Türkler, edt. H.C. Güzel and K. Çiçek, Ankara: Yeni Turkiye Yayýnlarý, c. 10. http://www.ibrahimozdemir.com/Makaleler/Osmanl%C4%B1ToplumundaCevre.pdf, Accessed 21 May 2009.
• Northern Land Council: Caring for the country, “Land Management” http://www.nlc.org.au/html/care_fire.html, Accessed 1 June 2009.

And surely in the cattle (feeding on the pastures of the revived earth) there is a lesson for you: We give you from that which is within their bodies, (marvelously distinguished from) between the waste and blood, milk that is pure and palatable to those who drink. (Nahl 16:66)

Ruminants, probably the most abundant of the herbivores such as cattle, sheep and goats, are foregut fermenters with a four-chambered stomach (rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum) and are an essential component of utilizing marginal land in the world in a sustainable way.

In the verse above from the Qur’an, the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe draws our attention to many of the benefits we get from domestic animals. While the main message of the verse is easily understandable to the general reader, it also contains some concise hints, even descriptions about the physiological details of milk production in ruminants that would be fully understood and explained by science only centuries after the Qur’an was revealed. The purpose of this article is to explain this process in a general sense and milk production in some detail.

Mammals are generally categorized according to the dietary habits into three classes-flesh-eating (carnivore), plant-eating (herbivore) and both flesh and plant-eating (omnivore). In a sense, humans (omnivores) and carnivores depend on herbivores for their nutrition. Generally speaking, all humans and animals in the world have directly or indirectly benefited from the plants. The ability of herbivores to utilize plants as their main energy source is dependent on symbiotic microorganisms which live at various sites within their gastrointestinal tract. The animal provides the microorganisms with food and habitat for growth and the microorganisms provide the animal with fermentation acids and microbial protein.

Herbivores are divided into two types, those with post-gastric (hindgut) fermentation and those with pre-gastric (foregut) fermentation. Fermentation is a chemical process during which microorganisms obtain energy from organic products. Ruminants, probably the most abundant of the herbivores such as cattle, sheep and goats, are foregut fermenters with a four-chambered stomach (rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum) and are an essential component of utilizing marginal land in the world in a sustainable way. Rumen and reticulum contain millions of microorganisms, which form about 3 to 10 percent of rumen fluid.

A major reason why human beings keep ruminants is their ability to convert food which humans find inedible-or at least unpalatable-to food (meat, milk) which humans can eat. They play an important role in the livelihood of farmers throughout the world, providing sustenance such as milk and meat, manure for crop production, cash income from sales of their products and a safety net of capital assets to face risks and misfortune in harsh environments. Currently, humans obtain about fifty percent of the meat and most of the milk they consume from ruminants. Scientists who have conducted studied on ruminants have developed cow breeds, which have higher milk and meat production than traditional cow breeds, and thus supplied an important development to meet the nutritional requirements of humans.

Pre-gastric fermentation provides three important nutritional advantages to the host animal.

First, cellulose and other plant polysaccharides are brought into solution and become available as energy sources. Cellulose is the most abundant natural carbohydrate polymer in nature, but mammals do not produce enzymes that can degrade it. Ruminant animals utilize cellulose via a symbiotic relationship with ruminal cellulolytic microorganisms. During ruminal fermentation, microorganisms ferment the carbohydrates to produce energy, gases (methane and carbon dioxide), heat, and volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen. Effective digestion of plants requires a means of dealing with cellulose, the most important structural material of plants, which is extremely insoluble and remarkably resistant to a chemical attack. Cellulose digesting enzymes that are called cellulases and produced by microorganisms are also present in the intestinal tract of several invertebrates that feed on wood and similar plant products. Rumen harbors the different functional groups of the microbial population, which is responsible for about seventy percent of total digestion in ruminants, and the ability to digest cellulose has been ascribed to a large number of bacterial, fungal and protozoal species isolated from the rumen.

The energy content of plants is low, and the herbivore must consume a large quantity in order to satisfy its energy requirements. Therefore, herbivores spend a lot of time eating; eight or more hours per day may be spent eating.

Secondly, the rumen microorganisms can utilize non-protein nitrogen for growth, converting it into microbial protein which becomes available to the host. Proteins provide the amino acids needed for maintenance of vital functions, reproduction, growth and lactation. Non-ruminant animals need pre-formed amino acids in their diets, but ruminants can utilize many other nitrogen sources because of their rare ability to synthesize amino acids and protein from non-protein nitrogen sources via a symbiotic relationship with ruminal microflora.

Ruminants possess a rumeno-hepatic nitrogen circulation mechanism, which does not exist in non-ruminant animals, in order to save nitrogen. By this mechanism, ruminants can be fed non-protein nitrogen sources such as urea and nitrate when nutrients are in short supply to obtain high quality milk protein. Feed proteins are degraded by microorganisms in the rumen via amino acids into ammonia. Ammonia is used by bacteria to build their proteins and any excess of it is absorbed through the rumen wall into the blood and then converted to urea in the liver. When a diet is low in nitrogen, large amounts of urea (which is normally excreted in the urine) return to the rumen where it can be used by the microbes. In non-ruminants, urea is always entirely lost in the urine. If ammonia levels in the rumen are too low there will be a nitrogen shortage for bacteria and feed digestibility will be reduced. Too much ammonia in the rumen leads to wastage, ammonia toxicity, and in extreme cases, death of the animal.

Thirdly, vitamin synthesis by the microbial population makes the ruminant animal virtually independent of dietary sources of all vitamins, except for vitamins A and D.

However, rumen fermentation also brings some disadvantages. First of all, rumen metabolism causes environmental pollution. Methane is produced as a natural consequence of the anaerobic fermentation; it is a potent greenhouse gas. Dairy farming is the largest agricultural source of methane, one of the greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the major environmental concern associated with the animal industry is ammonia volatilization, which increases atmospheric acid deposition because of the impact of nitrogen-rich excreta on the environment. Therefore, worldwide, scientific research projects have been carried out to find sustainable strategies for reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas methane and ammonia volatilization from domestic ruminants to the environment.

In conclusion, the symbiotic relationship between ruminants and ruminal microorganisms plays an important role in the recycling of nutrients between humans and plants. This relationship also contributes to human life by converting low quality nutrients (grass and hay) to high quality food (meat and milk). Humans will benefit more from ruminants as scientific knowledge about relationships between ruminants and rumen microorganisms advances.

Zubeyir Altuntas has a PhD in Molecular Medicine. He is a research associate in Immunology Department of The Cleveland Clinic.

Said Nursi, also known as “Bediuzzaman” or “the wonder of the age” by his contemporaries, was born in eastern Anatolia (modern Turkey) in a turbulent era towards the end of the nineteenth century.¹ The Ottoman state was struggling to keep up with advances in science, technology, industry, and economy. After centuries of super-power status, Ottomans were deep in decline. The Muslim world was under continuous attack by the European powers on many fronts: economic, cultural, and military. People were questioning their beliefs and values in search of an explanation for their predicament. Most people were pessimistic and skeptical of their cultural inheritance. Under these circumstances, Bediuz¬zaman was a lighthouse of faith, hope and activism. Bediuzzaman was very far-sighted in his assessment of the conditions surrounding him, and in identifying solutions to the problems he encountered. His noteworthy stands include his championing of democratization, republicanism, the marriage of natural sciences and theology, and his advocacy for dialog with people of other faiths.

Backbiting the Dog

Backbiting, or talking negatively behind a person’s back, is considered one of the major sins in Islam. In an incident involving his students and a dog, Bediuzzaman used this term to discourage his students from talking negatively about a dog. The incident happened as follows:

One day a dog found a piece of meat that was hidden in a container to keep it cool. The dog ate the meat and when it could not get its head out of the container, it broke the container. Upon discovering this, some of Bediuzzaman’s students made a plan to trick the dog to bring it back and punish it. When he learned about the incident and the plan, Bediuzzaman questioned the student who attempted to punish the dog: “Tell me honestly, if you were extremely hungry and you find a piece of food in the open, wouldn’t you eat it?”

His student replied: “Indeed I would.”

Bediuzzaman: “And you are an intelligent being. Now realize that this is a dog. It does not have the intelligence that you have. It cannot realize that the food belongs to somebody. Can it be blamed for eating it?”

Student: “No.”

Bediuzzaman: “Then stop trying to punish this creature and do not backbite it (i.e. do not speak negatively behind its back).” It is noteworthy that he used the term “backbiting” to prohibit talking negatively about a dog, while this term is normally reserved for humans.

Killing of a Lizard

One day, after a long lesson, Bediuzzaman let his students go out and refresh themselves for a while. The students went out to the nearby plains to walk and relax. Upon their return, Bediuzzaman asked them what they had done. One of the students said that he had killed a lizard. Upon hearing this Bediuzzaman was visibly sad and told his student in a mournful tone: “You have demolished your house.”

Student: “The people of my hometown believe that killing seven lizards earns you as much reward as visiting the Ka’ba.”

Bediuzzaman: “All right then, sit here and let’s talk about this. We will try to find out who is right. First, let me ask you this: Did this animal attack you?”

Student: “No.”

Bediuzzaman: “Did it steal something from you?

Student: “No”

Bediuzzaman: “Do you provide sustenance for this animal?”

Student: “No.”

Bediuzzaman: “Was it passing through your land?”

Student: “No.”

Bediuzzaman: “Did you create it?”

Student: “No.”

Bediuzzaman: “Do you know the wisdom behind the creation of these animals? Do you know their functions in nature?”

Student: … (Silence)

Bediuzzaman: “Did the Great Lord create this animal for you to kill? Who told you to kill it? There are numerous functions these animals fulfill. You have indeed committed a great mistake by killing it.”

The House of Ants

Bediuzzaman was teaching his students near the city of Van. In summer, they used to climb Mount Erek near the city and do their studying there in order to avoid the excessive heat around the city. After a summer spent on the high plains, the fall was beginning and the weather was getting colder. They thought of building a place to take refuge before it got very cold and it snowed. Upon the suggestion of Bediuzzaman they decided to dig something like a cave or room into a hill and make a hole to serve as a window. The students started digging.

After a while they saw ants coming out of the place where they were digging. Bediuzzaman immediately told them to stop. One of the students responded:

Student: “Why should we stop? We have dug quite a bit. We will be done shortly.”

Bediuzzaman: “No. We cannot demolish a home in order make a home. Search for another spot.”

They changed their digging place three times before settling on a place where there were no ants, and they built their sanctuary.

Mr Ox

Bediuzzaman was being sent into exile based on charges that he was involved in an uprising in an eastern province. It was known by people around him that he had, instead, tried to stop the rebelling leaders from taking arms against the government. But this did not stop the government from sending him to exile. He was transported by a difficult path to the port city of Trabzon from his home city of Van in eastern Turkey. It was winter and everything was covered with snow and ice. It was the month of Ramadan. Bediuzzaman was one of the few people in the group who was able to continue his fasting under difficult conditions.

On the snowy road over the mountains, they were riding a wagon pulled by oxen. At one point, a leg of one of the oxen got hurt by rocks on the road and began bleeding. Bediuzzaman quickly noticed it and told his companions:

Bediuzzaman: “My friends! Let’s get off and walk. The leg of Mr Ox is bleeding.”

His companions looked at Bediuzzaman’s face with astonishment: “But we have paid the owners of these oxen!”

Bediuzzaman was unshaken in his stance. He jumped off the wagon himself first and said: “They are not owners of these oxen, only users or managers. Only God is the true owner. Have pity for the animals and get off the wagon.”

They all jumped off to the relief of the oxen.

Encounter with the Wolf

During their stay on Mount Erek near the city of Van, he asked his student named Molla Hamid to go down in a valley and get water from a creek. The creek was a place frequented by wild animals. Molla Hamid was visibly reluctant. He said: “Sir, I am reluctant to go… I am afraid.”

Bediuzzaman: “What are you afraid of?”

Molla Hamid: “Sir, there are all kinds of wild animals that roam around the creek. I am afraid one of them might attack me.”

Bediuzzaman: “Go. Do not be afraid. Nothing will happen.”

Molla Hamid reluctantly accepted and went to the creek. He came back with a bucket of water. Bediuzzaman asked: “What did you see?”

Molla Hamid: “Nothing sir.”

Bediuzzaman: “One should have some courage. Let me tell you a recent experience of mine. A few days ago I woke up in the middle of the night and I was putting on my clothes. An animal entered through the door. At first I thought it was a dog. It began to approach me. Then I realized that it was a wolf. Then I began to think what its intention might be. Then the wolf came right over to me and started to look at me. And I looked at it in return. We looked at each other like this for roughly half an hour. Then it simply turned and left. I interpreted his look in this way: It was as if it were trying to tell me ‘I stood with you for so long and you did not offer me anything to eat. I will not rely on your generosity. I will seek my sustenance from my Lord.’”

Then Bediuzzaman continued: “As you see we do not have any weapons. If these animals were not under the control of God, they could have easily attacked and ravaged us. But they did not. So, do not be afraid. Every single thing moves under the command of our Lord.”

These are a few incidents from the life of a prominent scholar of Islam and a contemporary student of a timeless teacher, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Love of animals was manifest in a number of stories narrated to us by the Companions of God’s Messenger and related through books of Prophetic Tradition. Let us have a look at some examples:

The Crying Camel

A Companion of the Prophet, Abdullah ibn Ja’far relates the following incident:

“The Messenger of God went to a garden in Madina with a few Companions. A very scrawny camel was in a corner. Seeing the Messenger of God, it began to cry. He went near the camel, and after staying beside it for a while, he severely warned the owner to feed it properly.”²

Earning Paradise through Kindness to a Dog

It is related in the prophetic tradition that the Prophet said: “A prostitute was guided to truth by God and ultimately went to Paradise because she gave water to a dog dying of thirst. Another woman was sent to Hell because she left a cat to die of hunger.”³

The Screaming Mother Bird

While returning from a military campaign, a few companions removed some young birds from their nest to stroke them. The mother bird came back, and not finding its babies, began to fly around screeching. When told of this, the Messenger became angry and ordered the birds to be put back in the nest.⁴

These stories illustrate the overflowing love and appreciation of creation that is a manifestation of the divine love our Creator and Sustainer for us.

Footnotes

1. Weld, M., Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sozler Publications, 1992.
2. Gulen, M. F., Prophet Muhammad: Aspects of His Life, Fountain Publications, VA, 2000.
3. Bukhari 4. 538; 3.553
4. Hadith Encyclopedia, Harf Information Technology, Cairo, 1996.

For example, a hibernating woodchuck’s heart rate slows from 80 beats per minute to 4, and its temperature drops from 98 F (36.6 C) to as low as 38 F (3.3 C). If its body heat falls too low, it will awaken slightly and shiver to warm up a bit. If an animal lives in an area where the winter is mild, it may hibernate only briefly, or not at all.

Why hibernation-why do some animals sleep through the winter?

When the cold temperatures and ice of winter arrive, food becomes scarce for animals in the wild. Hibernation is a survival strategy, given by the Lord of all creatures; it is a technique that can be very successful in environments where food is scarce or just difficult to find during a long, cold winter season. Hibernation not only eliminates the need for food-gathering in the winter, but also lets an animal conserve its body energy by slowing down its heart rate and breathing. During the winter we are unable to see some animals, such as bears, in their usual habitat; they have retired to their dens. Since these kinds of animals have little chance to find food in their regions during that period, dropping into deep hibernation or into a torpid state allows them to use their bodies’ energy reserves at a slower rate than they would if they were maintaining themselves at their typical basal metabolic rate. Some ecologists refer to hibernation as “time migration.” Hibernation allows the animal to skip over the cold, stressful seasons and only expend itself fully in those months of abundant food and moderate climatic conditions.

How do animals know it is time to hibernate?

Although there are some apparent signs that indicate the period of hibernation is approaching, this is still a subject of research. In the weeks before hibernation or dormancy, animals prepare their winter beds.

Hibernating animals have something in their blood called HIT, or Hibernation Inducement Trigger; this works something like a clock. Recent research suggests that it is some kind of opiate, chemically related to morphine. As the days get shorter, the temperature changes, and food becomes scarce, HIT triggers hibernation. How and why it happens is still a mystery waiting to be explored.

Are all “hibernators” the same?

Not exactly. Some animals are classified as “deep hibernators,” such as chipmunks, woodchucks, box turtles, black snakes, garter snakes, and toads. Deep hibernation is a state in which an animal is inactive for many days or weeks. In deep hibernation the animal’s body temperature drops to around 41 F (5 C). Deep hibernation is also called “true hibernation.”

Other animals exhibit a less profound inactive state, called “torpor hibernation”; animals such as deer mice, black bears, skunks, and raccoons are examples of such animals. Torpor may be very short-term (during the cold hours of the night, for example) and involves a drop in the animal’s body temperature of no less than 59 F (15 C). An animal in torpor is also capable of relatively quick arousal. While some animals are given the ability of hibernation to survive, some are given other tools by our God. For example, birds do not hibernate, but most species migrate to warmer regions. Fish do not hibernate, but withdraw to deeper waters and their body processes slow down to the point where their food and oxygen requirements are a tiny fraction of the needs during the summer months. Aquatic insects do not hibernate. Most land insects die, leaving behind them their descendants in the egg, larva or pupa stages. Some insects, though, for instance

certain species of mosquito, hibernate in basements, cisterns and such protected places

Do hibernators have to hibernate?

Some hibernators display what is called “predictive dormancy.” These animals go into a hibernative state usually in response to the decreasing length of day, in anticipation of the approaching winter. “Diapause” in insects is an example of this “hardwired” hibernation response. Some poikilothermic (“cold blooded”) animals (like some reptiles and amphibians) also display obligatory hibernative responses as the day length decreases. The reliance of these animals upon warmth from their environment to maintain their body heat necessitates that they anticipate the onset of cold conditions and not be caught out of their hibernaculae by potentially lethal cold temperatures.

Other animals enter their hibernative state only after being exposed to adversely cold conditions. These animals display “consequential dormancy.” The disadvantage of consequential dormancy is that the organism is exposed to potentially damaging environmental conditions (poikilotherms in particular are especially vulnerable to the stresses of consequential dormancy). If, however, the hibernative response occurs immediately after the cold stress, then damaging exposure is minimized. A major advantage of consequential dormancy is that the animal is capable of activity right up until the time that winter conditions become excessively stressful; this means that the animal can possibly even be active all winter long if the season is particularly mild. This flexibility is especially advantageous for species living in fluctuating, unpredictable environments or in species that are expanding their ranges into either higher or lower latitudes.

Is hibernation seen only in cold regions?

Unexpectedly, not. While observing nature and learning about the world, one is astounded by the wonderful work of God Almighty. Although it is often viewed as a phenomenon of colder climates, hibernation also occurs in the desert. A classic hibernator is the desert tortoise, which heads underground into burrows with the onset of cold. In a suspended state, it drastically reduces its metabolic rate, digestion, urination, and defecation. Although some move only slightly during winter, others may take advantage of warm days and head out to bask.

Gall moth caterpillars, insects which most of us have never even heard of, typify the second group. They avoid freezing at all costs. Despite what most of us think, water can remain liquid down to -40 F (-40 C), provided that it is free of impurities, so these caterpillars purify what little water is contained in their bodies by emptying their guts of foreign food particles and bacteria.

In addition, they produce an antifreeze, much like that used in cars, but different than that used by freeze-tolerant animals, to lower the temperature at which ice forms. The combination of these two methods allows gall moth caterpillars to survive winter temperatures as low as -36 F (-38 C).

Survival during hibernation

The hibernating animal is quite defenseless when it is in a deep hibernative or even torpid state. They need to prepare a very secure hibernating den (the “hibernaculum”) to protect themselves as they are now an inactive animal. It is interesting that it is possible for an animal to live after six or seven months without eating, drinking, or passing wastes. For example, less than 1 percent of black bears die in their dens. The main threats to their lives are flooding and predators (wolves, dogs, active bears, and humans). Bears do not usually die of starvation in dens. Most deaths from starvation are before or after hibernation and involve primarily cubs and yearlings. Over-wintering black bears do other extraordinary things.For example, snoozing bears are able to gain all the sustenance they need entirely from within their own bodies. Fat tissues break down and supply water and up to 4,000 calories a day; muscle and organ tissues break down and supply protein. Bears’ bodies are somehow able to take urea-a chief component of urine that is produced during tissue breakdown and that, if left to build up, becomes toxic-and use the nitrogen in it to build new protein.

Hibernating bears also have what would seem to be dangerously high cholesterol levels.Because they live off their own fat, their cholesterol levels are more than twice what they are in summer (and more than two times higher than those of most people). But bears evince no signs of hardening of the arteries or the formation of cholesterol gallstones. Research has shown that hibernating bears generate a form of bile acid that, when administered to people, dissolves gallstones, eliminating the need for surgery. Despite being cooped up in a space about the size of a doghouse, hibernating black bears also appear to avoid muscle cramping and degenerative bone loss. How they accomplish this remains a mystery. Even though a hibernating bear drinks no water, it does not become dehydrated. If we can learn how this metabolic feat works we can use the information to help treat people suffering from chronic kidney failure. During this time, the amount of urine entering the kidneys drops by 95%. Disease is uncommon in hibernating animals. Most parasites of bears are adapted to their host’s hibernation cycle and reduce their demands in winter. Medical researchers are studying black bear hibernation to learn how bears cope with conditions that are problematical for people. The findings are aiding studies of human kidney disease, gallstones, obesity, anorexia nervosa, and other problems. Researchers hope that knowledge of bear hibernation may someday even aid space travel. Another mystery goes by the name of delayed implantation.A female will carry a fertilized egg in her womb for many months.The egg is ready to attach itself to the uterine wall and begin developing into a fetus.But it does not do so until the female’s body gives a signal; it is still unknown precisely what this signal is.This adaptation allows bears to time the birth of their cubs, so they’re not born too early or too late. It also gives the mother a way out if food is scarce. If she has not accumulated enough fat by the time she settles into her den to hibernate, the egg will spontaneously abort. Some biologists see this neat trick as a natural mechanism to control the population. Evidence is mounting that hormone-like substances in hibernating bears may control all these physiological tricks.When injected into other species, both those that hibernate and those that do not, these substances engender hibernation-like effects. In conclusion, we can say that what we know about hibernation may not contain even one half of what is to be known. Hibernation is a sign of the Lord’s existence in the world and His ceaseless protection of creatures.We know that hibernators do not decide to hibernate at will; they are put in that position by their All-Merciful Protector. And all of them are doing their job as actors in a great scenario in the World Theater of God.

According to Kant, man has a natural side and a mental side. His feelings, inclinations, desires, field of consciousness, and emotions make up his natural side. Man, at this point, unites with the natural realm and animals and, like them, he is under the influence of natural laws. But this aspect of man is not what makes him man. What makes man human and a creature possessing will is his mental side, and this elevates him to a position superior to all other creatures.

“A creature gathering all deprivations in his ego”

Man, who consists of the union of natural and mental existences, does not come to this world in possession of the opportunities and positions that he will gain, in contrast to animals. Animals are born with whatever means are necessary for them to live as if “another intelligence had thought of everything they need” like horns, or claws, or teeth and necessary knowledge and instincts. But man is born as “a creature gathering all deprivations in his ego.”

“Nature that doesn’t do anything unnecessary and doesn’t waste any material used for the attainment of goals,” has equipped man with intelligence and a will that is connected to intelligence. It requires man to accomplish by himself everything above the mechanical order of his animal existence without following his instincts. He is expected not to share any happiness except that which he can obtain by means of his intelligence. Because he is equipped with intelligence, and will dependent on intelligence, man cannot be left to the rule of his instincts or be equipped with merely natural knowledge. He must provide everything for himself from food to clothing and from the vehicle he is going to use to his own safety.

According to Kant, having come to this world with his skills and talents undeveloped, man needs training and education from the outset. A long childhood period necessitates that man be trained and taken care of by others. The human race is forced to discover all human capabilities slowly by its own efforts. For this reason, one generation tries to educate another. Education changes an animal into a man; it prevents the animal inclinations distancing man from humanity and the purpose of human existence. It draws the boundaries of his action and activities and protects him from danger and from running around empty-headed. Also education, by disciplining the animal side of man, prevents him from becoming wild.

Nature gave the animal the necessary capabilities and equipment it needs for living from the beginning, but it did not provide him with centres of aptitude for good and evil. For this reason, an animal is without the consciousness of good and bad. Only man possesses centres of aptitude for good and evil; for destiny wanted man to bring forth good himself. It seems as if destiny said to man, “Go forth in the world. I equipped you with all the talents necessary for making good. Your duty is to discover those skills; so your happiness and unhappiness are in your hands.”

At this point again education intervenes. Everything good in the world is a product of good education. For this reason, the centres of good in man should be discovered and allowed to function freely and not made into sources of evil. The aspect of man that makes him human is his intelligence and the discovery of this depends on education.

Man’s humanity

Kant, who separated man as a ‘natural creature’ and an ‘independent intelligent creature,’ also divided existence into the ‘visible world’ and the ‘independent realm of intelligence’ that forms the foundation of the visible world. While we comprehend the visible world with what Kant calls ‘intellect,’ a faculty using the senses, we comprehend the ‘independent realm’ with ‘intelligence.’ When we say ‘intelligence,’ two types appear before us-the ‘pure intelligence’ and the ‘practical intelligence.’ In the field of natural existence pure intelligence which is obedient to determinist laws makes deductions about special situations according to general principles and gets a priori information. The independent world which is not obedient to determinist laws is examined by ‘practical intelligence.’

The success of pure intelligence in the experiential world is greater than that of animals. But at this point there is only one degree of difference between man and animals. What makes the difference between man and animal is man’s practical intelligence. Whatever humans are, they are so due to practical intelligence. Practical intelligence has a center in man and he must discover it. The findings of practical intelligence are not knowledge as we know it. Knowledge is formal and can take man to fanaticism. Whereas the findings of practical intelligence manifest in the form of culture of the heart. We can say that this intelligence determines our ‘conscience’ or ‘action and direction.’

According to Kant, man becomes human through the activities of his practical intelligence. It admonishes and gives purposes to man and, while realizing these purposes, man’s animal side begins to be humanized. These purposes are mostly universal and unchangeable moral principles. It is not necessary for intelligence to get these principles from outside. They are in the mind a priori. For Kant morality is very important. Practical intelligence is at the same time will, itself, and it appoints us duties. These are duties directed toward realizing the purposes mentioned.

In Kant’s view, the existence of God is wholly an intellectual existence. Man can associate with the Divine Existence by means of his intellect. Man becomes humanized and attains freedom by however much he can rise above his natural side which is comprised of desires, ambitions and feelings like love and hatred.

Activities besides the phenomenon of man or natural existence are activities tied to conditions. For this reason, laws in this field are called conditional imperatives. For example, when a doctor gives a patient some medicine, he lays down conditions suitable to the situation. Whereas there can be no conditions in the noumenal field of existence, the field which exists by itself, and operative laws in this field are called categorical imperatives. Although theoretical knowledge or experimentation, observation and experience regarding knowledge of the natural plane of existence are necessary, in the absolute and unchanging noumenal field the intelligence in the form of conscience is in control and there is no experience on this plane.

According to Kant, what makes man human is his being freed from the conditions of the phenomenal plane and his practical intelligence that determines its own actions, and thereby his autonomy and freedom.

THE PROBLEM OF MAN IN SCHELER

The founder of philosophical anthropology, Scheler, was greatly influenced by Kant and, while repeating many of his ideas, he based his philosophy, paradoxically, in opposition to Kant. He describes the discipline he founded as follows: “The duty of philosophical anthropology is to show in the basic make-up of man’s existence the source of man’s success and works like language, conscience, tools, guns, justice, injustice, government, administration, art forms, myths, religion, knowledge, history, and society.”

Scheler views man as a creature who gathers the essence of the whole universe in himself, and similarly to Kant, as a dual creature. One side of this creature is comprised of physical life or an animated aspect, while the other is comprised of Geist. Kant included all the feelings, including love, in the natural aspect of man and didn’t give them much value. Scheler, unlike Kant, accepts love as a very important factor of Geist which is the faculty equivalent to Kant’s intelligence. Man’s physical nature consists of (1) emotion as a compulsory power causing action, (2) instinct, (3) memory tied to associations, (4) intelligence and the ability to choose. Emotion as a compulsory power is formed of or stands for the union of man’s inclinations and feelings. These emotions or compulsions in the form of getting enough food to continue life, breathing and reproductive urges are found in plants as well, and man shares this common characteristic with plants. The instincts forming the second level of man’s physical life should be meaningful for himself, be in harmony, fulfill the function of serving the continuation of the species, carry a character that can develop naturally in time, and not consist of the sum of man’s experiences. Instincts carrying these characteristics can be considered as perfected, and man has these instincts in common with animals.

Memory is the third level of man’s physical life. Memory which consists of repetition of things imitated is called tradition, and the memory of animals is this kind of memory. In addition to this man has an associative memory. Its basis is comprised of conditioned reflex and customs develop with it. Customs are peculiar to humans.

Intelligence is the ability to suddenly influence every new situation, and, together with intelligence, the ability to choose comes forth.

What Scheler called Geist is first of all an attribute of Divine Being Who exists by Himself and the basic aspect of man’s existence that brings out the difference between the composition of the true human and the animals. Geist separates a thing’s essence from its existence. We can say the ‘matter’ of Geist is the subject of real human qualities. There are faculties of idealization and reduction in Geist. Reduction is the ability to penetrate the essential in the shell of existence and distinguish the real existence from appearance. Idealization is the capability to put the essence in the form of an idea and comprehend it.

From one perspective, Geist is comprised of intentions, and is without any strength or power of its own. Geist being His most important attribute, God, according to Scheler, essentially, has no power or force. Geist gets power from relationship with the plane of physical life. Thus, He is dependent on this in order to realize himself. In His relationship with this plane, Geist manifests in activities of determining the direction for man’s inclinations and restraining them. Geist drives power from these activities.

As long as man is tied to his inclinations, he is not free. Such a human will live like an animal tied to his inclinations for sex, food and power. But when he is freed from these influences and takes on a character personifying Geist’s intentions or becomes a focus for the realization of them, then he gains true humanity. Attaining such a personality has certain conditions like understanding all manifestations of life without any difficulty and finding the norm in them, and reaching a definite level of development whereby one can distinguish one’s own and others’ special features like wishes, feelings and thoughts. Also such a personality must have conscious possession of the body and control it.

According to Scheler, everyone has his own world. Each world corresponds to an individual. All the worlds together correspond to God. Just as man’s real existence comprises Geist, in the foundation of existence there is a Geist that comprehends everything, loves everything, and thinks of everything. Man is such a being that in him the Essential Being (i.e. God) begins to know, comprehend and understand Himself and find salvation. In this way man participates in the existence and essence of the Divine Being and realizes His Geist together with his own and his own ideal.

As is the case for Kant, existence means duality for Scheler. One side of this duality is ‘the side showing qualities’, which has been a subject of sciences, that is, the side endowed with definite and known specific attributes, and the other side composed of ‘pure existence’, which is a subject of metaphysics. One cannot possess knowledge of this second plane without participating in it. This is only possible by developing the personality. God is solely an ‘existence’ and, thus, a pure object of metaphysics. Religion is a matter of man’s basic make-up and doesn’t necessarily need to include laws. Monotheistic religions put such matters as fear, slavery, servanthood and father-son relationships between man and God. But actually there is no need for such relationships. Man feels God in his heart. Man becomes humanized and deified at the same moment as God. He is a creature that continually deifies himself and serves the genesis and development of God.

GENERAL EVALUATION

There are some nuances and conceptual differences between the philosophies of Kant and Scheler. Although they also differ from each other in that Kant concentrates on morality based on restraining the physical-emotional side of man while Scheler’s conception of religion is based on love and sensing God in the heart, and carries overtones of pantheism and monism, it is not possible to find deep-rooted conflict between Kant’s and Scheler’s views on man. Both philosophers were concerned with giving a place to God and religion deriving from Christian concepts as opposed to positivism which had developed with the Renaissance. For this reason they put both man and existence in two separate spheres in a way resembling Descartes’ dualism. As demanded by enlightenment philosophy and secular morality, they thought that the values man must conform to should be found in man’s own being and conscience. Under the influence of the Christian belief in the Trinity and unity of father and son which was based on the ideas of reincarnation and spiritual unity with God, they put God on the side as a passive deity in relation to existence. Also they placed man in the center of everything. Kant looks for man’s humanity and happiness, not in the visible-biological-phenomenal side of his nature or in his desires, wishes or other emotions, but in the evolution of his intelligence toward the universal and unchangeable moral laws found in the conscience. In place of Kant’s moral apriority, Scheler sees happiness in giving priority to love and realizing the intentions through love and participation in Divine Existence. How this love can be attained, how man can rise above the desire and passion of love and the ‘physical-vital’ side of his nature, and whether he can overcome them or not, are unknown.

After all this and after a summary of Bediuzzaman’s view, the profound differences between the views will become obvious. On the one hand, in the name of philosophy, there is ‘consciously walking along dead end streets or through the labyrinths where finding the way becomes increasingly difficult,’ and philosophical obscurity, intricacy and subjectivity. On the other hand, there is an objective, realistic, and practicable view and criteria.

BEDIUZZAMAN’S VIEW OF MAN

Bediuzzaman’s view of man, without doubt, is based on Islam. According to Islam and naturally Bediuzzaman, the essential basis of existence, its creator and its maintainer through His own Eternal Existence is God. He exists without needing any other’s existence and is above all limits of time and space like existence in time or occupying space. The universe gained existence through manifesting God’s attributes and Names. As One Who does whatever He wills, God keeps the universe under His power by means of the manifestations of His attributes and Names. Thus, everything in the universe, without exception, owes its existence, life, vitality, continuation of its existence, sustenance and growth, reproduction and all the qualities it possesses to God and all these things are from God.

While being a Hidden Treasure, due to His pure, sacred love for His High Essence suitable for His Divine Essence, He created the universe in order to contemplate Himself. Love is the bond between God and the universe, which shows God in two ways. Firstly, everything in the universe exists as a manifestation of His Names. For example, we can see in all animate things from plants to man, His Names of Ever-Living One (al-Hayy) and Giver of Life (al-Muhyi) and in the continuation of the universe, His Names, the Self-Existing One (al-Qayyum) and the Everlasting One (al-Baqi). In the universe’s orderliness and regularity and the mind-boggling degree of majestic balance, we can read His Name the Just (al- ‘Adl) and in the absolute cleanliness in nature despite the death of hundreds of thousands of animals everyday, His Name the Pure One (al-Quddus). We can see in the functions determined for each creature, His Name the Judge (al-Hakam), etc. Secondly, everything in the universe has a beginning and will reach an end. In other words, everything will die. In Bediuzzaman’s analogy, on the bank of a spring we can see the sun in all the bubbles of water passing before us. If the spring passes through a tunnel, the ‘tiny suns’ will disappear, but from our position the sun can still be seen in the bubbles. This shows that the sun does not belong to the bubbles and is permanent without being dependent at all on the existence of the bubbles. In the same way, creatures, by their living, show the existence of God and His Life, and by their death His Permanence. Also the power of everything in the universe is limited. Everything is poor in its essence. As nothing is in control of itself, it (an apple, for example) must have for its sustenance the co-operation of the sun, air, earth, and water. The apple tree, in order to produce apples, must work together with other elements of the universe in a way that is ‘conscious and based on knowledge.’ It is obvious that these created things do not have consciousness and knowledge. For this reason, creatures’ needs, deficiencies, helplessness and poverty signify such attributes as God’s eternal and infinite Power, Knowledge, Hearing, and Seeing. In short, the main purpose of the creation and life of existence is to be a shining mirror to God.

Thus, continuing until the creation of man, God created the whole universe from the Throne of God to the lower heavens, from the skies to the earth, from the angels to the jinn, and from inanimate creatures to plants and animals. But although these creatures are manifestations of His other Names and attributes, they do not possess the complex and variety of language, speaking, the same level of knowledge or, most importantly, the level of will that man has. Thus, man was created as the fruit of the ‘tree of existence,’ the limit of existence and the final purpose. In Bediuzzaman’s words, God drew an imaginary line in front of His Names and attributes and created man. In other words, all His Names and attributes are reflected on him. Thus, man took his place among creation as the most perfect, shining and encompassing mirror reflecting God. The reflection of all of God’s Names and attributes in man means he has the feelings of magnificence and greatness and also the desire for absolute sovereignty. All of these developed an ego in man before God and produced the egoism that ‘the skies and the mountains drew back from.’ Whereas, magnificence, greatness and absolute sovereignty demand absolute power and absolute wealth and man is destitute of these. His power is only an arm’s length and he is more helpless than many animals. His knowledge is limited, he never possesses absolute wealth and his needs are infinite. Man’s sustenance comes to him without any effort on his part when he is an embryo or when he cries as a baby. When he becomes aware of or has the illusion of his own strength, then man has to struggle for his own sustenance. This shows that man’s duty is to admit his helplessness, poverty, and deficiencies and turn to the Possessor of absolute wealth, absolute power and absolute sovereignty. Man should take power only from God’s Power and wealth from His Wealth, bind himself only to God, worship only Him and be saved from being the slave or servant to any other thing, power or interest.

According to Bediuzzaman, as the fruit of the tree of existence, man contains the essence and a summary of everything in existence. He is a sample, a model of the universe. Just as he carries the physical dimension of existence with his physical aspect, he also carries all plant and animal characteristics. He has been sent as God’s vicegerent to behave on this earth in the way God wants, to cultivate the world and to unite in peace with the rest of the universe. Almost every animal has earned what it needs to know in another realm or is given what it needs at birth. It jumps into the struggle of life almost as soon as it is born, but man is born without knowing anything. He has to learn everything; it takes him years to discover the laws of life and to be able to separate good from evil and differentiate between what is in his best interests and what is not. Also he is not only a physical being or composed only of a number of emotions. He constantly carries within himself a longing for eternity. His spiritual pains and needs compared to his physical ones are many more in number, deeper, more intricate and in greater need of satisfaction. Thus, his duty is to learn and evolve with training and faith. In addition, man carries the potential of a great variety of abilities. In order for these to become active, man needs to pass through the press of time and events. Just as God makes the hawk attack the sparrow in order to develop the sparrow’s strength to defend itself and develop new opportunities, in the same way events and tests we have to face open the way for development of man’s potential capabilities. If they are used in the right way, every desire, obsession and feeling becomes a source of goodness.

The sources of all abilities and faculties sown in man’s nature can be categorized in three groups: powers of appetite, powers of anger, and powers of reasoning or mind. Appetite is the source of satisfaction of the need for eating, drinking, reproduction and all of man’s physical-biological desires and needs. Anger is the source and a means of the need to defend oneself, and reason is the spring or center for every kind of mental activity. Because man is a creature possessing will, God left these forces unrestrained and free in man’s nature for the purposes of testing him. Because of this, they can lead to great oppression and unhappiness for man individually and in social life. For example, the force of anger can cause murder and oppression that will shake the Heavens; the force of appetite can lead to every kind of illegality and immorality; and the power of the mind can lead to every type of demagogy, misleading persuasion and dialectic. For this reason, these forces must be kept in balance. In other words, the force of anger must revolve around courage, appetite around chastity, and the mind around wisdom, and justice must be maintained in social life. These are conditions necessary for man’s happiness. Because not every person or all of mankind can conceive of this point of balance and the special characteristics and factors of broad justice, there is need for a universal intelligence, and this has been given to us as a gift by God in the form of Divine Religion.

Just as man is affected by sorrows of the past, he is also influenced by doubts for the future. As we tried to show above, man’s power and knowledge is limited. But his needs are endless. Life on earth is short, but another eternal world awaits him. The mind, with consciousness of the past and future, can make man the most miserable ‘animal’ with anxiety regarding how to meet his needs. So it is man’s duty to use his mind under the guidance of ‘the universal intelligence’, and to use God’s Power as intercessor for his helplessness, His infinite Knowledge for man’s ignorance and God’s boundless Wealth for his poverty. Man must find power in His Power, knowledge in His Knowledge, and wealth in God’s Wealth. When man can do this, all his given abilities, faculties, forces, desires and needs and even feelings that at first appear absolutely bad like jealousy and passion can open a door to virtue and become a stepping stone. For example, jealousy can turn into an emulation or competing for good, free of malice; ambition can become persistence in what is good and beautiful. Otherwise, just as man can become his own and others’ worst enemy, it should not be forgotten that the Pharaohs, the Nimrods, and other infamous ‘gods’ and imposters in history have come from among mankind.

In the works of philosophers and historians and in the minds of ordinary people, there have been, down the ages, many different conceptions of what freedom actually means. They have not agreed on whether it is a moral ideal or a romantic aspiration, a political posture (propaganda) or a set of rights and duties expressible in legal terms.

At the present time, and for the vast majority of people world-wide, freedom is associated with a particular personal life-style. And the life-style they think of as ‘free’ is imaged in the norms and manners that evolved over the last hundred years or so in Western societies and were vigorously exported by them to all other societies. During this period, almost all movements for freedom throughout the world have focused on economic and political rights, sometimes mixed up with nationalist aspirations, but always insisting upon a rejection of the norms and values of the past. Especially in Muslim countries, the ideologues of these movements have accused religion, and the traditional values associated with it, of preventing freedom of thought and impeding the march of ‘progress’.

There has been an exceptionally fierce hostility among those ideologues – after all, they were consciously importing foreign values – to their own cultural past. Because of that hostility, they were uncritical not only in approving the values they sought to import but also in their attitudes to their own history. They often falsified their own cultural past, denying its values and genuine achievements, in order to be able to condemn and reject it outright. Outright rejection is always easier than careful thought, than painstakingly and patiently conceived reform. The result has been that Muslim societies have gained very little from these freedom movements and lost a very great deal.

The ground of this failure, and it needs to be admitted as a failure, is the narrow kind of ‘progress’ which freedom from the authority of religion is alleged to secure. Progress is defined in crudely material terms as economic prosperity for whose sake (and not for other reasons) certain political freedoms are deemed desirable or necessary. Economic issues are given so much prominence in collective life that collective life is reduced to economic relationships alone. Man is seen and presented merely as homo economicus, a producing and consuming animal. Literature and, more powerfully, film and television images have been used to propagate that view, and to spread, rather than its virtues, the vices of modern civilisation. The reach of those images, given the sheer scale and power of modern communications, touches all societies and persons and all places – private bedrooms as well as the more shared family space of living-rooms and kitchens. It is hard for the mass of ordinary people to escape from this invasion. Its consequence is to distract people from who and what they are, to separate them from each other, to alienate them from themselves.

By means of this media invasion of private dwellings and public cultural space, and also by means of the educational systems and curricula imposed in Muslim countries, the minds of the people have been emptied of what they used to know and care about. Their minds have been preoccupied instead with what is trivial and irrelevant. We find them showing interest in, even concern for, private goings-on in the lives of far-off individuals made international celebrities by the media, while they are quite ignorant and unconcerned about the conditions of their local and national community, their neighbours, sometimes even other members of their own family. They have been turned into a sort of cultural orphans and therefore weakened. And in that weakness it is easier for them to copy blindly whatever is represented to them as ‘modern’ than to question it. It is easier for them to imitate a life-style represented as ‘progressive’ and ‘free’ than to ask if it is truly progressive, truly free. They have become so infatuated with it that it is hard to see how they can adopt a serious, reflective attitude as befits free human beings, in the true sense of the word ‘free’.

The fashions and crazes that nowadays infatuate the mass of people in almost all societies have undermined the values and traditions which both distinguished them as human societies and gave them their cohesion and identity. Whereas, in the past, perennial values taught or inspired by religion guided their behaviour, people now allow themselves to be guided by adolescent fantasies, transient desires, childish impulsiveness. Whereas, in the past, they confessed to religious belief and felt concerned about the meaning and purpose of their lives, they now confess to uncertainty or atheism, to cynicism or indifference, some even pretend to welcome aimlessness and lack of meaning.

Since man has been represented in modern civilization as merely a composition of flesh and bones certain to decompose and perish eternally, only the pleasures of flesh and bones are considered worthy of concern, and nothing much matters except to have the means to indulge those pleasures.

But this representation of man is false; spiritual needs and the longing for eternity are a reality, the reality that defines us as human. Denial of that reality leads to a sickness in the very being of man, which has consequences for the whole pattern of his living. If an individual came to believe that he had only one leg and used only that one, the muscles in his other leg would atrophy and its sickness would affect the strong leg until, tired of hopping, he would fall down helpless. In the same way, many people, deprived of nourishment for their spiritual needs and suffering the artificially stimulated stresses of modem civilization, fall helplessly into the self-disgust of intoxication, drug- abuse and other crimes. Some do so from their early youth, in the pathetic hope of escaping from meaninglessness into excitement. But such excitement is, alas, more poison feeding the disease, at best a temporary abatement of the pain and certainly not a cure.

Sexual excitement in particular has been given more prominence in the public domain in modern societies than at any time in history. There is so much of it in advertising that one would suppose that nothing could be sold without a reference to it. The incessant incitement to sexuality is such that even the most disciplined persons are at times troubled by it, and the less disciplined tempted into thoughts or actions that lead to misery and remorse. It was once claimed, according to a simple version of Freud’s theory of sexuality, that all the achievements of human culture are really the result of frustration or sublimation of the sexual instinct. But that particular nonsense is not the reason why advertisers devote so much of their material to sexual imagery or innuendo. They do so for another reason. During adolescence, awakening of sexuality is a part of the process by which an individual realizes his separateness from his parents and is biologically prepared to function as a potential parent. The social side of the same preparation is through the individual’s experience of family life as a dependent, followed by the disciplines and responsibilities of marriage. Civilized within the social bonds of wedlock, the sexual instinct is married to affection and mutual responsibility between husband and wife, and then to affection and mutual responsibility for their children. Outside of wedlock, sexuality is bound to selfhood and intensifies selfish competitiveness, a

brutal lust to gratify one’s own needs regardless of any consequences to others. In that state of intense selfish desire, the individual is weak and vulnerable: the seductive illusion propagated by the advertisers is that by purchasing such and such a product one will be nearer to gratifying that selfish desire. Thereafter, as we know, people who are seduced by advertising of this kind, buy again and again, always to no avail. Sales go up, and so does stress associated with frustration and repeated failure. The more ‘modern a society has become, the more exaggerated the condition of adolescence among its population – notably, there is more aggressive and more prolonged rejection of parents, more ‘youthful rebellion’ – also the highest increase in violent crimes against persons and property, alongside collapse of the institution of the family.

It is surely an outrage against reason to give to this life-style-one that urges irresponsibility and selfish indulgence of animal appetites – the name of freedom. How can an ethos which exaggerates and exploits human weakness be said to enhance and improve one’s life choices? A rich person continually struggling to satisfy expensive appetites is no more ‘free’ than a poor man struggling to satisfy his hunger – the poor one at least has the dignity of a good reason for his stress. It is ironic that in the societies most dedicated to consumerism, people are not attached to their goods for long; because they buy regardless of need, they do not keep what they buy but discard it and replace with a new purchase. In effect they enjoy no better security with their goods than the poorest nomads who own very little. Again, the nomads have the dignity of owning only what they need and can transport easily and what, like all of us (whatever our level of ‘civilization’) they must forsake when they die.

Pollution of the environment is human folly on a grand scale. Because of that scale its consequences take a long time to emerge and are then very grave. In the same way, freedom as it is currently being promoted is a huge folly whose long-term consequences are very grave. Many societies, as we noted, are already suffering from seemingly irreversible increases in violent crime. This is a consequence of educating people to indulge selfish impulses. The sense of community, of belonging to a family and a locale, has been eroded. Where people do not feel they belong, mutual responsibility and caring disappears from their relationships, emotional or social or political or economic. This puts a great burden on the task of regulating the way people live together. If families do not care for their young, the state must do so; if the people will not voluntarily comply with the laws of their community, the laws must be enforced at vastly greater expense. In those Western cities which can afford to use such devices, the urban centres are peppered with closed-circuit television cameras designed to deter would-be offenders and to assure non-offenders that they may do their shopping or other business without fear of molestation.

Is this the goal towards which the unthinking reformers and champions of Western-style freedom will lead the people of the Islamic world? Are Muslims too going to succumb to the degradation of widespread abuse of intoxicants and excessive levels of crime? And if they are, what are they going to get for paying so high a price? A freedom that means letting people do whatever they wish, moment by moment, to gratify their animal impulses? A freedom that brings with it the diseases that flow from emotional and psychological stress and over-indulgence? A freedom that brings with it the crippling disability of unbelief, the emptiness and dread of having no relation with ultimacy and meaning, no relation with God, and the utter disorientation of values so that people will ardently champion animal rights while despising devotion to God, self-discipline and moral virtue? If this concept of freedom should prevail, it means that ever more individuals will lapse into criminality and abuse of themselves and others, while social political instability within and between societies will become impossibly difficult to contain. It need not do so. The other way of freedom is always open; the way that recognizes and affirms human liability and responsibility before God.

True freedom means that the human spirit does not reject noble feelings and aspirations as the illusions of the past, that it does reject enslavement selfish appetites in favour of to those forms of service, most particularly service of others and of God, which enable the spirit to transcend self- hood. True freedom is disciplined freedom. It wears the diamond chain of religion and morals and the golden collar of sound thinking. True freedom is to declare to man that he is free to do whatever he wants, provided that he does no harm to himself, bodily or spiritual, and none to others. True freedom, the freedom of moral responsibility, is the distinguishing mark of being human; it motivates and enlivens the conscience, and moves aside impediments to the spirit. It acknowledges religious belief and feelings, and is the ground for virtue, wisdom and understanding.

Many an individual, actually imprisoned or in chains, is free in conscience and never feels captivity. Many another, despite the grand spaces of palaces and gardens, does not taste the true meaning of freedom. The freedom to be a powerfully capable animal is in fact to chain the human spirit. True freedom consists in putting chains on animal desires while letting the spirit and mind free to enable man to fly in the infinite space of the spirit on the wings of belief, morality and knowledge and spiritual contentment.

Birds, class Aves, are the only animals that have feathers. Aves is a large, highly diverse class with 8,600 species of water birds, songbirds, and birds of prey, including huge flightless runners, deep divers, and migratory species that travel thousands of miles each year. Although most birds have similar body structures, taxonomists, those who classify and name things such as animals and plants in groups, use variations in bone structure, muscles, and internal organs to distinguish one order from another. Variations in the shape and structure of the bills, wings, tails, and feet are also useful for classification and identification. Birds inhabit a wide variety of habitats and can be found on all the continents, most islands, and even on the open sea. They also have a wide range of size. The largest birds are the ostriches of Africa, up to 2m tall and weighing 136kg, and the great condors of the Americas, with wingspreads of up to 3m. The smallest known bird is Helena’s humming bird of Cuba, less than 6cm long and weighing less than 4g.

The skeleton system of birds is highly adapted for flight. In spite of its low weight, a bird’s skeleton is extremely strong. Hollow and fused bones are the two main bone types. Most bones` being hollow lessens overall body weight making flight more efficient. The skeleton of a bird is much lighter than any other kind of warm-blooded animal. However, this is achieved at a cost, and the skull of a bird is thin and susceptible to fracturing. Further lightening of the bird`s head has also been made possible by the absence of teeth. The other noticeable feature of a bird’s skull is the size of the eye sockets, to house the large eyes. This is probably because vision is a bird’s most crucial sense. The skeletal structure of the wing is relatively constant among the different species, but the actual shape of the feathers can be quite variable, depending on the flying capabilities of the species concerned. To provide effective thrust, the bones in the wing move together. As the bird’s wing beats downwards, special bones prevent its chest from being crushed. The thrust of the wing articulates with the scapula on each side of the body. The corocaid and the wishbone also provide reinforcement. The chest cavity is reinforced by the unusual structure of the ribs. The ribs have projections, known as incinerate process, which are directed backwards, overlapping each other. These help to provide support, especially in diving birds. In cross section, the wings are honeycombed. During flight, this lightens the load on the pectoral muscles which, attached to the keel of the sternum, may account for half of the birds body weight.

Flight is one of the most outstanding characteristics of birds. A bird’s body is adapted to meet the two major requirements for flight, which are low weight and high power. Unlike other vertebrates a bird has a skeleton that is very light in relation to body size, e.g. a pigeon’s skeleton accounts for only 4.4 per cent of its body weight. Birds have a compact, streamlined body, and the fusion of many of the bones gives the body the rigidity needed for flying. A birds wing bone is thin and hollow, with criss-cross reinforcements on the inside which provide support while adding little weight. Besides the unusual structure of bones, it is the presence of feathers that distinguishes birds from all other creatures that have conquered flight. Feathers are made of dead cells, and become dehydrated and are exceedingly light. Thus, they can be large and form the flight surface of the wings and tail without weighing much and without being susceptible to water or heat loss. Along with keeping a birds body warm, feathers function for flight. The long overlapping contour feathers streamline the body. These feathers form the wings and much of the tail. Wings made of contour feathers have much surface area and little weight. They are well adapted for fanning the air and for gliding on air currents.

The flight of birds is one of the most beautiful and wonderful things in nature. The make and arrangement of their feathers and bones, and their stream-lined shapes, from beak to tail, are instances of purposive adaptation. They soar with outstretched wings; they dart with folded wings. Their upward and downward mobility, as well as their stability in the air, and when they rest on their feet, have given many ideas to man in the science and art of aeronautics, But who taught or gave to birds this wonderful adaptation? None but God, Whose infinite Mercy provides for every creature just those conditions which are best adapted for its life. This is stated in a verse in the Qur’an (Mulk, 67.19):

Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them in? None can uphold them except (God) Most Gracious: truly it is He that watches over all things. 

Flying techniques depend on the principles of aerodynamics. Reducing air pressure and friction against the body requires perfect aerodynamic structure. Up to recent times, a rain drop was accepted as the most perfect aerodynamic shape. However, the shape of a bird’s body is now accepted as the most perfect, and aircraft are designed according to the aerodynamic structure of birds. Compared with birds, the latest aircraft are still clumsier and have less agility than birds. Moreover, hypoxia, which is a deficiency of oxygen and results in drowsiness, mental fugitive, headache, and sometimes euphoria, affects pilots severely and can cause them to lose their consciousness on flying upward. But this is not a hindrance for birds because the air between their feathers, their bodies and wings is absorbing and reducing air pressure, Along with this ability, there are some movements which birds can do easily, such as turning sharply, doing somersaults, steep ascents and descents, whereas manmade flying machines face some serious risks in attempting the same movements. Birds can also glide for long periods without beating their wings while aeroplanes cannot sustain flight with stopped engines. Vertical take off and landing is something many flying animals such as bees and birds have been able to do for millions of years. The structure of birds has inspired engineers to design specific modifications in recent models of aircraft, such as the F-14, F-18, and M1G-25, It is true that producing an aircraft requires complex skills and knowledge, improved steadily over a long time. But is it not marvellous that birds have been demonstrating perfect flight for millions of years?

Birds have become adapted to a variety of environments, and various species have very different types of beaks, feet, wings, tails, and behavioural patterns. Although all birds must eat frequently (because they do not store much and yet must maintain a very high metabolic rate), their choice of food varies widely among species-seeds, fruits, worms, molluscs, rodents, rabbits, fish, snakes, lizards, even dead animals. The shape of the bills reflects the birds feeding habits. For example, nectar-feeders have narrow, pointed bills; finches, which consume large quantities of seed, have short, stout bills; and birds that eat insects and berries have a non-specific bill shape and so on.

Birds also lack teeth and this probably reduces body weight for flight. Instead of teeth, their mouths are modified into bills. In addition to this modification, birds have another adaptation for digesting food. A bird swallows small bits of gravel, which act as teeth in the gizzard, mechanically breaking down food. An interesting feature of the bird’s digestive system is the crop, an expanded, sack-like portion of the digestive tract below the oesophagus, in which food is temporarily stored, and where food such as hard seeds is softened with mucus. As a storage organ, the crop allows the bird to feed rapidly and to store large amounts of food. The bird also produces a white secretion, sometimes called crop milk’, which is rich in proteins and fats, and birds use this secretion to feed their young. Birds (except for the ostrich) do not possess a bladder, and so the uric acid passes directly, through the uretors, to the cloaca. After reabsorbing water back into the bird’s body, uric acid is excreted in the form of a semi-solid, whitish concentrate.

Birds often build up high concentrations in their bodies because they consume salty foods or sea water and lose water through evaporation in the urine and feces. To rid themselves of this excess salt, these animals have salt glands, special secretary organs near the eye or in the tongue that remove excess salt from the blood and secrete it in a solution of tear-like drops. Sensors in the wall of a bird’s heart apparently monitor the osmotic pressure of the blood and send nerve signals to the brain that trigger activation of the salt glands. Thus, the animal can drink sea water and yet, by excreting some of the water and all the salts, achieve a net water gain. This is an adaptive mechanism that helps to maintain a light body weight.

Birds have a well-developed nervous system with a brain. They rely heavily on vision; their eyes are proportionately larger than those of other vertebrates. Hearing is also well developed, in striking contrast to most animals, birds have developed the voice. The spoken word in human speech is different from the means of communication which birds have between each other. But no man can doubt that they have means of communication with each other, if he only observes the orderly flight of migratory birds which live in communities. This is also stated in the sacred book, Qur’an (al-Naml. 27.16):

And Solomon was David’s heir. He said: ‘O ye people! We have been taught the speech of Birds, and on us has been bestowed (a little) of all things.’ this is indeed Grace manifest (from God.)

Most birds have short simple calls that signal danger, or that influence feeding, flocking, or interaction between parent and young. Songs are usually more complex than calls and are performed mainly by males; they are related to reproduction, attracting and keeping a mate, claiming and defending territory.

Birds have a special system of air sacs that make fresh air almost continuously available to the sites of gas exchange. This provides the animal with the large quantities of oxygen needed for long distance, high- altitude flights — even a flight over Mt. Everest. A bird’s many air sacs also lower the body weight relative to its size. Air sacs lying between certain flight muscles are squeezed and relaxed on each stroke of the wing and this helps increase the amount of air during inhalation and exhalation. The faster the bird flies, the more rapid is the circulation of air through the lungs.

The paired lungs are relatively small and nine or more hollow air sacs are attached to the lungs and fill much of the body cavity. They are like balloons that lighten the body and serve as reservoirs for air that will later be needed. Experiments show that air flows continuously during both inhalation and exhalation, in one direction through the lungs, and the air is renewed during each inspiration. Therefore, oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange occurs in the lungs’ air capillaries during both inhalation and exhalation. The direction of blood flow in the lungs is opposite to the that of air flow through the parabrocni, tiny, thin-walled ducts in the lungs. This counter current flow increases the amount of oxygen that enters the blood.

This system enables birds to do the intense work of flying, even at high altitudes, and still maintain a high body temperature. Interestingly enough, rapid breathing also contributes to such a high performance; a Venezuela hummingbird, the sparkling violet ear, breathes 330 times per minute at sea level and 380 times per minute at high altitudes. This is a very high heart beat such as no other warm-blooded animal can accomplish.

The very effective respiratory and circulatory systems provide enough oxygen to the cells to permit a high metabolic rate. This is another important adaptation of birds: the maintenance of a high and constant body temperature in spite of changes in the external environment. High metabolic rate is necessary for the tremendous muscular activity required for flying. Some of the heat generated by metabolic activities is used to maintain a constant body temperature (between 35 and 42 degrees C) which permits birds to remain active in cold climates. Birds are among very few animals able to maintain a constant body temperature. Though birds are sometimes called warm-blooded, the preferred term is homeothermic.

One of the most interesting types of behaviour in birds is migration. Migration is the instinctive movement of animals, usually between their wintering grounds and their breeding grounds. Migration provides birds a better chance of surviving. By instinct, migrating birds make their long journeys each year to reach more favourable habitats. Some birds, such as the golden plover and arctic tern, fly from Alaska to Patagonia, South America, and back each year, flying 25,000km en route.

Migration is probably set in by several external stimuli, such as temperature and length of daylight. It is also triggered by the secretion of hormones. For many species the direction of migration is probably based on such factors as the bird’s observation of the sun and stars and even by the earth’s magnetic field. Few modern biological discoveries have been more surprising than the finding, in the 1970s, that bird’s, bacteria, and perhaps many other types of organisms orient their bodies to the earth’s magnetic field, How such animals can have acquired this magnificent ability is a question yet to be answered. How can living things perceive a force as elusive as magnetism?

Many birds and at least one mammal-the porpoise-have a small number of tiny crystals of magnetite (a form of iron oxide) in tissues near the brain. Likewise, magnetobacteria, have magnetite crystals in their cytoplasm and swim toward or away from the poles of an applied magnetic field. How some higher organisms use magnetic particles to sense the direction of the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth’s core remains a subject of research. One hypothesis suggests that the crystals in, for example, a pigeons head, function like tiny compass needless, and mechanoreceptors might detect their relative movement. Other work indicates that in the rat, changes in magnetic yield can alter enzyme activity and levels of melatonin in the pineal gland. Still other work suggests that regularly arrayed layers (also present in pineal glands) undergo certain changes as the head and eyes move relative to the earth’s magnetic field. They could allow the animal to sense magnetic fields, but not by a mechanoreceptor mechanism. Whatever the mechanisms, homing, migration and many other directional animal behaviours depend on detecting magnetic fields.

Birds with their perfect features are wonders in nature to be marvelled at as such. All creation, both animate and inanimate, celebrates Gods praise and bears witness to His power, wisdom and goodness. We can aspire to true knowledge of God through observing the wonders in nature. However, this is possible only if people do not insist on their positivistic viewpoint and see the direct manifestations of God’s Names in His creation:

The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: There is not a thing but celebrates His praise. And yet you understand not how they declare His glory! Truly, He is Off-Forbearing,’ Most Forgiving! (Bani Israll. 17.44)

Biological systematics classifies animals according to its own standards. So far about two million animal species have been distinguished. Each species has distinguishing characteristics and study of a few members of a species gives us general information about the whole of that species. For example, study of a pigeon gives us general information about all birds from nightingales to eagles, from grebes to albatrosses.

Systematic study of a species reveals that the assertions of being more or less developed are of relative nature. Also, study of the general control mechanisms in animal bodies shows a relative complexity in their metabolic and, especially, hormonal and nervous systems from one-celled organisms to mammals. It is difficult to attribute this complexity to chance or coincidences. Determining an entity of such complexity and adaptive effectiveness requires an absolute knowledge, will and power.

The standards by which to determine the degrees of development for animals vary from species to species. For example, with respect to the sense of smelling, sharks, according to our present knowledge, are relatively the most developed among vertebrates. Compared with a shark which can smell a drop of blood in the sea from a distance of about 25,000 feet, man is very much less developed. If we judge the degree of development according to the sense of smell, in place of men or monkeys, sharks will be the first. Whereas, with respect to the sense of seeing, eagles are much more developed than sharks, as well as than men and monkeys. An eagle can see a rabbit on the ground from a height of about 6.000 feet. Also, a bat which catches its prey in the dark with its ultrasonic equipment and a rattlesnake which catches rats with its infra-red eyes are far more developed than human beings in their respective areas of specialization.

Supposing a man was to enter the world of flies, what would flies say about him? ‘How simple and undeveloped that being is! He does not know how to fly. Even with the planes he made, he cannot fly as perfectly as we do. We turn somersaults, alight wherever we wish and take off very easily. Even one-tenth of the subtleties of art in our wings is not to be found in his most elaborate devices. Despite his abilities, skills and knowledge, he is completely unable to make one wing such as ours!

Would it not be true for a honey-bee to say of us:

‘Those clumsy ones can draw with tools and only after calculations the hexagons that I can make so easily and exactly identical to one another. They cannot make so sweet and healing a substance as honey that I produce in great amounts.’ Again, should a microbe or virus not consider itself as more powerful or developed that man seeing that it can cause him to die? With respect to their ability to swim and live in water, are not fish more perfect or developed than us? But then animals living on land are surely more developed than fish in respect of the mechanisms enabling them to live on land.

When we consider the world of insects, we are amazed at the degree of social organization they have achieved: the solidarity in the social life of bees, ants and termites, the communication among them, the absolute obedience of the individual to the commands of the collectivity, and the fulfilment by each individual of its duties to the community- compels us to wonder whether insects or human beings are more developed in this respect. It is for this reason that some socio-biologists tend to think of a society of insects as if it were an individual organism, operated by a single brain, the individuals in the community functioning like separate cells within the larger single organism.

Those who classify creatures according to the complexity of their brain structure and faculties assert that the more complex a brain is, the more developed the animal. However, even though the weight of the brain or the ratio of brain weight to general body weight sometimes appears to confirm this assertion, it usually leads on to wrong conclusions. Those who argue that the mammals whose brains are smaller than the human brain are simpler than human beings, forget that the main difference between human beings and mammals lies in man’s memory and capacity of thinking and speaking, and that there are great differences among the intellectual capacities of human beings. Also, every human being is different from others in many ways-in character, ambitions, attitudes, etc. 

It is function which determines the form and type. That is, an architect does not determine the function of a building after he has built it. On the contrary, he builds the building according to the function it will serve. In the same way, the structural perfection of the human brain corresponds to its functional perfection. That is, man did not become man after he had acquired his brain capacity or complexity. Rather, he was given a brain according to his functions with respect to other creatures and to the duties he was expected to perform. Thinking, as evolutionists do, that brains in animals grew more complex and their ‘intellectual capacity’ increased in parallel with the line of evolution, means attributing all the intellectual faculties and activities like thinking, reasoning, imagination, speaking and so on, to the brain as a physical entity. This is the crudest sort of materialism and reduces man’s existence entirely to matter, rejecting the existence of the spirit and spiritual dimension of man. Also, it is not possible by this hypothesis to explain the differences among human beings in their intellectual capacities, desires, ambitions, and character. If it were possible to increase or strengthen man’s intellectual capacities by making him a bigger and heavier brain, rather than educating him, would it not be more reasonable to try to find ways of enlarging his brain or, as some assert, enabling him to use a greater part of his brain?

How can we regard it as simpler or ‘less evolved’ that in the cytoplasm of one-celled organisms many vital activities like digestion and excretion are carried out? As a small watch is usually more intricate and requires more artistry in its production than a big clock, it may well be said that one-celled animals are more complex or difficult to come about than large, multi-celled ones. Again, although it seems at first sight that the more the number of cells increases, the more complex the creature grows, no one can say that an elephant is more developed than a mouse. Both being classed as mammals, with respect to their bodily activities, one cannot be considered more developed or simpler or requiring more artistry than the other. This leads us to reflect on the following Qur’anic verses:

God does not disdain to coin even a gnat as a parable, or a larger creature. As for those who believe, they know that is the truth from their Lord. But those who unbeliever say, ‘What does God wish to teach by such a parable?’ He leads astray many thereby, and guides many. He leads astray only the corrupt. (al-Baqara, 2.26)

O mankind! A parable is set forth, so listen to it: Surely, those whom you invoke, apart from God, will never create a fly even if they combine together for the purpose. And if the fly took something from them they could not rescue it from it. Hence, weak are both the seeker and the sought! (al-Hajj, 22.73)

It is foolish to regard the bony scales of fish as simple while regarding the pituitary glands on the skin of frogs as developed and the scales of lizards as more developed and the feathers of birds as much more developed and the hair of mammals as the most developed. It is no more than a speculative assertion that those protective parts of the bodies of the animals mentioned evolved each from a simpler one by chance. Is it not more reasonable to accept that each species of animals was given a particular body with its particular parts and systems according to the function it would serve among creatures and the environmental conditions to which it would be best adapted and adaptable?