Page 42 - Magnificence Everywhere

LIVING THINGS CREATED IN
HARMONY WITH EACH OTHER
In some plants, the nectar is present in the depths of the plants' flowers. It seems
that this would constitute a disadvantage making it difficult for insects and birds to
collect nectar and hence for flowers to be pollinated. However, Allah has enabled
these plants to be pollinated as well by creating living creatures whose structures
are exactly appropriate for the characteristics of flowers that keep their nectars in
their depths. The concordant relationship between the chandelier tree and the
yucca moth is one such example.
The yucca has a rosette of spear-shaped leaves and, in the center of this, there is
a stalk bearing cream-colored flowers. One of the features of the yucca is that its
pollen exists in a curved region. For this reason, only a certain moth species that has
been bestowed with a curved proboscis can collect the pollen, which is present in
the male reproductive organs of the plant.
By pressing the pollen against each other, the moth forms the pollen it has col-
lected into a ball shape and takes this to another yucca. First it goes down to the bot-
tom of the flower and lays its eggs. Then it climbs up to the top of the flower and, by
hitting the pollen ball, causes pollen to spill. After a while, moth caterpillars will get
out of the eggs and feed on this pollen. In the meantime, by hitting the pollen ball
that was collected from the previous flower against the top of the new flower, the
moth pollinates it. If moths did not exist, yuccas could not pollinate on their own. 4
As we can see, the nourishment of the moth and the pollination of the yucca
come about in a very harmonized way. What creates this harmony is not the yucca
itself or the moth. It is not possible for a plant or an insect to be aware of the needs
of another creature or to determine a tactic for fulfilling its own needs. These crea-
tures do not possess the faculty of thinking and thus cannot discover methods and
teach them to other creatures. Allah alone has created this perfect harmony among
living creatures. Both creatures are the work of Allah, Who knows them perfectly,
Lord of all the worlds and All-Knowing. And they in turn serve the purpose of in-
troducing people to the greatness, might and perfect art of Allah. Allah reveals this
Magnificence Everywhere The seven heavens and the earth and everyone in them glorify Him.
in the Qur'an:

There is nothing which does not glorify Him with praise but you do
not understand their glorification. He is All-Forbearing, Ever-
Forgiving. (Surat al-Isra: 44)

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