There are several questions in the Quran concerning
the animal kingdom which are the subject of comments that
call for a confrontation with modern scientific
knowledge. Here again, however, one would gain an
incomplete view of all that the Quran contains on this
subject if one were to leave out a passage such as the
extract which follows. In this passage, the creation of
certain elements in the animal kingdom is described with
the purpose of making man reflect upon the divine
Beneficence extended to him. It is quoted basically to
provide an example of the way in which the Quran
describes the harmonious adaptation of Creation to man's
needs; it relates in particular the case of those people
who live in a rural setting, since there is nothing that
could be examined from a different point of view.
-sura 16, verses 5 to 8:
"(God) created cattle for you and (you find) in them
warmth, useful services and food, sense of beauty when
you bring them home and when you take them to pasture.
They bear your heavy loads to lands you could not reach
except with great personal effort. Verily, your Lord is
Compassionate and Merciful; (He created) horses, mules
and donkeys for you to ride and for ornament. And He
created what you do not know."
Alongside these general remarks, the Quran sets out
certain data on highly diversified subjects:
--reproduction in the animal kingdom.
--references to the existence of animal communities.
--statements concerning bees, spiders and birds.
--remarks on the source of constituents of animal milk.
This is very summarily dealt with in verses 45 and 46,
sura 53:
"(God) fashioned the two of a pair, the male and the
female, from a small quantity of liquid when it is poured
out."
The 'pair' is the same expression that we have already
encountered in the verses which deal with reproduction in
the vegetable kingdom. Here, the sexes are given. The
detail which is absolutely remarkable is the precision
with which it is stated that a small quantity of liquid
is required for reproduction. The word itself signifying
'sperm' is used. The relevance of this remark will be
commented upon in the next chapter.
--sura 6, Verse 38:
"There is no animal on earth, no bird which flies on
wings, that (does not belong to) communities like you. We
have not neglected anything in the Book (of Decrees).
Then to their Lord they will be gathered."
There are several points in this verse which require
comment. Firstly, it would seem that there is a
description of what happens to animals after their death:
Islam does not apparently, have any doctrine on this
point. Then there is predestination in general [ We saw in the Introduction to the third part of
this book what one was expected to believe about
predestination in its application to man himself.] which
would seem to be mentioned here. It could be conceived as
absolute predestination or relative, i.e. limited to
structures and a functional organization that condition
modes of behaviour: the animal acts upon various exterior
impulses in terms of a particular conditioning.
Blachère states that an older commentator, such as
Razi, thought that this verse only referred to
instinctive actions whereby animals worship God. Sheik Si
Boubakeur Hamza, in the commentary to his translation of
the Koran, speaks of "the instinct which, according
to Divine Wisdom, pushes all beings to group together, so
that they demand that the work of each member serve the
whole group."
Animal behaviour has been closely investigated in
recent decades, with the result that genuine animal
communities have been shown to exist. Of course, for a
long time now the results of a group or community's work
have been examined and this has led to the acceptance of
a community organization. It has only been recently
however, that the mechanisms which preside over this kind
of organization have been discovered for certain species.
The most studied and best known case is undoubtedly that
of bees, to whose behaviour the name von Frisch is
linked. Von Frisch, Lorenz and Tinbergen received the
1973 Nobel Prize for their work in this field.
When specialists on the nervous system wish to provide
striking examples of the prodigious organization
directing animal behaviour, possibly the animals referred
to most frequently are bees, spiders and birds
(especially migratory birds). Whatever the case, there is
no doubt that these three groups constitute a model of
highly evolved organization.
The fact that the text of the Quran refers to this
exemplary trio in the animal kingdom is in absolute
keeping with the exceptionally interesting character that
each of these animals has from a scientific point of
view.
In the Quran, bees are the subject of the longest
commentary:
--Sura 16, verses 68 and 69: [ One might note in passing, that this last verse is
the only one in the Quran that refers to the possibility
of a remedy for man. Honey can indeed be useful for
certain diseases. Nowhere else in the Quran is a
reference made to any remedial arts, contrary to what may
have been said about this subject.]
"Thy Lord inspired the bees: Choose your dwelling in
the hills, in the trees and in what (man) built. Eat of
all fruit and follow the ways of your Lord in humility.
From within their bodies comes a liquor of different
colours where is a remedy for men."
It is difficult to know what exactly is meant by the
order to follow the ways of the Lord in humility, unless
it is to be seen in general terms. All that may be said,
with regard to the knowledge that has been gained of
their behaviour, is that here-as in each of the three
animal eases mentioned as examples in the Quran-there is
a remarkable nervous organization supporting their behaviour. It is known that the pattern of a bee's dance
is a means of communication to other bees; in this way,
bees are able to convey to their own species the
direction and distance of flowers from which nectar is to
be gathered. The famous experiment performed by von
Frisch has shown the meaning of this insect's movement
which is intented to transmit information between worker
bees.
Spiders are mentioned in the Quran to stress the
flimsiness of their dwelling which is the most fragile of
all. They have a refuge that is as precarious, according
to the Quran, as the dwelling of those who have chosen
masters other than God.
--sura 29, verse 41:
"Those who choose masters other than God are like
the spider when it takes for itself a dwelling. Verily,
the flimsiest dwelling is the dwelling of the spider. If
they but knew."
A spider's web is indeed constituted of silken threads
secreted by the animal's glands and their calibre is
infinitely fine. Its fragility cannot be imitated by man.
Naturalists are intrigued by the extraordinary pattern of
work recorded by the animal's nervous cells, which allows
it to produce a geometrically perfect web.
Birds are frequently mentioned in the
Quran. They
appear in episodes in the life of Abraham, Joseph, David,
Solomon and Jesus. These references do not however have
any bearing on the subject in hand.
The verse concerning the existence of animal
communities on the ground and bird communities in the sky
has been noted above:
--sura 6 verse 38:
"There is no animal on the earth, no bird which
flies on wings, that (does not belong to) communities
like you. We have not neglected anything in the Book (of
Decrees) . Then to their Lord they will be
gathered."
Two other verses highlight the birds' strict
submission to God's Power.
--sura 16, verse 79:
"Do they not look at the birds subjected in the
atmosphere of the sky? None can hold them up (in His
Power) except God."
--sura 67, verse 19:
"Have they not looked at the birds above them
spreading their wings out and folding them? None can hold
them up (in his Power) except the Beneficent." The
translation of one single word in each of these verses is
a very delicate matter. The translation given here
expresses the idea that God holds the birds up in His
Power. The Arabic verb in question is amsaka,
whose original meaning is 'to put one's hand on, seize,
hold, hold someone back'.
An illuminating comparison can be made between these
verses, which stress the extremely close dependence of
the birds' behavior on divine order, to modern data
showing the degree of perfection attained by certain
species of bird with regard to the programming of their
movements. It is only the existence of a migratory
programme in the genetic code of birds that can account
for the extremely long and complicated journeys which
very young birds, without any prior experience and
without any guide, are able to accomplish. This is in
addition to their ability to return to their departure
point on a prescribed date. Professor Hamburger in his
book, Power and Fragility (La Puissance et la Fragilité) [ Pub.
Flammarion, 1972, Paris.], gives as an example the well-known case
of the 'mutton-bird' that lives in the Pacific, with its
journey of over 16,500 miles in the shape of the figure 8 [ It makes this journey over a period of six months,
and comes back to its departure point with a maximum
delay of one week.]. It must be acknowledged that the highly
complicated instructions for a journey of this kind
simply have to be contained in the bird's nervous cells.
They are most definitely programmed, but who is the
programmer?
This is defined in the Quran in strict accordance
with the data of modern knowledge (sura 16, verse 66).
The translation and interpretation of this verse given
here is my own because even modern translations
habitually give it a meaning which is, in my opinion,
hardly acceptable. Here are two examples:
--R. Blachère's translation: [ Pub. G. P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1966, Paris,]
"Verily, in your cattle there is a lesson for you!
We give you a pure milk to drink, excellent for its
drinkers; (it comes) from what, in their bellies, is
between digested food and blood."
--Professor Hamidullah's translation: [ Pub. Club Français du
Livre, 1971, Paris.]
"Verily, there is food for thought in your cattle.
From what is in their bellies, among their excrement and
blood, We make you drink pure milk, easy for drinkers to
imbibe."
If these texts were shown to a physiologist, he would
reply that they were extremely obscure, the reason being
that there hardly appears to be much agreement between
them and modern notions, even on a very elementary level.
These translations are the work of highly eminent Arabists. It is a well known fact however, that a
translator, even an expert, is liable to make mistakes in
the translation of scientific statements, unless he
happens to be a specialist in the discipline in question.
The most valid translation seems to me to be the
following:
"Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We
give you to drink of what is inside their bodies, coming
from a conjunction between the contents of the intestine
and the blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who
drink it." (sura 16, verse 66)
This interpretation is very close to the one given in
the Muntakab, 1973, edited by the Supreme Council
for Islamic Affairs, Cairo, which relies for its support
on modern physiology.
From the point of view of its vocabulary, the proposed
translation may be justified as follows:
I have translated «inside their bodies' and not, as
R. Blachère and Professor Hamidullah have done, 'inside
their bellies'. This is because the word batn also
means 'middle', «interior of something', as well as
'belly'. The word does not here have a meaning that is
anatomically precise. 'Inside their bodies' seems to
concur perfectly with the context.
The notion of a 'primary origin' of the constituents
of milk is expressed by the word min (in English
'from') and the idea of a conjunction by the word baini.
The latter not only signifies «among' but also 'between'
in the other translations quoted. It is however also used
to express the idea that two things or two people are
brought together.
From a scientific point of view, physiological notions
must be called upon to grasp the meaning of this verse.
The substances that ensure the general nutrition of
the body come from chemical transformations which occur
along the length of the digestive tract. These substances
come from the contents of the intestine. On arrival in
the intestine at the appropriate stage of chemical
transformation, they pass through its wall and towards
the systemic circulation. This passage is effected in two
ways: either directly, by what are called the 'lymphatic
vessels', or indirectly, by the portal circulation. This
conducts them first to the liver, where they undergo
alterations, and from here they then emerge to join the
systemic circulation. In this way everything passes
through the bloodstream.
The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary
glands. These are nourished, as it were, by the product
of food digestion brought to them via the bloodstream.
Blood therefore plays the role of collector and conductor
of what has been extracted from food, and it brings
nutrition to the mammary glands, the producers of milk,
as it does to any other organ.
Here the initial process which sets everything else in
motion is the bringing together of the contents of the
intestine and blood at the level of the intestinal wall
itself. This very precise concept is the result of the
discoveries made in the chemistry and physiology of the
digestive system. It was totally unknown at the time of
the Prophet Muhammad and has been understood only in
recent times. The discovery of the circulation of the
blood, was made by Harvey roughly ten centuries after the
Quranic Rev elation.
I consider that the existence in the Quran of the
verse referring to these concepts can have no human
explanation on account of the period in which they were
formulated.
