Tiny Creation

This is from the days when I hadn't reached that stage of awareness yet where man, having baked in the kiln of intellect, turns into a human being. But one question that pervaded my thoughts had frayed my nerves: 'What is the purpose of life?' As the boundaries of reflection embraced the concepts of life and servitude to the Creator, the reality would arise that all of earth's creation shares a common bond within the system of universe. Just as the requirements of hunger and thirst move man, in the very same manner, the other creatures are subject to the same requirements. The process of birth is just as established within the ant species as it is in man. A cat and a mouse also take care of and nurture their young ones, as does d human. As far as training is concerned, each species is bound by a particular way of thinking: From the crack of dawn, a sparrow busies herself in the task of obtaining sustenance, and so does an elephant. I have seen it with my own eyes that as a cow's calf died, the cow shed tears from her big black eyes (or three straight days.

There is another scene that I also cannot get out of my mind:

A cow, during the process of creation, is experiencing intense labour pains" and giving birth has become a serious ordeal. A Hindu woman, filled with maternal instincts, announced,

"The cow should be placed in a room and the door shut from the outside."

After some time, the door was opened, and the cow was very lovingly licking her newborn calf. Her eyes shone with the same maternal love I have seen in the eyes of my own mother. The secret revealed then was that the concept of shame and modesty is present even in cows.

Once, when a man, showing his human nature, took aim and shot down a crow, hundreds of crows appeared on the scene from nowhere and started to wail so loudly that it became impossible to hear anything else. This expression of sorrow continued till the third day of the crow's death.

As a hen paced here and there, so proudly and gracefully, with her young ones in tow, so beautiful like colourful balls of soft cotton, the sound of a hawk rudely disrupted the peace of the surroundings. The children's mother, hen, felt the danger and spoke to her young ones as if saying, "Come quickly, hide! Your mother's embrace is your refuge." The innocent children, with faces as pretty as flowers, ran in fear. The hen opened up her wings and gathered them in her embrace.

I happened to see a bird much smaller than even a sparrow. I saw her house as well. What a house it was! It was more like a protected castle in the shape of a dome, with separate rooms. The rooms included bedrooms. The bedrooms were arranged in a way that allowed light to enter. O yes, that house also had a swing-as children require a cradle too. The house was so strong that powerful winds and storms could do it no harm. It was air-conditioned from within. After searching for information, I found out that this house belonged to the weaverbird-a bird that can be considered the civil engineer of birds. It is a small bird with a body like that of a sparrow, and a size smaller than a sparrow's, but a mind more powerful than that of an elephant. Such is the level of intelligence and awareness of this bird, skilled in the fine arts, that if man, the inventor of the atom bomb, were to try for years, he would still not be able to build such a house.

This and many similar observations based on reality spurred the intellect and led to the conclusion that, 'Intelligence is not related to physical size, nor is intelligence the sole inheritance of human beings.'

When the streams of thought merged and formed an ocean, the question ion that begged reflection was, 'What aspect is it that distinguishes man from beast?' If man has the distinction that he invents, then the process of invention also occurs among Animals, both large and small. The fact that the nature of inventions is different is a separate discussion. But the human species cannot deny the fact that, within the inventions of other species of animals, we do not find the aspect of destruction, whereas, within human inventions, the aspect of destruction predominates.

A recurring piece of information that is circulated is that, 'Man is superior among all creation.' But superiority is proven when a bird flies without external resources, whereas man, even after spending millions and billions of dollars for the pursuit of flight, is still dependant on outside resources. With each new avenue of progress and invention that opens, a proportional increase in pain and suffering takes place. When looking at the domain of management and organization, one has no choice but to admit that the order and discipline that honey bees exhibit is far superior to the order and discipline of human affairs. Then, what superiority does man possesses which ignites such fires of conceit and arrogance within him? What distinction is it that has caused him to appear in the forms of Shaddad ['an Adite/ Adermite ruler, claiming divinity'], Nimrod, and the Pharaohs [of Egypt)?

The current age is referred to as a time of unprecedented progress. An analysis of this supposed acme of progress reveals that what is meant by progress is actually an unending process of infliction of cruelty and hardship. Progress has come to mean that poverty-stricken humanity is defrauded in the name of progress, and is left terror-writ ken by having impressed upon them the intellectual superiority of others, that the resources which mother earth produces for her children are usurped and turned into deadly weapons, and that hundreds of billions of dollars are snatched from hungry and impoverished populations and used to create nuclear weapons that would bring instant death to hundreds of thousands of people. With all of the publicity given these barbaric actions, it is difficult for God's creation to be able to think of their own survival, or to do anything for the protection of their progeny. So gruesome is this cruelty that, to prove one's self a superpower, weapons upon weapons are amassed, which, if thrown into a pile would make a mountain. Then this volcano of a mountain is used to set brother against brother-all sons of the same parents (Adam and Eve) -because if the brothers live with love and unity, the prospect of becoming a superpower would remain a dream. How intelligent and wise is the scientist who cannot fathom the simple reality that when a thing is created it is bound to be used? Have we ever thought as to why the superpower wants to destroy the earth's heavenly gardens, its cities brimming with life, and its fields full of crops? It is because they do not believe that rule and sovereignty belongs to Allah alone. And we are suffering this terrible ordeal of hardship, worry and insecurity because we have accepted as our masters those who worship wealth and are full of prejudice.

Is it still not time for us to use our intelligence and wisdom, at least to the extent which Allah's tiny creatures are capable ' [Is it still not time for us] to finally obey this command of our Almighty God, Allah:

"And hold on tight to the rope of Allah, and du not create disorder."

[Holy Quran ch3: v 10,11]

As this storm looms over us, if we do not come to our senses And do not use our natural intellect, our names will be wiped off of the face of this earth.

The Holy Quran announces this loudly and clearly:

"The nations that do not bring about a change within themselves; their existence on earth has no more significance than rubbish and dirt."
[Holy Quran ch13:v11]