We woke at the thud, panicked.

My wife and I had been dozing in bed, squeezing the last seconds of sleep out of our pillows before the inevitable onslaught of little people. It’s something of a delicious defeat when you hear the door creak open and steps on the carpet. You know you’re trading something so precious to you (sleep) for someone so precious, who you just wish would be precious elsewhere. But then they’re all warm and soft and tousle-headed and snuggly and saying things like “daddy, can we have special cereal?” and poking their knees into your side and sitting on your face with a full diaper and sticking cold toes into your armpits.

This morning they didn’t get to do all those precious, horrible things to us because we woke up to the sound of something thwacking against our window. After shaking off the confusion (no, it’s not a child on the roof; they can’t reach the window), I recalled why I knew the sound. It was a bird. And from the sound, a pretty sizable one.

I said as much to my wife, as I tried to open my eyes but managed only a half-squint. She half-muttered sympathy, as if she cared deeply inside but couldn’t get past the early morning fog. I added that since it was a big bird, it probably got away a little dazed, no harm done. I tried to find her to give her a reassuring pat, but I was too drowsy and missed completely. I also couldn’t pry my eyelids open still; they ached a little, as if I hadn’t used them for a week instead of approximately six hours.

I’ve read that birds, reptiles, and some mammals have something called a nictitating membrane, a third eyelid that acts as a translucent shield when they are diving or flying. They can draw it horizontally across each eye to moisten and protect it. For instance, many birds use it when they are regurgitating food for their kids so they don’t get their eyes poked out by little beaks.

I think of things like this when I’m abruptly disturbed from sleep. Things like this, and demonic children’s songs that will not be exorcised for hours.

We turned over and buried ourselves in the blankets for three more minutes before the precious, horrible people came and got us.

Nadia was playing hopscotch out on the sidewalk later in the morning when she found the bird. Robins are always the first birds my children encounter and remember. It was easy for her to name the body she stumbled upon, one story below our window, and quite dead. We had a little flurry of don’t-touch-that’s and daddy-is-it-going-to-be-okay’s, and I managed to deposit it into a small terrarium for them to look at. Animals can die of diseases communicable to humans, but this one died upon impact, and it was still warm. So the kids and I examined it carefully.

It was larger than any bird I’d seen this close. The wings were tucked in beside its impossibly light body. Many of its bones were hollow, for ease of flight. The neck was at a weird angle, a wrong angle. The death in front of me was at a wrong angle. It always has been, but it just felt much more wrong suddenly, because it was also in front of my children. Blood speckled its beak, a dark decoration above the warm red tinges on its chest.

I realized that it was a young one, probably a teenager in robin years. Its feathers were perfect, straight and sleek, pinions just slightly larger and smaller on each side, forming beautiful strong wings. And the roses on the sides under the wings were just barely forming up into a speckled breast. It was about the size of an adult but without the experience, which is why it probably hit our window.

One eye was slightly open and looking like black jelly, like it would spill out of the socket as liquid if you tipped the bird over slightly. The other eye was closed. This teenage robin had eyelashes on the under-lid. It had whiskers. Its feet were curled and delicate.

It was too beautiful. It was too sad.

Nadia was watching me. She told me she was sorry that it died because she could see the sadness in my eyes; but I wasn’t really mourning after the bird. We touched its wings, feeling its perfect form beneath our fingers: the surreal softness, the preciousness of a young fleeting life snuffed out. Not a sparrow falls but that He sees it. God saw this.

Woodpeckers will close their nictitating membrane, then tighten it a millisecond before they hit the tree so that their eyeballs don’t fall out on impact. Perhaps we need similar shields.

Only a few days earlier we had discovered a young robin hopping around the pine tree down in the yard. We took pictures. The kids enjoyed watching it hop around. There was a hawk above, circling around, and I like to think we saved that little robin’s life. There was a little one then, alive and bouncing, and then a bigger one, dead and stiff.

God saw this.

What is it about seeing that is comforting? Wouldn’t catching the sparrow be more comforting? Wouldn’t solving the problem, ending the great horror – death – wouldn’t this be a more lasting comfort? You see me, God. You see my children. But if you were to let them fall…

Sharks close their third eyelid when they attack. This way they can see their victims without getting blood in their eyes.

Kai got out of the house when he was only one year old. We noticed when it was too quiet. He had slipped out the screen door moments after I arrived home from work, and neither Linnea nor I had seen him. I locked the door. It was five minutes before we noticed he was gone, and in those five minutes he was down the outer stairs of the apartment building and toddling along the street.

The terror in my heart: I was running down the sidewalk in my dress slacks, socks, and undershirt, desperately looking for my son, expecting to see him lying in the street, expecting to be one of those parents we pray for, expecting to live with the knowledge that we didn’t see him, we didn’t see him, and then it was too late to see him…

He liked stairs, so he had kept to the house side of the sidewalk, and a kind and observant couple had pulled over and were with him four houses down when I ran up. The man was on the phone with the police, and I heard him say, “Oh never mind, it’s okay. The father’s here.” I thanked them, breathless, and held my son, and held him walking back, and held him up the stairs, and held him for another hour until he didn’t want to be held anymore, promising him I would see him, always, I would see him.

God saw this. How can I say it differently, to ease the pain? God sees… me?

If we mourn this way, how must God mourn at all He sees, at all the flickering lights snuffed out, the bruised reeds broken, the sheep silent before the shearer? Death is nothing new to Him, and in fact, He knows it as an old friend, an old foe, better than us all.

Today, this day, my children are alive and real, perfect in form and surreally soft. They are the preciousness of young life, fleeting, and my God sees them. Lest you think me morbid, think on why this is precious, why as a parent, as a child, as a human I am determined to cherish this thing we call life, why I must defend it for those I love, why death is such an aberration and a destiny and a defeated foe. The thought of death is morbid, maybe, but so is the thought of life without the thought of death. For now, we need both. And God sees us, in both.

God sees us.

Peregrine falcons see too, because as they dive at over 200 miles per hour, they blink their nictitating membranes repeatedly to clear away the debris and clean each eye.

In the midst of holding onto my family’s break-neck life, I find that I am unable to bring myself to accept such a thing as death, and yet… I know that it’s what I must do, for we will all encounter it, sooner or later. This dark thing I wish to dismiss by forgetting, or fighting, or examining on the operating table of a small terrarium: Death will come for us all.  I know, in my spirit, it is good – a gift given so that our difficult, fallen lives will not last forever, but it will never lose its dread, even when it has lost its sting. And perhaps I will embrace it as a friend when more years have passed beneath my feet, or perhaps I will embrace my Savior, and He will carry me through it into the place where it cannot enter.

And my heart holds its breath for all the times I must try to prepare my children for that moment – the one I feel certain I will never be fully prepared for, the one that God sees. I know I am actually only trying to prepare myself. I know it is not up to me, and I wish I could take more comfort in that. Perhaps someday I will. Every day is another reminder that I am not in control, and death is the great Out-of-My-Control.

But I know this. Each day that I walk in the sight of God, He will train my eyes, and my sight can be strengthened by seeing life and knowing it itself is but a shadow of the life to come.

Nadia, my little avian maven, knows that birds need nests. So she settles herself in a patch of fragrant clover and picks flowers as a pillow for the bird. She is kneeling in her pink flowered dress, a lily ringed with gingham, examining the ground and plucking appropriate stems carefully, precisely, preparing for burial. Perhaps, preparing for flight.

And I blink back a tear.

Research on hummingbirds (also known as nectar birds or Colibris), the smallest of the 9,800 bird species living today, has revealed remarkable facts. The world’s smallest birds are equipped with mind-blowing structures and functions that push all physiological and anatomical boundaries. The bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), considered to be the smallest bird in the world, is only 1.96-inch-long and weighs 0.06 ounces.

There are around 330-340 species of hummingbird and they live only in North and South America and the nearby oceanic islands. With their colorful feathers, they are some of the most beautiful birds.

How the hummingbird flies

A hummingbird flaps its wings so fast that the motion cannot be seen by the human eye but only detected through special cameras. The wings move at an incredible speed in a seemingly complex pattern, drawing circles back and forth 50 to 80 times per second, depending on the species. Under the genus Colibri, the horned Sungem (Heliactin bilophus) species flaps its wings 90 times per second; the purple amethyst Colibri (Calliphlox amethystina) flaps its 80 times per second. This speed increases up to 200 per second during a short spike while escaping from an enemy. Moving back and forth, the wings oscillate in the form of the figure 8 in the air. While in most other birds the movement of the wings produces the power to lift up and down, Hummingbirds, like helicopters, can perform movements such as hanging in the air or standing steadily as well as flying backward or rising in a vertical direction.

Figure 8

Metabolic rate and energy consumption

Flying requires a lot of energy. The amount of energy spent is related to the bird’s body size and flapping speed. In this regard, given that a colibri flaps its wings 80 times per second, it takes a great deal of energy to maintain such a rapid movement. The colibri’s chest muscles were perfectly created for flapping quickly and take up 40% of the hummingbird’s total body mass. Therefore, a colibri consumes more energy than other birds; it’s basically a fighter jet.

In order to meet this high energy demand, the amount of nectar a colibri consumes every day has to be equal to their body weight. Living at such a high metabolic rate requires a fine adjustment of food consumptions with precise calculations.

Such a high food intake requires a high metabolism – and thus, the need for oxygen increases dramatically. When the need for oxygen increases, there can be two kinds of conditions. Those animals with very large lungs can intake a lot of air at once. And those with smaller lungs can produce the required oxygen by breathing many times a minute. Colibri or Nectar birds are the ones that can breathe the most in one minute. The lungs of the world’s smallest birds breathe 250 times per minute to transfer oxygen to their hearts weighing a mere 0.003 ounces and beating 1,200 times per minute.

Toronto University’s Kenneth C. Welch Jr. studied the metabolism of hummingbirds for more than 10 years. He discovered that there is a relationship between the size of hummingbirds, energy efficiency, and oxygen consumption, and that larger hummingbirds are more efficient energy users than smaller ones. A hummingbird can take 2.44 cubic inches of oxygen per 0.03 ounces an hour. When a small weight is added to the bird, this amount increases to 3.66 cubic inches, and their tissues use oxygen very efficiently.

Energy requirements

A hummingbird’s metabolism is the fastest among all vertebrates. It needs to eat almost constantly to get the energy it needs to produce fuel for its breathtaking metabolism, which functions like a power plant. It receives nectar from 2,000 flowers every day. If we humans could work at this bird’s energy levels, we’d have to eat about 1,300 sandwiches a day to produce energy, and our body temperature would rise to 725 °F! Also, our hearts would have to beat 1,260 times per minute. Although nectar from flowers is the main fuel source driving the bird’s metabolic engines, it also occasionally eats insects, for protein needs.

During any given 30-minute period, hummingbirds burn the sugar they had taken in an hour ago. If we apply this rapid intake of sugar and the metabolic cycle in human beings, we would have to drink a large bottle of soda and burn the sugar in it every minute.

Unlike us, hummingbirds use both glucose and fructose from nectar in their intestines, circulatory systems, and muscle cells. However, we can support our bodies at urgent needs with an intake rate of 30% of glucose. Half of the nectar that hummingbirds take is glucose and half is fructose. In this modern age, high fructose derived from corn in our diets has paved the way for metabolic diseases and obesity – that is, people cannot metabolize high fructose.

Scientists are trying to determine how hummingbirds can process fructose. It is known that there is a carrier molecule different from glucose in fructose. This carrier is very rare in human muscle cells, but it is found in abundance in hummingbird’s muscle fibers; so we believe the mystery of how they utilize fructose so fast is about to be solved.

Hummingbirds have been equipped with mechanisms to increase the rapid introduction of nutrients such as fructose and glucose – which are basically small sugar molecules – or amino acids into their metabolisms. Their hearts and blood vessels work at a high speed to carry the sugar into their tissues as well as to transfer a lot of blood. In addition, a large number of capillaries have been implemented close to the muscle cells so that the blood can reach each and every cell.

Wing design

While humanity has not yet invented a machine that can move in a figure-8 pattern 80 times per second, including forward and backward, the ultra-flexibility of a hummingbird’s unique wing strokes demonstrates the special creation of its bones, muscles, and joints. The colibri’s brain and nervous system, which control these muscles and joints by transmitting signals, require infinite knowledge and power. The flexibility of the shoulder joint in the movement of the wings, which allows them to bend to extreme positions not found in other birds, gives us an idea of the wing’s unique design and architecture. Although biomimetic engineers have spent millions of dollars applying this complex system to technology, they have so far failed in their attempts to produce a similar machine.

Cooling the feathers due to the friction of the muscles and the tremendous movement of the wings is a problem in itself. While man-made machines need advanced cooling systems, the hummingbird has been created with a such a built-in system.

Unique tongue structure

Biologists from the University of Connecticut have discovered that hummingbirds’ tongues have a very special design and work like micro pumps. Tongues about twice the length of their beaks allow them to reach deep into flowers. The nectar is then pumped into the body in less than 1/20^th of a second. This occurs thousands of times each day. Tai-Hsi Fan and Margaret A. Rubega, who for a long time examined how hummingbirds stick their tongues 15 or 20 times a second into the tubular part of a flower, said that they “could not clearly understand how they drink the nectar.” In their latest study, they showed that it was only possible for the birds to hold nectar through two channels in their tongues. It was once thought that the physical rule of the upward movement of liquids in capillary tubes, even without suction, worked in the hummingbird’s nectar intake; but when special video recordings of the movement of their tongues were examined, it became evident that the tongue first compressed the nectar in a series of movements, then sprung up very quickly and the nectar was suddenly sprayed into the channels.

It would seem that both the hummingbirds and the flowers they need for sustenance were created in perfect harmony.

Red hummingbirds migrate from Alaska to Mexico every year. They can fly 56 miles per hour. Prior to this journey, they feed for one or two weeks to fill their fuel tanks, forming a layer of fat equal to half their body weight. Since these activities cause a lot of heat loss on the body surfaces, they cannot provide enough energy to stay active for more than 12 hours at a time. To counter this, they fall into a deep sleep every night for 12 hours. The energy storage, flight endurance, long-distance migration, and returning with the young ones are each complicated factors that their coming together to make this journey possible cannot simply be explained by blind chance.

Of course, the smallest bird in the world would have the smallest egg size: a mere 0.5 x 0.3 inches, for a total weight of 0.007 ounces. Considering that this wonderful bird’s design is embedded into this egg, which is about the size of the nail of our little finger, it can be understood how perfect a creation it is.

Flies have two wings that are capable of moving independently from each other; these wings go back and forth on a single axis during flight. Technically, the unequal angles of the wings to the abdominal region could have prevented flight. Yet in the case of flies, this abnormal situation is not a hindrance and results in a harmonious wing stroke.

Let’s bring our palms together over our head and then lower them near our legs. How many times can we make this movement in a second? Let’s say two, three, or maybe four times if we are really quick. Flies have the ability to stroke their wings hundreds of times in just a second. There are benefits associated with this series of movements. The surface of the wings and the rear section of the head are equipped with sensitive hairs that are in charge of registering air currents and mechanical pressures and conducting relevant flight data to the brain. The unwanted effects of air currents towards the body surface and wings during the flight are detected via these hairs that house receptors. Thus, the wings are controlled according to the signals arriving from the brain. Therefore, a fly can feel an air curtain (like an insect screen) against it instantly and often times flies away. Sometimes, they also stroke their wings hundreds of times per second to avoid the negative effects of air resistance on the wings. Without these receptors and serial wing movements, the air current would stick to the wing’s surface and would not let the fly, well, fly.

Is it a fly or a plane?

We sometimes witness comparisons between the flight specifications of planes and flies. However, it is a great injustice to the fly to be put in the same basket as a plane. The products of modern technology, such as a plane, are invented after drawing inspiration from the meaningful skills of animals like a fly. It is not possible to build planes with a wing width smaller than 15 centimeters; there are disadvantages to wings smaller than that in terms of generating lift. On the other hand, flies have much smaller and more fragile wing structures (relative to their bodies) and can maintain their flight in a perfect fashion. When a fly extends its rear legs, covered with hairs designed especially for cleaning the wings, and sweeps them over its wings, doesn’t this suggest a fly is more impressive than a plane?

It challenges mountaineers!

A fly challenges mountain climbers by easily moving on the four walls and ceiling of a room – and even on slippery surfaces like glass. What is its secret?

Its ability to stand or walk on the ceiling without being defeated by gravity is possible via some of its organs. The final sections of fly’s legs are like hooks and the tip of this hook is equipped with suction pads. When flies touch a surface, a sticky fluid is secreted from the suction pads. Flies can remain suspended on the ceiling with the help of this fluid. When it approaches the ceiling, extends its legs to the front and flips towards the opposite direction of its approach, it sticks to the ceiling on its abdomen.

The grand architecture in the eye of the fly

Can you complete a jigsaw puzzle of 8000 pieces in a second without any missing pieces? It seems impossible, but let’s accept that you have. Can you fit this puzzle into an area that’s just a couple of square millimeters? It’s not possible for a man of intelligence to pass this test. However, the fly completes this miraculous task every time it uses its eyes in our rooms. We are unaware of the fact that the fly, which draws patterns of colors under the sun light, has such amazing eyes. Its eye is created to contain nearly 8000 ommatidium, which function almost as small eyes. Different areas can be seen via each ommatidium and once images are put together in the brain, the whole picture forms. Through these tiny eyes, shaped as hexagons that resemble honey combs, a fly can see as close as 2 mm – and can even see behind its body! Because of the wise hexagonal design, the ommatidia are placed in the most economical way possible; there are no missing spaces which could cause a lack of clarity. The optical speed of a fly’s eye is nearly 4-10 times faster than the human eye. Flies can see the ultraviolet section of the light spectrum and this allows them to evade predators easily in dim environments. Every time a fly uses its eyes, it’s as if it gives the message, “Look at how miraculously I’ve been created. Do you think that my creation could have been in vain?” Such complexity is an inspiration to scientists as they try to develop new technologies.

One of the features of flies that surprises scientists most is the way they use a neural network of a very limited number of neurons to perform so many complex movements. Biologist Michael Dickinson expresses his astonishment as to how a neural system of such small scale can accomplish all of these features.

Do not ever kill a fly!

Flies consume plenty of energy during flight. A regular supply of oxygen is needed to compensate for the energy they use. Air is inhaled via a constriction of the abdominal muscles when the fly lands on a surface. However, during the flight, air enters via the serial movements of the wings. Air that enters through the openings of the chitin layer surrounding the fly is transported to cells via small channels.

Flies locate their food via their smell receptors. Thus, a fly in the air easily lands on the food source that it detects. The taste organ detects whether the food is an ideal source or not. Usually, their choices of food are human foods, waste remains, and dirt. There are two tubes located in the mouth of the house fly. It sucks liquid food with one of the tubes; saliva containing enzymes is secreted on the food source with the other hose so that digestion is facilitated. A fly secretes plenty of saliva in order to liquefy the solid foods it prefers.

Flies that use dirt and waste as a nutritional source are considered as disease contracting pests. However, this is a major fallacy. Flies are actually the health officers of the ecosystem. They turn microorganisms ineffective as they take in their food; the digestive enzymes that they carry play role in completing this important task. Due to this important task, it should be remembered that killing a fly is very unfortunate. Great scholar, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, notes that flies are assigned to terminate unhealthy microorganisms and materials.

Scientists led by Prof. Andy Beattie have noticed that flies are resistant to all kinds of dirt, including from meat and manure. He said that these organisms should be super resistant to infections, otherwise they could not survive and that our work to gain antibiotics from them has been partially successful. In fact, studies focused on obtaining antibiotics from flies started in the past century. English and Swedish scientists isolated certain antibiotics from flies in 1930 and 1947. Efforts to isolate antibiotics from flies continue today.

Reproduction in black flies!

Black flies reproduce quickly. In suitable humidity and temperature, eggs start to hatch in just 10 hours. Larvae feed on liquid materials, though they need bacteria living on solid food to convert it into liquid form. Therefore, an acid is secreted inside the digestive track of the fly that can terminate most of the bacteria. Thus, the insect becomes free of bacteria, ready to fly. One fly can lay more than 100 eggs at one time and between 600 and 1000 in their lifetime. They can lay eggs again after just three days.

When looking at the information we have, it’s clear that flies are acrobatic flight masters with mind blowing features. We should abandon the negativity towards flies and contemplate the perfection of creation by considering their many remarkable skills – and working to discover even more secrets about them.

Not long after, I saw a minuscule thing coming to me from that direction; I thought it was a bird of some kind. Strange enough, the bird came to me so abruptly that I heard its sound only after it passed me… Guess what? It was not a bird; it was a fighter jet. This time, I knew where to look, and I followed it for the short while it played pick-a-boo with me.

The following day, mom took me to the celebration arena for a national day. I couldn’t believe my eyes, everywhere was full of fighter jets; but my eyes looked for the one that mesmerized me the day before. And, it was standing right there, waiting for me to come. I approached it with respectful steps, and carefully touched it. It was so cold and tough, yet so beautiful. That day, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. The smell of the jet fuel coming from the engines was so powerful that even I could fly with that kind of a drink.

“Hey; come here” I heard someone calling me. There was really nobody around. “Follow the sharp smell, come on here,” insisted the voice. Was I daydreaming, or had I been poisoned by the jet fuel and lost my conscience? Yeah, yeah, the voice was coming from the rear-end of the engine. It was the nozzle that was talking to me.

The moment I realized who was talking to me, I found myself in the circular, hollow structure of the nozzle. I was too nervous and surprised at first, but after a moment of looking around admiringly, I spoke with the words: “I know the inferno fire that you are exhausting. Isn’t it beautiful? You are so powerful. You are the one that is powering this beauty in the sky.”

The nozzle was not happy to hear my words of flattery. “Hey little boy, you know something, but you don’t know everything. Yes, it is true that I am exhausting that violent river of gas. You are right that this stormy exhaust is in the heart of this beauty in the sky. But you have got to learn more. I am only a solid duct that is accelerating what comes into me. I have no power to compress that humongous amount of air into a volume as small as a bird’s nest. I am completely unable to heat up the air to inferno level. And, the beauty in the sky is not taken up there by me either.”

I was totally disappointed and frustrated by the nozzle. I had thought for an instant that it was my hero; but now, my dreams were destroyed. I felt all alone in a desert. The nozzle must have realized my situation, so it picked up again: “Come on. I am going to introduce you to the unseen heroes behind our mysterious beauty. I am going to show you the inside.”

I was truly perplexed. What else could be more mysterious than a speaking nozzle? The voice of the nozzle slowly diffused into the deep and dark hallway into the engine, and I followed it. Soon, I came by long towers that had a nicely curved shape. As soon as I stepped near them, the floor that the towers were built on started moving. In the midst of this earthquake and a blinding darkness, I could faintly see another row of towers that were stagnant. I threw myself towards them. As I was dealing with my horrified and troubled soul, I heard a thunderous voice that reverberated everywhere:

“How nice to see you here, Adam!” I was doubly shocked. Not only was this unseen thing talking to me, but it also knew my name. “Do you know me?” I replied. “How could I miss your glittering eyes fixed at us whenever we pass over you? I am the turbine, one of the unseen heroes. I am the one that powers the compressors that squeeze the air. I am the one that faces the hot air before it goes into the nozzle.”

Wow, this was the man; this was the legendary hero behind the beauty in the sky. I looked at its towers that displayed nobility and their curved surfaces that embodied beauty. As I was losing myself in admiration, I heard the voice again:

“These are the eyes that I have been seeing every time we passed over you. But I have to tell you something. What you are looking for is not me either, because I cannot create the hot air that energizes everything, including me. Despite the beauties and power embodied in me, I am not the essence that bears the real beauty you are looking for.”

What was that supposed to mean? First the nozzle, now the turbine; every time, I am being attracted, and then I am left alone with a sense of deception. Are these heroes making fun of my admiration of their beauty? If so, they don’t deserve my admiration anymore; if not, then why am I having this feeling of deception? Is it wrong to attribute hero status to something?

Lost in feelings and thoughts like these, I left the turbine, and proceeded further into the darkness. Not only didn’t I know where I was, but also I had no means to determine my whereabouts. In total silence and darkness, I sat at a place that felt like a smooth and large room. Suddenly, a wind started blowing with growing speed, and a constant noise occupied everywhere. I was alarmed and sought somewhere to cling to. With the help of lightning that seemed to come out of nowhere, I saw a cavity that looked safe. After a challenging crawl, I was there. Then, a second lightning came and everywhere burst into fires. As if winds from the hell were gushing out. My jaw dropped down, I stared at this miraculous display of fire.

“Welcome, finally you are here,” told a voice that was distinctly heard despite the violent storm. I felt like I am being driven through a scenario so that where ever I enter, I experience things that I was meant to. “Am I the hero of this scenario?”, I asked myself inside, and laughed at the idea. Upon seeing so many extraordinary things, my awe of the strange things was veiled with habituation. So, I couldn’t pay the respect that was due the voice I heard. Maybe because of this, I received a kick from behind, and I had to struggle against the winds of fire to get back to my seat where I was safe and comfortable.

“Hello, are you still there?” I asked. “Can you tell me where I am?” That distinct voice appeared again in my ears: “Indeed, I am here, but you weren’t!” I bowed my head with shame. Having hurt the only one that could help me in this situation was as foolish as it could be. “And I was with you all along from the start.” What was this? I didn’t know whether to feel ashamed because of my selfish and pragmatic sense of respect, or to burst into a thousand pieces for not having recognized the one who has been with me all along?

“This is as far as you can go in this story. You are in the place where the energy that empowers everything is revealed. It is the heart of the beauty that you have been admiring.” After a second of silence, “Did you find what you were looking for?” asked the voice. I had seen strange things, but none of them had satisfied my heart nor quenched my curiosity. A sad face was my response to the question, but I didn’t know if the voice could see my face. Apparently it did, so that it directed me to another place. “You see this violent fire going on, would you like to fly away with it?” Was this guy crazy? How in the world could I survive in fire? “Well then, there are two ways to get out of here. Either you go along the fire back to where you came from. Or, if you are not able to do so, you go forward.”

With that directive, I started crawling towards the front, into the strong wind. I came across a thing similar to the turbine, and then another hallway similar to the nozzle. At first I was puzzled, because I had seen the same things that I had seen on my way previously. Had I made a mistake and proceeded backwards? That mustn’t be the case, since I had moved away from the fire.

After this stupefying similarity, I was at the mouth of the cave where everything starts. I was able to see the wings too. But now, the aircraft was moving. All of the storm that was going on inside was for accelerating. The force of the acceleration was so strong that I slipped from where I was clinging, and found myself stuck at the beautiful front curve of the wing. Strange enough, the same voice welcomed me again: “Finally you are here.” I didn’t know whether to reply to it or to lose myself while watching the beauty of the aircraft as it soared into the air with an ever increasing speed. It definitely felt like the divers who hear that beautiful voice when they go deeper than they should. I could not resist melting my body in the excitement of the maneuvers. After a while, we were hundreds of meters above where we had started. Now, the aircraft was cruising, and despite the rareness of the experience, it felt like sitting in the living room. With the steadiness of my state, I found myself emerging from the depths of excitement.

“Have you found the beauty you are looking for?” asked the voice again, to which I said yes. “Where do you think that beauty is coming from? From the engines or from the wings?” That question was most unexpected. The engine itself was not able to fly, it was only able to create a strong push. The wings were only beautiful. They did not actively do anything. They only stood there in the wind, and then, lift was there. Without the air, the wings would not create anything. As for the air, we are completely sunken in it, let alone flying. “I don’t know where the beauty is coming from. There seems to be something missing in the ingredients that created the beauty of flight. None of the ingredients seems to originate it. It looks like you put the engine, the wings and the air in the pot, and suddenly something that you did not put comes into being.”

“But you did not realize this point until you made this journey, despite that you have been witnessing the same beauty all along. “

Why was that the case? Why did I have to make this incredible journey in order to become aware of this uncertainty in the source of beauty?

“When you are not actually in a journey like this, you take all the mysteries for granted, because you consider them natural, ordinary. But once you are in the journey, you realize something different that exists neither in you nor in the things you come across. It is as if somebody is tracking what is going on, and whenever the necessary ingredients are there, he secretly adds the missing spice into it at the right amount. And, then? Behold the beauty!”

Able to dive into the water at a speed approaching 90 km, the kingfisher can grab its prey at this speed in a depth of 60 cm, instantly pivot back and then, using its wings as oars, surface above the water. In order not to lose its prey, the bird’s precisely timed diving and surfacing takes place in three seconds.

A torpedo as light as a fly

The most basic factor that enables an animate creature to dive into the water is its body being heavier than the water. With a weight of 40 g and a length of 18 cm, the kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) should remain on top of the water and not be able to catch fish because it cannot dive. However, because God put the sustenance of this bird in the depths of the sea, He gave it the special diving ability. Able to dive into the water at a speed approaching 90 km, the kingfisher can grab its prey at this speed in a depth of 60 cm, instantly pivot back and then, using its wings as oars, surface above the water. In order not to lose its prey, the bird’s precisely timed diving and surfacing takes place in three seconds. In a short period of time the kingfisher has traveled a distance 414 times its height. This shows that it can move as fast as a fighter aircraft. If we consider what the kingfisher does on a human scale, a person would be able to dive 26 meters in three seconds and then resurface with a prey the size of a sheepdog. Here another interesting point should be made. The fish the kingfisher wants to catch is actually in a different position than it would visually appear from the sky due to the difference of the degrees of deflection of light in water and air. Bereft of any knowledge of optics, how does this bird solve this problem of physics?

How heavy is a bird feather?

There are physical limits to bird’s flying capabilities. In order for a bird to be able to fly, its weight should not be more than 15 kg. In order for birds heavier than this to fly, their wings have to be proportionately larger so it is difficult for this big a bird with heavy wings to fly. Male silent swans (Cygnus olor) weigh more than 14 kg; in fact, there are even some that weigh 20 kg. However, God compensated for this situation with a special structure. Like other birds, the silent swans have some bones filled with air and the inner part of these bones has been made stronger with small props. For this reason, the feathers and bones of these birds are one-tenth as heavy as their bodies. There are more than 12,000 muscle ligaments in the wings of swans to activate the feathers used in flying. Long (50 cm) wing feathers greatly increase the carriage surface of the wings. Each feather can carry 200 grams of weight during flight. For this reason, a swan that loses just one wing feather can no longer take flight. It takes 60 days for the feathers to be completely renewed.

Because the owl’s ears were created asymmetrically (the right ear is higher), sounds reach the close ear 1/300,000 of a second earlier. This small amount of time difference is enough for the owl to determine the exact place of the source of the sound.

Are owls flying radar stations?

Under normal conditions it is not possible to hear the sound waves of a mouse eating a hazelnut in a hayloft. Possessing a sensitive receiver, owls are an exception. The facial structure of owls resembles the high tech early warning equipment on AWACS planes. Focusing on even the smallest sound wave just like a satellite antenna, this structure cannot be explained by the intelligence of an owl.

Because the owl’s ears were created asymmetrically (the right ear is higher), sounds reach the close ear 1/300,000 of a second earlier. This small time difference is enough for the owl to determine the exact location of the source of the sound. Through the 95,000 nerve cells in the simultaneous hearing center, the brain imagines a 3-D image of the prey. Due to the anatomy of it 14 neck vertebrae (humans and other mammals have seven vertebrae), the owl was given the capability of turning its head 270 degrees and determining the exact position of its prey. While flying towards the place where the sound came from, the owl can constantly recalculate the position of the prey relative to its own position, even if the prey changes its place. As a result of this precise calculation, only three seconds passes between the moment the owl first heard the sound of the prey and the moment it makes its deadly attack.

Is there a mathematical formula for remaining alive?

The formula is this: 7-15-70. It is difficult to immediately understand what these three numbers mean. However, these numbers make it almost impossible for a starling to be caught by its enemies.

We can explain the meaning of these numbers as follows: Whatever 7 close neighbors do, imitate them; constantly fly at least 15 cm from them; do not ever fly more than 70 km per hour. There is one more rule: Keep your distance from all enemies. When these principles are followed, enormous protection follows.

Flocks of starlings are comprised of several thousands of birds that move like one organism. In less than a second, the flock’s direction, size and breadth can change. In this situation their enemies do not have much of a chance against such a tight mass. For predatory birds need to determine their targets in order to catch their prey. The fast and sudden movements of the flock prevent attack from predatory birds. In spite of this, predators who attempt attack go back empty-handed. For acting like one body, this enormous flock encompasses the enemy in a counter current with the waves they create and narrow it down until the bird can no longer fly. Becoming dazed, the predatory bird has no choice but to fly away from the flock. This instructive action of the starlings brings to mind the Qur’anic verse: “There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, not a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you” (6:38).

The world’s best camera can see objects as big as a mouse from a height of 300 meters. This is an amazing thing, but even so, no camera can compare in any respect to an eagle’s eyes.

Can eagles see from the side?

The world’s best camera can see objects as big as a mouse from a height of 300 meters. This is an amazing thing, but even so, no camera can compare in any respect to an eagle’s eyes. Eagles can clearly see their targets from a distance of more than 1,000 meters. Eagles can even see a fish in fine detail from this distance. This special quality bestowed upon eagles is something technology would have difficulty imitating. For the lens of the eagle’s eye is soft contrary to human eyes’ and it sees clearly more quickly and it more greatly magnifies its object. In addition, each of the eyes of the eagle has two separate vision centers. This allows the birds to see clearly both in front of them and at their sides. To attain this perfect vision, more than a million light receiving cells are on duty in each square millimeter of the retina. Comparing this to a human eye, a person has 200,000 cells in the same unit of space in the retina. Due to this structure of the retina and lens, an eagle’s eyes are as large as a human being’s eyes. If a human eye were to have the same capability, it would have to be as large as an apple. Because a human does not need to hunt like an eagle, he was not burdened with such big eyes.

How much can a brain be shaken?

G-force expresses changes in a body’s weight caused by acceleration. For example, when a jet is climbing towards the sky, the gravity a pilot is subject to increases immensely and his blood puts a lot of pressure on the veins in his legs. A space vehicle has 3 G when it takes off; a war plane has an average of 10 G; and a car’s peak force is 120 G when it crashes head on at full speed. With every peck, a woodpecker’s beak reaches 1,200 G in a way that is hard to believe. In other words, it is like the bird’s head hits a cement wall at a speed of 25 km per hour, and the woodpecker does this 20 times a second.

Experiencing pressures greater than 14 G is deadly for a human being. In comparison, woodpeckers have been given the ability to endure several hundred times what astronauts experience in their landings. This is only possible with a very special histological/anatomic structure and a skull created with perfect proportions. With the beak hitting a tree in a hard manner, a woodpecker’s brain almost completely fills its skull in order to prevent a trauma from developing. Created with a spongy structure, its bone structure acts as a shock absorber. The head and nape of the neck muscles contract towards the place it has hit and the waves from the blow become harmless. Even the lower part of the tongue is wound around the skull once in order to secure the brain and protect it from shaking. This situation does not create a problem or difficulty for woodpeckers which hit their heads against trees for a handful of larva, for they have been prepared for these conditions in their creation.

Small birds creating the power of a hurricane

Having a spread of 35 cm between two wings when they are opened, swallows weigh less than a normal size lighter. At first glance the apparent body structure of swallows suggests that they should only display an average flight capability with their deficient ability to maneuver. However, when we go out into nature and see swallows soaring in the countryside, we see that the situation is not like that at all. With the amazing way in which they were created, swallows succeed in doing a job that appears to be almost impossible physically. These birds can pass with jet speed through a space only 2 cm wider than their bodies. They succeed in this by flapping their wings rhythmically without stopping. Researchers have determined that they do this by means of a wing structure that moves with a special mechanism. The upper part of the wings of swallows can turn the air into an eddy. With the pressure created by this eddy, a great power of lifting and balancing occurs. The birds virtually fly with the power of hurricanes. Until now, this style of flying was only known to exist with insects. By seemingly gluing their wings to their bodies with this wonderful mechanism bestowed by the Creator, swallows easily pass through difficult places. Consequently, swallows can make 90-degree turns at astonishing speeds. Supersonic planes also benefit by generating these same kind of mini-hurricanes.

Can there be flying submarines?

Every year in May, tens of thousands of sharks, whales and dolphins come to the South African coastlines because of the schools of sardines (Sardinella). However, the strongest sardine hunter is not under water; it is a bird eyeing its prey from 30 meters high. The northern gannet (Morus capensis) a much better hunter than other sea birds, has a perfect body structure. While even sharks can only catch one out of two prey, the northern gannet’s perfect hunting techniques enable it to make a record success. The first reason for this is its reaching its target quickly and directly; the second reason is its being able to move about comfortably under water. These sea birds can go down 10 meters at first and then 20 meters by flapping their wings. They can dive at a speed of 120 km per hour. Their capability of holding oxygen-rich air in their air bags allows them to hunt up to one minute under water. Because they usually finish their prey under water, it is not common for them to bring it to the surface.

As research supported by technological possibilities increases, many more amazing biological mechanisms will be discovered. Doesn’t it strain reason to explain the existence of animate creatures that continue life with such fine calculations by means of chance?

Ikhlas requires that one pursue nothing worldly while worshipping and obeying God, that one fulfills the duty of servanthood only because God orders it, and that one remains silent concerning any personal experiences of God’s special treatment and special gifts and seek only His approval and pleasure.

Sincerity is one of the most significant qualities of those most faithful or loyal to God; loyalty is regarded as a source, and sincerity as a sweet water originating from it. The most eloquent of humanity, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, declared that one who drinks uninterruptedly from this water for forty days will find channels of wisdom opened from his or her heart to his or her tongue, and that such a person will always speak wisdom.

Loyalty or faithfulness is the primary attribute of Prophethood, and sincerity is its most lustrous dimension. Sincerity is innate in the Prophets; all other people try to obtain it during their lifetime. Among them, for example, the Qur’an describes the Prophet Moses as one made sincere (19:51).

Faithfulness and sincerity were as intrinsic and essential to the Prophets as air and water are to the lives of those who communicate the Prophets’ message to others in every age. In addition, they were the Prophets’ most important sources of power. The Prophets were convinced that they could not take one step forward without sincerity, and the representatives of the cause of Prophethood must believe that they will be able to achieve nothing without it. Faithfulness and sincerity are two wings or two deep oceans extending from Divine Favor and Grace to an individual’s heart. One who can sail in these oceans or fly with these wings will reach the destination, for they are under God’s protection. God values that which is done to please Him, regardless of its apparent size or importance, not the quantity of deeds. Therefore, He values a small deed done with sincerity over many deeds done without sincerity.

Sincerity is an attitude of the heart, and God views an individual according to his or her heart’s inclination. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, declares: “Assuredly, God does not consider your bodies, nor your appearances. Rather, He considers your hearts.” Sincerity is a mysterious Divine credit granted to those who are purehearted in order to increase what is little and to deepen what is shallow, and to give finite (limited) worship infinite reward. One can use it to purchase the most valuable things in the markets of this world and the next, for it is esteemed, welcomed, and respected where others suffer great misery. This mysterious power of sincerity caused God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, to declare: “Be sincere in your religion; little work (with sincerity) is enough for you,” and: “Be sincere in your deeds, for God only accepts what is done with sincerity.”

If we consider a deed to be a body, sincerity is its soul. If a deed represents one wing of pair of wings, sincerity is the other. A body without soul is of no worth, and nothing can fly with only one wing. How fine are Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi’s words:

You should be sincere in all your deeds,
So that the Majestic Lord may accept them.
Sincerity is the wing of the bird of the acts of obedience.
Without a wing, how can you fly to the abode of prosperity?

The following words of Bayazid al-Bistami are also very apt:

I worshipped my Lord for thirty years with all my strength. Then I heard a voice saying: “O Bayazid! The treasures of God Almighty are full of acts of worship. If you intend to reach Him, see yourself as small at the door of God and be sincere in your deeds.”

For some, sincerity involves hiding from others when performing supererogatory deeds and avoiding all show and ostentation. For others, it means that whether one is or is not seen while performing religious deeds is not important. Still for others, it means being so involved in worship or religious deeds in consideration of God’s pleasure that one does not even remember whether one should be sincere or not.

Self-supervision is an essential dimension of sincerity, and a truly sincere person does not consider any possible spiritual pleasure that may be derived, or speculate upon whether it will ensure entrance to Paradise. Sincerity is a mystery between God and a servant, and God puts it in the hearts of those He loves. One whose heart is awakened to sincerity does not worry about being praised or accused, exalted or debased, aware or unaware of deeds, or being rewarded. Such a person does not change, and behaves in the same way in public and in private.

Notes

1. Muslim, Birr, 33; Ibn Maja, Zuhd, 9.
2. ‘Abd al-Ra’uf Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir, 6 vols. (Beirut 1093 ah / 1682 ce) 1:216.
3. Ibid., 1:217.

Willful action needs an initiative plan and decision, and this depends onthe vitality and activity of the mind. In this respect, among the creatures with which we are familiar, willful action is a trait only peculiar to humanity. God Almighty honored humans with innate free will so that it will serve as an invitation to His

Supreme Will, that is, as an initial means. Free will is a decipherer and a torch; wherever it shines, the Light and Supreme Will of the One Who governs all of creation and space is manifested there as well. People who unify their limited free will with the Supreme Will of the Creator reach infinity with their finite will; they become powerful while they are helpless, strong while impotent; they turn from being a drop into a sea, from an atom into the sun, becoming an entire being when previously they were nothing.

Even though it is limited, human will is a Divine gift from the infinite Will of God to the most distinguished being on the earth. Those who are able to make use of this gift as a key to secret codes can manage to solve the most intriguing matters, to illuminate the darkest points, to open the strongest doors, and obtain the most valuable treasure. Free will does not consist of mere thought, nor is it an action. It is the primary source and bastion of spiritual power, soundness of heart, and physical activity; it is the sole means that opens doors for human beings to attain infinity in spite of their finiteness of opportunity. In the same way that those who are aware of the significance of possessing this means are able to tackle many problems in a single attempt, they can also close the doors of Hell and discover the path of the stars lead to Heaven. Every cause and ideal comes into existence with plans and projects that are put forward by our free will; they overcome the greatest obstacles thanks to the driving force of the will. And then via the mysterious interaction of free will that is related to the upper realms, they are able to attain continuity and become permanent. The distance to the moon was covered on the wings of free will. The peak of Mount Ararat was explored thanks to free will. The oceans, a ground of manifestation for the Supreme Will, were illuminated with this same torch, human free will. In the days to come, a great part of space will become a luminous book for us under its light. People’s observance of a spiritual life, their resistance to the numerous temptations around them and the comprehension of their humanity by overcoming carnal desires is dependent on the language of the free will and its prayers. People who use their free will and establish contact with the Infinitely Merciful Lord rely on His power, come under His protection, and are saved from falling into the abyss of a carnal-centered life. In the same way that every kind of existence and ascension depends on the wings of free will, so too every collapse is closely related to the breaking of those wings. On the one hand, people like Barsisa,1 who sought the highest spiritual ranks was knocked down by a small matter and a moment of heedlessness. On the other hand, the noble Prophet Joseph, while he was surrounded with lust in the palace of the Egyptian vizier, parried all the attacks of his carnal self with a sign of God; in addition to his physical beauty, he acquired a different grandness with his rising soul, and he was exalted to the realms beyond the skies. At every turning point in life, before all demonic events and monsters that lay in wait for a moment of weakness, only the chivalrous souls who are in resonance with the Divine Will, and who rise with the wings of free will, holding the universe in their hands, can resist. Chivalrous souls who are tempered with every new event, they are hardened and made more alert with every calamity and they break out like a storm on the enmities that surround them. The unskilled souls whose thoughts and emotions have not yet settled, who panic at every noise, who are destroyed by the slightest tremor, who are disorientated when they should stand and resist, might temporarily produce flashing lights to dazzle those around them, but they cannot maintain a permanent light or save the masses from confusion.

Not only can they not save anyone, every noise made by such people provokes the opposing ones even more, making conditions worse. If you wish to comply with the conditions of the present time, Become not a fountain, but a whirlpool, A mystery, outwardly narrow, inwardly sublime This is why we need to be vigorous souls with unshakable hearts who yearn for eternity and keep up a never-yielding perseverance. We have no time to lose with those who make mountains out of molehills! What we need today is a meaningful tune from the suffering coral that is deep inside the reef, and to enliven the people on the shore, in spite of the sharks circling around. A tune only to be sensed by the spirit… as quiet as can be and free from pomp. A tune in compliance with the relevant pauses, one to be felt in the hearts… a tune that reflects the striving of those who walk on this blessed path.

Note

1. Barsisa was a saintly recluse whom Satan led astray with a beautiful woman.

The role of mathematics in understanding nature

Mathematics is a discipline of thought. It helps to develop our way of thinking and is an exercise in improving our intelligence. Mathematics can be considered as another kind of language, a language very different from that of a spoken language. When it is hard to convey our thoughts in terms of words, or our words become insufficient to express our thoughts, mathematics may be used as an alternative. On some occasions, expressing ideas via mathematics might be more concise, much clearer and more understandable. Although mathematics is considered to be a separate branch of science, in fact it is related to all branches of science. Nowadays, even in biological and social sciences, extensive studies are being conducted using mathematics.

Engineering was one of the earliest application fields of mathematics. It has strong links with mathematics as well as physics. Many engineering problems can be considered as an application of mathematics and hence applied mathematicians and engineers share common research areas. Engineers try to improve the quality of life by designing new products and in the design process, geometry and mathematics play a vital role.

Since the first day of existence on the world, mankind has tried to understand and formulate the surroundings and events that take place around them. They have investigated the world and the cosmos and accumulated knowledge. Each question that was answered yielded more questions to be answered and the more the knowledge that was acquired the better the extent of our ignorance about the universe was understood.

The universe has been established in a very complex orderly manner. The magnificent order observed cannot be expressed well in words, but may also be expressed using mathematics. A person who develops their knowledge of mathematics can understand more about this supreme order. For example, the universal gravitational law, which describes the movement of planets, can best be understood through mathematical equations, while the solutions of the equations yield the well-known elliptic paths. The concept of infinity that is attributed to the Creator can be realized through the concept of infinity that is frequently used in mathematics. So mathematics is an essential tool in developing our understanding of the nature and universe. It is essential also in applying the principles of physical laws in nature to improve our quality of life. The design of an airplane requires extensive mathematical calculations and applications of physical laws.

Finally, it should be noted that mathematics also has its limits, as it is something that has been developed by human beings and may not be sufficient to express the total order and all physical laws. Chaotic motion, a very complex order, was developed recently to understand some phenomena that do not obey the rules of deterministic motion. A daily example of such motion would be atmospheric motion. With even super computers and satellite technology, the path of the hurricane Katrina could not be predicted precisely due to its largely chaotic behavior and these errors cost thousands of lives.

Basic engineering principles and their applications in nature

First, let’s briefly describe some of the fundamental engineering courses and their aims. Dynamics is the science of motion. It models motion, describing the relation among displacement, velocity and acceleration. The specific type of motion and its causes, such as forces, movements, impulses etc. are examined. Dynamics deal with solid bodies while fluid mechanics basically deals with liquids and gases.. In the context of fluid mechanics the rest states of fluids as well as their motions are investigated. The strength of materials deals basically with the design of structures and mechanical parts to loading conditions. Under a given loading condition, what would be the best design for withstanding the loads while using the minimum amount of material? Materials science deals basically with the mechanical properties of various materials and the causes (microstructure etc.) of those properties. Proper selection of the materials to perform the required task is another important issue.

Living organisms can also be considered as some sort of design, but of course they are different from man-made designs. Living organisms, whether they are plants, animals or human beings, are designed to perform a specific predetermined task. The organism has to move, find food, safely operate and resist the forces that act on it throughout its life, and it must reproduce. Therefore, organisms have to be designed (or more precisely created) according to the principles of engineering. The development of technology drew attention to creatures and the underlying engineering principles in their structures. Extensive research on living creatures revealed a clear conclusion: Designs applied in nature are much more sophisticated then the ones humans come up with.

Bernoulli’s principle is a fundamental principle in fluid mechanics. Basically, the principle states that when the velocity of fluid increases the pressure drops and visa versa. The lift force generated in the wing of a plane is explained with this principle. Air separates in front of the wing and reattaches at the back. When the upper surface of the wing is slightly curved and the bottom flatter, the air particles in the upper part travel a further distance at a higher velocity and meet the particles traveling under the wing at the back. The relatively higher velocity on top causes a pressure difference in the lift direction and this lift force balances the weight of the plane. Many applications of Bernoulli’s principle can be found in living organisms. A fish moving in water is a good example. In particular, fish that swim at great speeds, like the tuna, have distinctive body shapes: The mouth of the fish is at the front where the fluid comes to rest and the pressure is very high, making the fluid intake of oxygen easier. The heart is located at the minimum pressure point to make it easier for it to beat. The eyes are located on a precise saddle point, a place which is not affected by velocity changes. Since the pressure is constant for all ranges of velocities, vision is not distorted by movement. Another example is the human body. When one breathes in the fluid velocity in the nose increases and pressure drops. The outer pressure is higher than the inner pressure and the walls tend to collapse. If bones were found at the tip of the nose, they might easily break when excessive force was present. We need some other material to sustain the shape yet be elastic enough not to break down. Cartilage is the best choice in this case, as it has both strength and elasticity. Our ears are also made from the same material. If bones were used instead of cartilage in our ears, resting our head on one side would be painful or even cause damage to the ears.

Insect flight is another important issue and has attracted considerable research recently. Fluid scientists now realize that insect flight is much more developed than our flight techniques. Turbulence is the main issue. In turbulent flow, the fluids move in erratic paths colliding with each other, forming eddies and irregularities. This is a dangerous state, especially for planes, and increases the friction forces between fluid and structure. Therefore the maintenance of a regular flow (laminar flow) over the wings is advantageous. However, all insects benefit from turbulence and some portion of their lift is gained from eddies that are formed over their wings. Mechanical insect robots are built to understand insect flight. Insects have movable elastic wings, but aircraft only have immovable rigid wings. Movable elastic wings would certainly improve the flight of planes and their maneuverability, but extensive research has to be done before these designs can be safely implemented.

The bumps on the fins and heads of some whales are not accidents of nature. They were given to them by the Creator for some very special purposes. They decrease the friction (drag) force by 10% and increase the lift by 5%.1 When some have the effect of decreasing drag, they can also decrease lift and visa versa. This effect of both decreasing drag and increasing lift, which can be observed in whales, is very uncommon in fluid mechanics.

Streamlining is a very important issue for an object that moves in a fluid. Fluid particles move around an object that follows a path. Roughly speaking these paths are streamlines (in a steady motion) and it is a general rule that abrupt distortion of these streamlines should be avoided. Smooth changes in the streamline help to reduce the friction force between the object and fluid. All organisms, particularly those that move at greater speeds, have been created in accordance to streamlining principles. In these you can find many species of birds and fish, such as dolphins, sharks, whales etc. The friction reduction caused by the shape of a dolphin is still a controversial issue in science and the underlying mechanism has not yet been well understood.

An example of the strength of natural materials can now be given. Our bones are optimum structures, combining strength with lightness. In modern buildings, 60-70% of the buildings consist of the skeletons, which carry the loads and moments. In our body, our skeleton is only 1/7th of our body weight. Bones have inspired a new generation of lightweight structures. For instance, a bridge inspired by the backbone was recently designed.2 When a longitudinal cross-section is taken from a femur, some curved lines are observed. Recent numerical simulations revealed that these lines are to be found in one exact place and their configuration increases the strength of the bone. Our backbone and the muscles around it withstand very high loads, equivalent to 7,000 Newtons or approximately 700 kilograms of weight.3 The bones of mammals are hollow inside to increase strength. The inner to outer ratio of the radii is at the optimum range, between 0.4 and 0.7.4

Hardness is another important issue in some applications. Seashells are the leaders in this issue. Their microstructures are being investigated under electron microscopes to invent new materials with extreme hardness properties. Micro-cracks inside a material grow over time, finally leading to failure. This is a major problem in turbine blades and this phenomenon is responsible for some plane crashes. In seashells, micro-crack inhibiting mechanisms are inserted to prevent crack growth. Inspired by spider silk and the microstructure of bird feathers, a new generation of bullet-proof waistcoats has been developed.

Owls are very silent flyers; they need to be so in order to approach rodents as rodent ears are highly sensitive to sound. Recent investigations have shown that the special geometry of their wings results in this silent flight. Their feathers are placed to form fringes on their wings. The technology might be mimicked to reduce the noise generated in planes.5

A recent engineering discipline is robotics. There are industrial robots, which are designed to perform some very special tasks. But there are also robots inspired by living organisms. A new robot is designed to mimic caterpillar motion so that it can be stable enough in a hazardous region, pass through small gaps and detect humans who are alive under debris.6 By mimicking the motion and body of a scorpion, a military robot was designed with a camera and sensors to safely operate in a battle region.7 Of course there are human-like robots that are designed to mimic our motion and activities. The developments in robotics teach us a very important lesson: All animals are much more sophisticated in their locomotion, actions, and behavior and it is extremely hard to mimic those. A robot that can move freely like a cat and climb a tree yet maintain its balance has not yet been produced. Our robots are very slow in motion, and their stability in movement is an important technological issue that requires extensive sensors and control designs.

Newly developing engineering branches

As mentioned above, one of the newly developing branches of engineering is robotics. Day by day, better robots are being designed and those designs try to better mimic animals and humans. Some 50 years ago, a human walking might be considered a simple issue, but now we know that comfort in walking and excellent balance in such movement are very complex issues.3 Each new design in robotics adds to our knowledge of understanding animal locomotion and behavior and how miraculous their designs are. Some people think that robots may take control of the world in the future. Yet this is simply not possible: If humans are to design them, there is no way that such machines can be superior to the designers.

Other promising new fields are the MEMS (Micro-electrical machinery systems) and nano-technology. These are design attempts on extremely small scales which actually mimic some micro biological systems and micro-physics. A vertebrate consists of an enormous number of cells, while the chemical and physical events that take place inside the cells and their establishment as a system are crucial parts of staying alive. It is extremely hard to design at the micro and nano scale and it is likely that research in this field will reveal more about understanding the art of God.

Notes

1. M. Le Page, “Speed Bumps Give Humpbacks a Surprise Boost,” New Scientist, 13 January 2001, p. 22.
2. I. Sample, “A Bridge with Backbone,” New Scientist, 16 September 2000, p. 7.
3. R. Mc Neill Alexander, The Human Machine, Colombia University Press, 1992.
4. R. Mc Neill Alexander, Optima for Animals, Princeton University Press, 1996.
5. C. Seife, “Deadly Hush,” New Scientist, 6 march 1999, p. 10.
6. C. Zandonella, “Wriggle into Rubble,” New Scientist, 10 November 2001, p. 22.
7. D. Graham-Rowe, “Walk Like a Scorpion,” New Scientist, 21 April 2001, p. 18.

“Surely, those whom you invoke, apart from God, will never create a fly even if they combine together for the purpose. If the fly takes something from them, they cannot rescue it from him.”; (Qur’an 22:73)

Good day my dear friends! I know you are tired of me, I bother you so often, especially in hot weather; but would you mind listening to me a little? I don’t understand why you are so proud! Did God create just you, and someone else created me? Some people do claim that I and all the other creatures evolved just by chance, in a process they call evolution, but I wouldn’t pay attention to them if I were you. Our Lord, God, created you and me, and the whole universe. Then why do you see me as being so unimportant? Of course, my Lord made humans superior and gave them an honorable place in this world, but this is only for those humans who recognize God Almighty and who pray to Him. If someone does not recognize the Creator, then this person will fall lower than me; I know my Lord, and I do not change my behavior. I don’t do anything but what He taught me. True, I am not tested as you all are, but I am happy with my lot. I carry out my duties obediently.

Although I do many useful things, most of you (except for the zoologists among you) aren’t aware of what my uses are. Some people even say, “Why has this black bug been created? It is of no use.”

If you just look at my wings, you can see that they are like a perfect work of art. Think about it, what would be more difficult, producing a large watch or a small and sophisticated one? Obviously producing a small watch is much more complicated. But one must remember that nothing is easy or difficult for God, He just says “Be” and He can create anything. By saying, “Be” He can create a microorganism or an elephant in an instant.

Just as you have organs that carry out the biological functions in your body that are necessary for your survival, I also have organs and systems in my body which carry out similar functions. The only difference between yours and mine is their structure and working principle. For instance, we both have hearts. Your heart pumps the blood to the body via the veins, and my heart pumps the blood to the spaces between my organs. You use your lungs for breathing while I have capillary tubes called trachea which transfer air directly to my tissues. The organs in my head are composed of many small particles. Each one of my eyes is created from hundreds of small hexagonal structures called ommatidia. Each has its own lens, a pigment cell that isolates it from the others, and a crystal cone. A special protein called chitin covers my body. Each one of my hairs acts as a special receiver, allowing me to detect all vibrations. Chitin is made up of a protein, which is durable and not permeable to water.

My mouth is shaped like a tube, while my tongue is like a sponge, helping me to taste my food. My feet, made up of chitin, are very thin and formed of many parts with a hook at the tip, making it easy for me to climb vertical surfaces.

There are hollow tubes in my wings, making them very light and strong. The hammer-like organs (halter organs) under my wings help me to balance while flying. There are some know-it-alls out there who claim that these organs were secondary wings that lost their function during evolution, but they seem to forget that there are many insects that have secondary wings. If this is so, why did I need to “lose” mine? It is hard to understand why these people do not try to understand reality. Actually, God created me with one pair of wings and two organs to help with balancing. These organs have nothing to do with mutations, adaptation, selection or evolution. Although my ancestors did mutate at times as all living things have done, we have never changed or evolved. Some of us are weak and some are strong; this is a rule of God. This rule is necessary for the ecological balance to be maintained. Some flies will be food for other living creatures, while some will survive to produce more flies. I have not heard of any other flies evolving into a new living creature.

I can fly better than you. You have imagination and knowledge, and you have the ability to improve yourselves, yet you still have not been able to invent a machine that can fly as well as I can. I can turn a somersault in a tight space. I can walk on the ceiling. I can sense the approach of your hand. I can take off so easily that I do not even need a “runway” like airplanes do before taking off. Airplanes can be used for destroying other things, but us flies help to build a better world. My Creator (God) has given me coordination in flight; I do not crash into other things and do not cause any damage while flying. The Qur’an (22:73) says: “Oh 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. If the fly takes something from them, they cannot rescue it from him.”

The Qur’an is a miraculous book; yet, unfortunately some people do not understand this yet. Even if all human beings were to work together, they would not be able to build a small “fly”. If I take something from you, you cannot get it back from me. For example, when I snatch a piece of your food, I simply pour digestive enzymes on it and it melts. These enzymes break the food into pieces and make them liquid. Then I am able to drink this liquid. Well now, it would be impossible for you to convert this food back to its original form. Let me show you my nutrition cycle on the right.

When someone mentions the words “flight and insect”, it is most normal to think of only one insect, the common house fly, but there are in fact many species of flying insects: approximately 90,000. Since we have wings, we are all called “diptera”. There are many of us on the earth; from this one can conclude that there will be useful as well as harmful insects among us. Some of our friends take pollen from flower to flower, making honey for you to eat. We eat a variety of foods; some eat meat, some eat vegetables, while others eat fruit.

My friends and I who belong to the Musca type are the most frequently encountered flies in your neighborhood. We, like the other species of flying insects, increase our reproduction rate with increases in temperature. We produce large numbers of eggs. The maggots that you see in rotten food are in fact my larvae. The female fly leaves her eggs on the food you leave out in the open. These eggs hatch in a few days, the time being longer or shorter depending on the temperature. The larvae have a great appetite for everything and they grow fast as they eat everything they encounter. Then they enter a dormant period and retreat into cocoons. After a short while, they come out with bodies that are totally different anatomically. If you were to tell this to someone without a great deal of know-ledge, they would never believe that these crawling larvae will turn into flying creatures one day. It is hard to predict or understand such a huge change. There lies a great wisdom in both our forms. For example, if we did not exist, only bacteria would be able to help decay the dead and this would take too long. But, thanks to my larvae and their presence everywhere in large numbers, this process is completed in a matter of few days. Due to their speedy consumption of decaying matter, maggots have been used often in medicine. They have been used to get rid of decaying tissue on the wounds that aren’t healing, and in this way they speed up the healing process.

Now, I also want to remind you of an unfairness that you do to me and all other flies. As you know, our eggs develop and spread fast during the warm summer season; each of us can produce hundreds of eggs. We go all over the place to find food and sometimes we find it in your trash or in animal droppings. Those who see us in these places mistakenly accuse us of carrying and spreading disease. But the reverse is true; we consume the germs that spread quickly in hot weather. These germs grow on food all by themselves, we don’t produce them. Germs are living creatures too, and they use their abilities bestowed on them by God to grow everywhere. All we do is clean the environment by eating them as we feed. We are able to digest germs thanks to the strong digestive enzymes that we carry. Despite what is believed, I am a clean animal. I clean myself all the time, using the digestive enzymes in my saliva. If it weren’t for me, the germs would grow and spread faster.

I hope that from now on you won’t try to shoo me away when you see me on your hand. Instead, I hope that you will watch how I move and observe me more closely; witness the fine art in me. When you think about me, consider what I have told you. Don’t you think that you should change your opinion about me?

Smart structures can sense changes in their environment and respond accordingly. These adaptive structures can autonomously modify their shapes to perform the desired task regardless of the particular environmental disturbance.

“It’s difficult to bet on technology-you cannot always pick the winners, but it looks like smart materials would be the next step in engineering design,” says Craig A. Rogers, director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Intelligent Systems and Structures.

By using smart materials instead of adding mass, engineers can endow structures with built-in responses to a myriad of contingencies. In their various forms, these materials can perform as actuators, which can adapt to their environments by changing such characteristics as shape and stiffness, or as sensors, which provide actuators with information about structural and environmental changes.

Smart structures have numerous applications, among them the following:

SPACE STRUCTURES

Large space structures are subject to a variety of dynamic perturbations produced by the crew, the docking of other spacecraft, transient thermal states during the orbit, micrometeorities, and so on. The vibration amplitude of the perturbations has to be dampened in time to avoid further nonstability in the space structure.

In addition to that, the dampening of the flexible models is a necessary ingredient in achieving robust attitude control of the spacecraft.

AIRPLANES

Smart wings. Airplanes that have smart wings will control surfaces that can reshape themselves on the fly. Airplane wings will flex themselves like fish tails. With the help of smart structures, airfoil will be shaped and the aircraft’s lift will be improved. This improved lift will help to get a single-engine fighter off the deck of an aircraft carrier without a catapult.

Replacing current (and heavy) hydraulic control systems with light-weight, high-performance smart materials could increase aircraft payloads by as much as 30 percent and flight range by 50 percent.

Adaptive surfaces would replace stiff structures designed as a compromise among ideal wing shapes for various maneuvers. Eventually vertical tails, ailerons, and stiff structures could be eliminated.

HELICOPTERS

Active helicopter blades that adjust shape continuously to respond to vibration-engendering pressure changes in the air. These fluctuations knock the machinery out of alignment and cause a lot of down time. A helicopter’s maintenance schedule is approximately 15 percent of its time. In the helicopter project, piezoelectric patches on blade surfaces function both as sensors and as actuators, or as generators of counter-force.

Flutter suppression is a particularly important problem. Recent experiments in NASA wing tunnels with unoptimized smart structure designs have shown a 70 percent decrease in displacement and a 20 percent increase in blade speed by utilizing active vibration control concepts.

Active noise suspension for helicopter cabins promise greatly decreased acoustic noise/vibration intensities. This reduces stress upon crew members involved in increasingly longer duration missions.

SUBMARINES

Stealth submarines using smart skins. Smart materials technology may result in stealth submarines. Their acoustically hypersensitive smart skins would detect the pressure of an incoming sonar wave, and then automatically generate an equal but opposite counter-pressure to cancel out the ping. With nothing reflected back to enemy boat, the submarine would be invisible.

CARS

The automotive industry also is eager to incorporate intelligent materials technology. Some of the areas where smart material will be used are:

Smart car seats. Researchers are working on an industry-sponsored project to develop smart car seats that can identify primary occupants and adapt to their preferences for height, leg room, back support, and so forth.

Maintenance information. The technology exists to enable cars to tell owners how much air pressure tires have, when oil changes are needed, and other maintenance information.

Suspension and transmission. Smart materials that can change their viscosity (inherent thickness or resistance to flow) when exposed to electric or magnetic fields. This kind of smart material will lead to new kinds of auto suspensions and transmissions.

SKIS

A revolutionary piezo control module, developed by Active Control eXperts, Inc. (ACX), serves as “the brain inside the ski.”

The ACX “brain” is a small, thin, rectangular card containing piezoelectric smart materials and control circuits, which are embedded while the skis are being made. These materials detect unwanted vibrations in the skis and convert them into useful electrical energy. The control circuitry then uses the energy to smooth out the vibrations, putting the skis back on the snow. The result is a smoother ride, more responsive turning, and “solid stability.”

SOUND

Ultra-high-fidelity stereo speakers. Using piezoelectric actuators, such speakers can expand and contract in thousandths of a second in response to applied voltage. Speaker speakers in their homes and cars to achieve maximum musical effects. Their cars and houses will offer built-in surround-sound.

BUILDINGS

New bridge systems using fiber-optic lines and other sensors as strain indicators. Embedded in building materials, these devices would generate telltale optical or electrical signals when the system is stressed. Eventually, earthquake-resistant structures could be made using materials that would alter their stiffness in response to the ground’s motion, much as horseback riders flex their legs while riding.

Earthquake resistant structures. Smart structures will shake the building to cancel the effect of the earthquake.

Early warning. Smart structures will help determine possible structural damages due to the onset of structural degradation.