As people are invited to contemplate on their own creation, the Qur'an
frequently calls people to investigate the nature and to see the signs
of Allah therein. Since the whole universe, with all its living and
non-living elements, consists of the signs revealing that they have been
'created'. And they exist just in order to demonstrate the power,
knowledge and art of their 'Creator'. And mankind is responsible to know
these signs and appreciate the Creator of all, Allah. All living things
possess these signs, yet there are some specifically mentioned animals
in the Qur'an. Mosquito is one of these. This is referred to in the Qur'an in the below verse:
"Surely Allah is not
ashamed to set forth any parable - (that of) a gnat or any thing above
that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from
their Lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: What is it that
Allah means by this parable:
"He causes many to err by it and many He leads aright by it! but He does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors." [2:26]
When considering the life of the mosquito, we can say that it has a
very extraordinary adventure. What is generally known about mosquitoes
is that they absorb and feed on blood. Yet, this is not completely true.
Because not all the mosquitoes, but only the female ones absorb blood.
And their need for blood is not related to feeding at all. Actually,
both male and female mosquitoes feed on nectar of flowers. The only
reason that females, unlike males, do absorb blood is for their eggs
which need to mature with the proteins contained in the blood. In other
words, female mosquito absorbs blood just to ensure the survival of the
new generation.
The point to be stressed here is that the verse of the Qur'an points out only the 'female' mosquito. As previously mentioned, it is only the female mosquito which has the superior capabilities that will be detailed here. So, it is surely quite expressive that female mosquitoes are particularly emphasized in the Qur'an. Besides, it is a remarkable fact to point out that at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, this knowledge was completely unknown to mankind.
The development process and its phases, is one of the most amazing
aspects of the mosquito. This animal converts from a larva into a
mosquito after passing through completely different phases. Let us see
this adventurous story of the mosquito briefly.
The mosquito eggs which are fed with blood are laid on damp leaves or
dried ponds for maturation by the female mosquito, during summer or
fall. But prior to this, the mother initially examines the ground
thoroughly by using a receptor placed under her abdomen, functioning as a
humidity and temperature sensor. She aims at finding a convenient place
for her eggs. When the most suitable area is found, she starts to lay
her eggs. These eggs, which have a length of less than 1 mm, are
arranged in a line either in groups or one by one.
Some species lay their eggs joined to each other forming a raft, some of which may contain up to 300 eggs.
The carefully placed white eggs soon start to change their colour.
This takes only about a few hours after they are laid down, and they
become completely black in colour. With this change, they attain an
excellent protection against birds and insects. Their dark colour can
not be recognized by these organisms.
It takes a winter for the incubation period to complete. Since eggs
are created with such a structure to resist a long and cold winter, they
survive until spring when their incubation period ends. When the
incubation period is complete, the larvae start getting out of their
eggs, all about the same time. The first egg is immediately followed by
the others. As soon as they get out of the eggs, they start to swim in
water. Now, the underwater days start for the mosquitoes.
The continuously fed larvae grow with great speed. Soon the skin
covering their body gets too small to let them grow any further. This is
the time for their first skin change. The hard and brittle skin gets
easily broken. Until this developmental cycle is completed as a whole,
the mosquito larvae will change its skin two more times.
Since the life of the mosquito initializes in water, the system
designed for feeding of the larvae is rather impressive. The larvae
empowers whirlpools in the water with its feathered prolongations
located at the two sides of its mouth, which lead bacteria and other
micro-organisms for feeding. And a solution also exists for its
respiration: each larva has an innate diving equipment. They breathe via
respiratory tubes at their back while standing upside down in water.
This system may be resembled to "snorkels" used by the divers.
During the employment of this method, the larva secrete a sticky
secretion from their body in order to prevent water from leaking inside,
through the respiratory openings. Shortly, the animal lives with the
help of the combined harmony of all these delicate balances.
If it did not have a respiratory tube, it would not survive; if it
did not have a sticky secretion, its respiratory tube would be choked.
As the time goes by, most of the larvae change their skin once more.
The last skin change is rather different from the others. With this last
change, larvae pass onto the final phase of their maturation, the "pupa
phase", and they are ready to become a real mosquito at the end. So,
the time has come for the mature pupa to get out of the sheath covering
its body.
However, the creature that gets out of the sheath is so different
from the earlier phases, thatit seems unbelievable for them to be just
two developmental phases of the same being. And this metamorphoses is
too complicated and delicate to be designed by the larva itself, nor by
its mother, or any other thing. During this last transition period,
there is a threat for the creature, since the respiratory openings above
the water may get closed with the leaking of water inside. This will
naturallymean that the pupa will be out of breath, and die. But from
then on, respiration will not be done via these holes. There emerge two
new air tubes on the head of the pupa. Therefore, before the pupa gets
ready for the last skin change, firstly these two tubes rise on the
water. This will be its new method for respiration. During the three or
four days of the pupa phase, there will be no nutrition for the coming
mosquito.
Now, the mosquito within the pupa cocoon is mature enough and ready
to fly with all itsorgans and organelles like antennas, trunks, feet,
chest, wings, abdomen and large eyes covering most part of its head.
Then, the pupa cocoon is torn at the top. This stage where a complete
mosquito will emerge is the most dangerous stage of all. The greatest
risk is water leakage into cocoon. However, the torn top is covered with
a sticky liquid preventing the head from contacting water. The mosquito
must get out of water without having any direct contact with water, so
only its feet touch the water surface. This instant is extremely
important; even a light wind may cause its death. Finally, the mosquito
leaves for its first flight after a rest of about half an hour.
It should be noted once again: The animal has got out of water
without even touching the water... At this point, the question that
should come to mind is, how the first mosquito has attained such an
'ability'? Might be that a larva has decided to transform into a
mosquito after changing skin three times? Absolutely, these are
impossible. This tiny animal which Allah gives as an example, has
specifically been created as it is. This leads the Muslims to ponder on
the creation of Allah and think that Allah has not created all these for
nothing, they fear Allah and act totally to comply with His Will.
"Men who celebrate the
praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and
contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth,
(With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire." [3:191]
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