THE FLIMSY SUPPORTS ARE LIKE SPIDER WEB

      Those who take protectors other than Allah have taken a very flimsy and unreliable support. Their likeness is the like of a spider that span a web and took it for a house, while the house of spider is relatively the most infirm of houses.

      The spider silk is strong enough from the point of relativity, but in our actual world they are flimsy and infirm, and a breeze, a small flame or a rain may ruin the whole construction. Each animal or insect may have a house, but none of them are as flimsy as that of spider web. True that it is a resting place, and a hunting snare, for the spider; but in comparison to the other nests, like that of an ant or a bee, its far weaker a place, and unreliable a support.

      Those who rely on gods other than the true, and only one God, they have relied on the house of a spider which is limp, frail, and unsubstantial.

      Although the spider web has been a parable and proverb to show something infirm, yet in itself it is one of the wonders of creation, that studying it will remind us of the grandeure of our Lord.

      It has been said that the silk of spider is made of viscous liquid which is made in its abdomen; a small amount of which is span by the spider to some five hundred meters of the silk. The silk is said to be stronger than a thread of the same thickness made of iron.

      The form and the structure of the web is also wonderful. It seems to be like the sun which is surrounded by her rays. Scholars have recognized some 20 thousand kinds of spiders so far, all of them having their own particularities.

      In the next verse (NO-43) we read:-

      And these similitudes we coin for people, but none understand them except those with knowledge.''

      This implies that without enough knowledge, it is not easy to apprehend the wonders of creation that may show us the Infinite Mercy, Grace, and Beauty of our Compassionate Lord.

THE SPIDER

      The SPIDER is one of the several types of small creatures with eight thin legs, many of which spin webs to trap insects for food.

      Several species of spiders have a venom that is dangerous to man. On the other hand, most of them serve man unwittingly by destroying a vast number of bothersome insects, roaches, mosquitoes, flies, and other harmful creatures. The spiders are one of the most important and numerous groups of the animal kingdom. All of them have jointed legs and a segmented body encased in a stiff skeletons.

      The supreme accomplishment of spiders perhaps is the art of spinning silk made within their bodies.

      Most spiders have eight eyes; there are also six eyed, four eyed and two eyed spiders among them.

      All spider are preying animals. They eat insects almost exclusively, subduring them with venom. They cut and break the body of the prey, and at the same time they bathe it with digestive liquids from glands located near the mouth. In this way, the softer parts of the insect are predigested and are then sucked into the spider's stomach by powerful muscles. The prey is rolled and chewed until only a little ball of indigestible matter remains, and this is finally cast aside. Several hours are often required to suck an ordinary fly completely dry.

      The male spider is rather short lived. It dies after a brief period of intense activity. It is much smaller than the female.

      Males are sometimes killed and eaten by their females. In many cases, males and females live together very friendly. Spider can neither hear nor smell, but it has other sensory organs called palpis.

      Each spider begins its life as an egg. An spider may lay a great number of eggs sometimes as many as two or three thousands in a single mass.

      The spinning organs of spiders are finger like appendages usually located near the rear of the abdomen. There are generally six of them which from them may be spun several different kinds of silk. There are more than 30 thousands kinds of spiders. Some of them are skilled Engineers digging deep tunnels in the soil and covering the openings with hinged trap doors. After preparing their burrows, they waterproof the walls with saliva and soil, line them with silk and then cap the entrance with a hinged trap door.

      In some cases, the makers of the doors have a secret side burrow within the main chamber into which they can retreat when menaced by enemies. This burrow is closed with a second trap door.

QUOTED FROM THE BOOK OF POPULAR SCIENCE

VOL.2. AN ARTICLE BY WILLIS J. GERTSCH

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE