What Is Life? (3/4)

The ant speaks and the hoopoe has knowledge?

If we move after that to the insects we will find that they have a highly accurate system and a language whereby they communicate with their species. Has not an ant said when it saw the armies of Sulaiman (Solomon, peace be upon him) (what means):

“O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Sulaiman (Solomon) and his hosts crush you, while they perceive not.” (Surah An-Naml, 27: 18)

What made the ant knows that it was Sulaiman (peace be upon him) and those with him were his armies? What made it known that when the armies of Sulaiman (peace be upon him) would tread on the ants they would crush and kill them, while they perceive not? What made the ant perceive that and by what mental power had it perceived, if it has not a life that we know nothing about, and perceptions that we do not understand?

When you read the story of the hoopoe and Sulaiman (peace be upon him), you would perceive the extent of the knowledge that the Creations of Allah, other than mankind, could possess. What did the hoopoe say to Sulaiman (peace be upon him)? The Noble Qur’an narrates to us (what means):

“I have grasped (the knowledge of a thing) which you have not grasped and I have come to you from Saba’ (Sheba) with true news. I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given all things that could be possessed by any ruler of the earth, and she has a great throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaitan (Satan) has made their deeds fair-seeming to them, and has barred them from (Allah’s) Way, so they have no guidance.” (Surah An-Naml, 27: 22-24)

Let us contemplate what came in these noble Qur’anic verses. Allah has bestowed upon Sulaiman (peace be upon him) a kingdom the like of it shall never belong to any other among mankind or jinn. Nevertheless, He, all praise be to Him, made the hoopoe grasp of knowledge what Sulaiman (peace be upon him) was held unaware of, so that Sulaiman (peace be upon him) might learn that Allah, all praise be to Him, does not restrict the bestowal of His Knowledge to someone and if man learns a certain thing he is incognizant of many others.

Who has taught the hoopoe that this kingdom is called the kingdom of Saba’ (Sheba); that those people were ruled by a woman who had a great throne and that they worshipped the sun instead of Allah, which was of Satan’s handiwork who made their deeds fair-seeming to them? All this is the knowledge that Allah, all glory be to Him, has bestowed upon the hoopoe, whereas we believe that birds have no knowledge! That they only roam the sky searching for their provision and that is all what they can do!

Allah informs us that ants have a language with which they speak. Undoubtedly, had we known it, we would have understood what an ant says. That the hoopoe possesses knowledge, had we known how to talk to it, we would have learned a great deal about what is unknown to us. Moreover, all of them celebrate the Glory of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him! For life does not comprise man alone, but comprises the species of the entire universe, even if we knew but little about them.

A life… yet unknown to us

There exists living beings we know nothing about, save what Allah, all glory be to Him, has told us. Angels are creatures of light, which we neither see nor hear. The jinn are creatures of fire, which we neither see nor hear, unless materialized. The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, warns us against Satan through the glorious verse saying (what means):

“Verily, he and Qabiluhu (his soldiers from the jinn or his tribe) see you from where you cannot see them.” (Surah Al-A‘raf, 7: 27)

But we wonder: how can we believe in the existence of species and things that we do not see?

The answer is that man’s perception of a thing is not the sole means whereby its existence is proved. Moreover, there are things that exist but we do not perceive their existence. In other words, the existence of a thing is independent of our awareness of such an existence. Therefore, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has prepared for the revelation of the things that we now perceive their existence, but we were ignorant of them in the past.

For instance, if you looked at a drop of water, you would see nothing, but if you put this drop of water under the microscope you would perceive life in it and bodies moving. Look at a drop of blood, you would see nothing in it, but if you sent it to the laboratory, it would report to you multitude of things it contains: as the red and white blood cells, the hemoglobin, besides other things. Furthermore, the microbe that penetrates the body is so minute but we can observe it in blood and specify its type.

Modern sciences have allowed us to learn from the secrets of the heavens what we have not known before. Every day, we disclose new secrets, unknown planets and stars. Have these things been created the moment we discovered them. The answer is no, they definitely have preexisted, performing their role ever since in the universe.

The microbes, which the modern microscopes have allowed us to see, count and categorize, have preexisted and inflicted people with diseases but none knew a thing about them until these microscopes that magnify things by hundreds of thousands of times emerged. So, we discovered that there exists a stupendous life we know nothing about. A life that includes reproduction, multiplication and is governed by laws, but so minute that you cannot see even though the microbes penetrate your body, inflict you with fever and may cause your death.

For instance, the laser rays that specify distances so accurately and we use in agriculture, surgery and many other fields, is man the one behind their existence in the universe? Of course not, they were created since eternity and have kept performing their role precisely, but we have discovered them only a few years ago.

(Continued)