THE BIRDS SECRETS OF FLIGHT

The next verse continues with revealing the secrets of God's Greatness by drawing the attentions to the birds, how do they move or stay flying are the wonderful phenomenons in the nature. If we ssually do not pay hee to such wonders, it is due to our being accustomed in frequently seeing their wonderful ways of flight. If we study the structure of the bird's body, we shall soon come to know that erery part or limb of the bird is harmonious with therir act of flight. Their Light and hollow feathers, and their flat breast, facilate their riding upon the air. The special structure of their wings will serve to raise them up and upper easily. Their tail which acts as a steering - wheel helps to rurn them up and down, or to the left and right after all the growth and development of their embryo outside the female womb, will reduce the discomfort of the female- birds in their flight during their pregnancy. All these matters show that an extraordinary knowledge adn infimite power looks after the bird'xs creation.

      Without the use of such a wonderful art, knowledge, and wisdom, neither a bird can fly in the air, nor an airplane. Who then except Allah is valid to claim to have done all the wonderful artistry and workmanship based on science and knowledge, technique and wisdom, to hold the bird up there so easily!? :ِ

      ``Do they not look at the bird, subjected in the atmosphere of the sky? No one holds them up except Allah. Verily in that there are signs for a people who believe.

MORE ABOUT THE BIRDS

      (Almost all the birds are relatively light in weight, since weight is an important factor in the flight. Birds are short-lived creatures. Most of them mature at the end of their first year, are middle-aged when five years old, and die before they are ten years of age. Among the exceptional birds, pigeon live to be 30 years old. eagle 46 years, cockatoos 56, owl 68, parrot 80 years old.

      The body of bird is made streamlined, thus offering minimum resistance in the flight. Their head, neck, body, wings, and tail are covered with feathers, which provide protective covering, insulation and extremely light weight flight surface.

      Because their eyes are set on either sides of the head, birds can see better to the right and left than stright a head. Birds have no external ears so as to reduce the friction and resistance. The ear opening in them is hidden by feathers. Their very flexible neck enables the bird to turn and look in all directions. Its tail acts as a rudder while in the flight, and as a ``brake'' on alighting.

      Birds are warm-blooded, and so they are able to maintain a constant body temparature of the environment. In this respect they differ from fishes. This warm-bloodness is made possible by the insulating body covering of feathers, and by a highly efficient circulating system.

      A relative large four-chambered heart pumps the blood rapidly through the bird's body. Blood temparature ranges from 102³F to 112³F, and the heart beat from 200 to 1000 per minute, in different species and with varying activities.

      Birds require large quantities of food, and a rapid digestive process to maintain their high rate metabolism. Their digestive system is adapted to meet this needs.

      Flight requires highly co-ordinated senses and muscles, and as might be expected, areas of birds brain controlling these functions are well developed.

      Bird's vision is exceptionally acute. Their eyes have unusual powers of accomodation, changing rapidly from near to far vision, an ability which serves them well in flight through the branches of trees. Birds also have color vision. Some birds are strightly herbivorous, some are carvivorous, but the majority are omnivorous varying their diet with the seasonal availability of food. A few water bird and many song and game birds are vegetarians feeding on seeds, berries, fruit and other parts of plants. The carvorous land birds are chiefly insects or rodent, eaters.

      The greatest value of birds to Man is their insect-eating habits. Without them to control the teeming insect population who destroy crops and spread diseases, Man could hardly survive upon the earth!

      Birds also eat tremendous quantities of weed seeds, in this way keeping down the spread of undesired plants. The carnivorous birds are a check on the rodent population which are a source of spreading disease.

      A more obvious and direct value lies in the food products derived from poultry and water-fowl.

      The bird population of the world numbers about 8600 species.

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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE)

      In the third verse of the above group (NO.80), the immediate reference is to another important bounty of Allah, and that is our home and hearth, and the resting place in which we may repose day or night:ِ

      ``And Allah has for you rooms from the skins of cattle that you may find them light, the day you decamp and the day you stay.''

      The Arabic, ``BAIT'' which is usually translated to house or home, is from the root word, ``BEITOOTEH'' which means to live and rest for the night, and hence the connotation of the word which is house, home, or room, in which man reposes his night. Then mention is made of our fixed or unfixed rooms or tents as places for the night rest.

      Man in his journeys will need temporary dwelling, like tents which in the life time of our prophet, the best of the tents were made of leather or the skin of animals. Tents are most easy to carry when moving, and easy to pitch during halts. Therefore Bedouins and nomads of Arabs, and other countries, who lived in the deserts; when decamed to pasturise their animals, made use of tents, and particularly those made of leaders if they could afford.

      Besides the tents, the verse makes also a mention of other uses and profits of the animals:ِ

      ``.... And of their wool, and of their fur, and of their hair, you make temporary furnitures and provisions for using in a limited period of time.''

      The wool of sheep, the hair of goat, and the fur of camels, are woven into fabrics. Beautiful clothes are knitted from the fibers by the artistery and inventions, and discoveries of Man, but the intelligence and faculty and knowledge of Man are the direct gifts of God.

      In the next verse the word is on some other bounties of Allah such as the shades and shadows, the clothings and the mails:ِ

      ``And Allah has made for you shades of the things that He has created to shelter you from the sunshine, and has made for you places of protection in the mountains. He has made for you shirts to protect you from heat and chain-mail covering to protect you in your war. So does He complete His bounty on you, perhaps you may submit.''

      The trees, roofs, walls, caves, and our houses, all act as shades and cast shadows along with sunshine, which is an important necessity of life. Our clothes protect us from the heat in its lower degree, or what is metaphorically called coldness, just as our chain mail may protect us in a battle field.

      God's bounties are infinite and we cannot even number them. There is a physical or spiritual purpose, or both, behind each bounty, that we may easily recognize if we reflect, and for that we should give our sincere thanks. All of us can easily recognize the values of the bounties that we enjoy, but unfortunately most of us show gross ingratitudes.