A Special Animal in the
Service of Man: Camel
By Harun Yahya
"Do they not look at the Camels; how
they are made?..."
Do they not look at the Camels, how
they are made? And at the Sky, how it is raised high? And at the
Mountains, how they are fixed firm? And at the Earth, how it is spread
out? Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one to admonish."
(Al-Ghashiya - The Overwhelming, The Pall), 17-21)
It's beyond doubt that all beings
reflect the endless Power and Knowledge of their Creator. This fact is
expressed in many verses of the Qur'an, constantly emphasizing that
everything created by Allah is actually an evidence of belief and a
lesson for admonition.
The 17th verse of the
Chapter Al-Gashiya, which is "Do they not look at the Camels, how
they are made?", mentions an animal that has to be carefully
examined and thought about: This is the 'camel'. In this article, we
will study this animal on which the Qur'an invites us to ponder about.
The exclusively specific
characteristic of the camel is its body structure, which is not effected
even in the most severe circumstances. Its body has such features that
for many days, it can survive without water and food and can even travel
with a bulk of hundreds of kilograms on its back. Many characteristics
of the camel constitute evidence that this animal is created
particularly for the dry climate conditions, and put into service for
the comfort of man. In the Qurāan, it is stated; "Verily, in the
alternation of the night and the day, and in all that Allah hath
created, in the heavens and the earth, are signs for those who fear
Him." (Yunus (Jonah), 6)
The camel is specially designed for
the conditions of the desert. As a matter of fact, each part of the
animalās body has to be investigated in order to understand how it is
"made" by Allah.
Feet for all types of land;
its feet are donated with two toes
connected to each other with a flexible cushion. This structure which
enables it to firmly grasp the land is consisted of four fat-balls.
These feet are totally proper for all kinds of land conditions. Its
nails protect the foot against any potential damages that may occur as a
result of blows. Knees are covered with a structure called "callus",
which is composed of skin as hard and thick as horn. When the animal
lays down on the hot sands, this calloused structure protects the animal
from being defected by the extremely hot sand.
The hump as a food stock;
the hump of the camel forms is a mass
of fats, and provides nutriment to the animal periodically in times of
starvation. With this system, this animal can live 3 weeks without
water, whilst it looses 33% of its weight. Under the same severe
circumstances, a human being would loose 8% of his weight, but die
within 36 hours. Since, he would completely lose the water in his body.
Heat insulating fur;
this fur consists of thick and felted hair that does not only protect
the body of the animal against cold and hot climatic conditions, but
also eliminate the water loss of the body. The Hecin camel can delay the
perspiration of its body by means of increasing its body temperature up
to 41آ° C, and thus prevents the water loss.
With its thick fur, camels in Asia can survive high temperatures
reaching up to +50آ° C in summer and falling
down to -50آ° C in winter.
Head sheltered from the sand;
the eye lashes of the camel are
designed like two separate combs clamping together. In case of danger,
they are automatically closed. With this special design, even a single
grain of sand is not let into the eye. Nose and ears are covered with
long hairs for protection from sand and dust. Its long neck enables the
animal to reach and feed on the leaves, which are 3 meters high
from the ground.
In addition to the above features, the
camel also has other specialized systems in its body. Actually, each one
of these qualities of the animal gives it proficiency in the harsh
conditions of the desert. These features may be categorized as below:
RESISTANCE TO THIRST AND HUNGER
Camels can live without food and water
for 8 days under temperatures of 50آ° C.
During this period, it looses 22% of its body weight. However, it can
survive even if it looses 40% of the water in its body, whilst loosing
just 12% would cause a man's death. Another reason of its endurance
against thirst is a mechanism which enables the camel to increase its
internal temperature up to 41آ° C. Thanks to
this, the animal keeps the water loss at the minimum level in the
extereme hot climates of the desert. Camels can also decrease their
internal body temperature down to 30آ° C in
the cold nights of the desert.
IMPROVED WATER UTILIZATION UNIT
Camels can consume 130 liters of water
almost in 10 minutes. This amount is approximately one third of their
body weight. Besides, camels also have a mucus structure in their nose,
which is 100 times larger in area than the man's. Every time the animal
breathes, air is moisturized by the mucus. When we breathe, we lose 16
mg of water vapor for every litre of air. However, with the structure of
the mucus, camels can get use of the moisture in the air in a ratio of
66%.
MAXIMUM BENEFIT FROM FOOD AND WATER
Most of the animals die when the
accumulated urea in their body gets into the blood circulatory system.
Yet, camels use this urea produced in their body, by filtering it
through the liver continuously. Consequently, they use it as a source of
protein and water. Both the blood and cell structures of the camel are
specialized for enabling this animal to survive for long periods of
time.
Hump is the another aide to the camel.
One fifth of the camel's body is stored as fat in its hump. The storage
of the body fat in only one part of the camel's body, prevents it from
losing water all through body. This lets its body to use minimum amount
of water. Although a camel with humps can take in 30-50 kilograms of
food in a day, it is able to live one month with only 2 kg of grass.
In addition, camels have very strong
and rubberlike lips that make it easer for them to eat thorns sharp
enough to pierce leather. Furthermore, it possesses such a strong
digestive system that it can eat everything it comes across with like
plastic plates, copper wire and reeds. The four chambered stomach of
this wonderful animal gets use of everything, even other than food. It
is rather obvious how precious these features of the camels are in such
a dry climate.
"Do ye not see that Allah has
subjected to your (use) all things in the heavens and on earth, and has
made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, (both) seen and
unseen? Yet there are among men those who dispute about Allah, without
knowledge and without guidance, and without a Book to enlighten them!" (Luqman,
20)
Now, let us think in the light of
these information: Has the camel adapted its own body to the desert
conditions on its own? Has it formed its own mucus of the nose or the
hump on its back? Or has it designed its own nose and eye structure with
protection against windwhirls and storms? Has it arranged its own blood
and cell structure based on the principle to prevent waste of water? Has
it chosen itself the type of the hair covering its body? Has it
converted itself to a 'desert ship' on its own?
Just as any other living being, the
camel surely cannot execute any of the above listed features in itself.
Moreover, it cannot make itself advantegous or beneficial to mankind.
The verse in the Qur'an stating, "Do not they look at the camel, how
it is created?" explains the creation of this excellent animal in
the best way. As the other beings, camel is too, created with many
characteristics and then placed on earth as a sign of the excellence of
the Creator in creation.
While it is created with such superior
physical features, it has been given to the service of mankind. On the
other hand, mankind is given the responsibility to see similar miracles
of creation throughout the whole universe and know the Creator of all
beings, Allah...
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