"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
Qur'an, 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 animal's 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 41°
C, and thus prevents the water loss. With its thick fur, camels in Asia can
survive high temperatures reaching up to +50° C in s mmer and falling down to
-50° 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 50° 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 41°
C. Thanks to this, the animal keeps the water loss at the minimum level in the
extreme hot climates of the desert. Camels can also decrease their internal body
temperature down to 30° 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 rubber like 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 advantageous 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...