A Special Animal in the Service of Man: The Camel
{ Do they not look at the camels — how they are created? And at the sky — how it is raised? And at the mountains — how they are installed? }
-The Quran 88:17–19
{ this is the handiwork of God } -Quran 27:88
These three short Verses join together the boundaries of the world of the Arabs — the first people to be addressed by the Qur’an. They also group together the prominent ends of creation in the universe as they speak of the sky, earth, mountains and camels. All these aspects of creation are always in front of man wherever he is. Whatever man’s level of civilization and scientific advancement, they remain within his world and within his sphere of consciousness. When he considers their roles, they suggest to him something of what lies beyond. In each of them there is a miracle of creation. The distinctive, incomparable work of the Creator is clear in them all, and this alone is sufficient to indicate the true faith. Hence the Qur’an directs to them the attention of every human being.
“Do they not reflect on the camels — how they were created?”
[The Quran 88:17]
The camel was the most important animal for the Arabs. It was their means of transport carrying their load and belongings. It nourished them with food and drink. From its hair and skin they made their clothes and tents. Camel is unique among all animals. Despite its strength, size and firm build, it is not wild. Even a young boy can manage it. It gives man great service and, at the same time, it is inexpensive to keep and its food is easy to find. Moreover, it is the only animal to endure hunger, thirst, hard work and poor conditions.
So, the Qur’an, asks of its first audience to ponder on how the camel is made. This does not require them to undertake any difficult task or to discover any obscure field of science. Camels were a part of their world, and they only needed to look and consider how they were made most suitable for their role; how their shape and build fitted perfectly with their environment and function. Man did not create camels, nor did camels create themselves. So, they must have been made by the Supreme Maker whose work reflects His limitless ability and perfect planning, and testifies to His existence.
“And at the sky — how it is raised?” [88:18]
The Qur’ān repeatedly directs man’s reflective faculties to the skies. The desert people should be the first to undertake this, because in the desert the sky is much richer and more inspiring — as if it has a unique existence. In the middle of the day, the sky is brilliant and beaming; at late afternoon, it is captivating and fascinating; at sunset, most charming and inspiring.
Then as the night spreads its wings the sky shows its sparkling stars and makes its friendly whispers. At sunrise, the sky comes alive again and becomes animating. All this is certainly worth a good deal of reflection and contemplation. They should consider how it was raised up. Who placed it so high without pillars to support it? Who scattered those innumerable stars? Who endowed it with its beauty and inspiration? They certainly did not lift it up, and it could not have been lifted by itself.
Here, by the sky is implied the whole firmament that man finds spread over him, day and night, in which the sun shines in the day and the moon and countless stars glitter at night, which amazes him even when he sees it with the bare eye, but which appears as a vast, limitless universe when he looks at it through the telescope.
This universe seems to be starting from nowhere and ending nowhere. Millions of times larger planets than our earth are moving in it like tiny balls; thousands of times brighter stars than our sun are shining in it our this entire solar system is located in a corner of its only one galaxy; only in this one galaxy there exist at least three thousand million other stars like our own sun, and man’s observation has so far discovered one million such galaxies. Out of the millions of galaxies our nearest, neighboring galaxy is so distant from us that its light reaches the earth in ten million years traveling at the speed of 186,000 miles per second. This shows the vastness of that part of the universe which has so far been observed and explored by man. As to how vast is the entire universe of God we have no means to estimate and judge. May be that the known universe of man does not bear with the entire universe even that ratio which a drop of water bears with the ocean. If about the God Who has brought this huge and wonderful universe into being, this tiny talking animal, called man, who creeps on the earth, asserts that He cannot recreate him once again after death, it would be due to narrowness of his own mind. The power of the Creator of the universe would not at all be affected by it.
That is, in spite of its amazing vastness the wonderful order of the universe is so coherent and firm and its composition so perfect that there is no crack or cleft in it, and its continuity breaks nowhere. This can be understood by an example. Radio astronomers of the present age have observed a galactic system which they have named Source 3C 295. They think that its rays which are now reaching us might have left it more than four thousand million years ago. The question is: How could it be possible for the rays to reach the earth from such a distant source had the continuity and coherence of the universe between the earth and the galaxy been broken somewhere and its composition been split at some point. Allah, in fact, alludes to this reality and puts this question before man: When you cannot point out even a small breach in this system of My universe, how did the concept of any weakness in My power enter your mind, that after the respite of your test is over, if I like to bring you back to life to subject you to accountability before Me, would I not be able to do so?
This is not only a proof of the possibility of the Hereafter but also a proof of Tauhid. These rays’ reaching the earth from a distance of four thousand million light years and being detected by the man made instruments expressly point to the fact that from the galaxy to the earth the entire world has been made up of one and the same substance continuously, one and the same kind of the forces are working in it, and they are functioning according to the same laws without any difference and disparity. Were it not so, the rays could neither have reached here, nor detected by the instruments which man had made after understanding the laws working on the earth and its surroundings. This proves that One God alone is the Creator of this whole universe and its Master and Ruler and Controller.
“And at the mountains — how they are erected?” [88:19]
For the Arabs in particular, a mountain is a refuge and a friend. In general, it always looks majestic and awesome. Next to a mountain, a man appears small and humble. It is natural for a man on a mountain to think of Allah, and feel himself nearer to Him. He feels a distinct detachment from the petty concerns of his worldly life. It was neither a vain whim nor a coincidence that prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] would go to the cave on Mount Hira for worship and contemplation before he was honored with Prophethood.[1]
The traces of divine wisdom and plan underpin each and every aspect of creation.
The Exhortation to look at the Creation of the Camel, the Heaven, the Mountains and the Earth
Allah commands His servants to look at His creations that prove His power and greatness. He says,
أَفَلاَ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ
(Do they not look at the camels, how they are created) Indeed it is an amazing creation, and the way it has been fashioned is strange. For it is extremely powerful and strong, yet gentle, carrying heavy loads. It allows itself to be guided by a weak rider. It is eaten, benefit is derived from its hair, and its milk is drunk. They are reminded of this because the most common domestic animal of the Arabs was the camel. Shurayh Al-Qadi used to say, “Come out with us so that we may look at the camels and how they were created, and at the sky and how it has been raised.’’ Meaning, how Allah raised it in such magnificence above the ground. This is as Allah says,
أَفَلَمْ يَنظُرُواْ إِلَى السَّمَآءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَـهَا وَزَيَّنَّـهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِن فُرُوجٍ
(Have they not looked at the heaven above them, how we have made it and adorned it and there are no rifts on it) (50:6) Then Allah says,
وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ
(And at the mountains, how they are rooted) meaning, how they have been erected. For indeed they are firmly affixed so that the earth does not sway with its dwellers. And He made them with the benefits and minerals they contain.
وَإِلَى الاٌّرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ
(And at the earth, how it is outspread) meaning, how it has been spread out, extended and made smooth. Thus, He directs the bedouin to consider what he himself witnesses. His camel that he rides upon, the sky that is above his head, the mountain that faces him, and the earth that is under him, all of this is proof of the power of the Creator and Maker of these things. These things should lead him to see that He is the Lord, the Most Great, the Creator, the Owner, and the Controller of everything. Therefore, He is the God other than Whom none deserves to be worshipped.[2]
