Author: Dr. Noor Mohammad Mohibi
The Quran: A Miracle Beyond Time- A Study of Its Miraculous Nature (part 84)
Divine Miracles in the Nutritional and Structural Systems of Animals
(Examples: The Cow and the Camel)
Within the bodies of animals, elements have been placed, each created with precision, purpose, and wonder. Among these manifestations are the production of milk in cows and the astonishing structure of the camel in confronting the harsh desert environment. This section, with a scientific and analytical perspective, aims to clarify aspects of divine miracles in these two cases.
The Miracle in the Creation of Cow’s Milk
Milk: a complete food with an astonishing composition
Cow’s milk, which forms a large part of the daily diet of humans, is among the most complete known food substances. This nutritional substance is consumed either as milk itself (dairy products) or various derivatives, and it contains a collection of vital elements. The approximate composition of milk is as follows:
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Water: “87% to 91%”;
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Proteins: including casein, albumin, and similar compounds;
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Sugars: especially lactose;
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Fats: various light and heavy fats;
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Vitamins: A, B, C, and D;
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Minerals: calcium, phosphorus, and other trace elements;
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Dissolved gases: including CO₂, oxygen, and ammonia.
This range of components turns milk into a “complete nutritional package” that is essential both for sustaining life and for growth.
The Miracle of Milk Production: pure emergence from between digested matter and blood
Allah the Exalted says in Surah al-Nahl: «وَإِنَّ لَكُم فِي ٱلأَنعَٰمِ لَعِبرَةٌۖ نُّسقِيكُم مِّمَّا فِي بُطُونِهِۦ مِن بَينِ فَرثٖ وَدَمٖ لَّبَنًا خَالِصاً سَآئِغاً لِّلشَّٰرِبِينَ [1]. » Translation: “And indeed for you in the livestock there is a lesson. We give you to drink from what is in their bellies, from between digested matter and blood, pure milk, palatable for those who drink.”
Today, the realization of this verse has become clearer in an astonishing way through scientific findings.
The structure of the cow’s mammary gland
Modern research shows that the cow’s mammary gland is composed of “lobes.” Each lobe is divided into “lobules,” and each lobule contains tiny sacs called “alveoli.” Surrounding each alveolus is a network of blood capillaries.
The cells lining the alveoli take their required substances from the blood and produce milk within themselves. These cells, while blood and digested matter flow around them, release a pure and white substance, and this is the very miracle mentioned in the Noble Qur’an.
The astonishing ratio of blood to milk
Scientists have discovered that in order to produce one liter of milk, 300 to 400 liters of blood must circulate around the alveoli. A cow produces 30 to 40 kilograms of milk per day. This means that every day, thousands of liters of blood must pass through the mammary glands for this amount of milk to be produced. Despite this enormous circulation of blood, the milk is produced pure, white, and clean, with no trace of blood in it and no odor of digested matter.
To this day, science has not answered the question:
How do these tiny cells know with such precision how much calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, proteins, sugars, fats, and water to take from the blood and transform into milk?
This precise order is the very divine guidance that Allah the Exalted mentions in Surah Taha: «قَالَ رَبُّنَا ٱلَّذِيٓ أَعطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيءٍ خَلقَهُۥ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ[2].» Translation: “He said: Our Lord is the One who gave everything its form, then guided it.”
Milk: a product derived from simple grass
What the cow eats is mostly nothing more than grass. Yet this grass, within the astonishing system of the cow, is transformed into milk, yogurt, cheese, butter oil (ghee), cream, and dozens of other products. Humans are never capable of turning grass into such a complete substance.
Allah the Exalted says in Surah al-Nahl: «وَٱلأَنعَٰمَ خَلَقَهَاۖ لَكُم فِيهَا دِفء وَمَنَٰفِعُ وَمِنهَا تَأكُلُونَ [3]. » Translation: “And the livestock, He created them for you; in them there is warmth and other benefits, and from them you eat.”
And in Surah Ya-Seen, He emphasizes that livestock were created for humans and made subdued and manageable for them: from them we obtain food, milk, clothing, and means of transport. He says: «وَذَلَّلنَٰهَا لَهُم فَمِنهَا رَكُوبُهُم وَمِنهَا يَأكُلُونَ [4] .» Translation: “And We have subdued them for them; so, some of them they ride, and from some of them they eat.”
Which power other than the power of Allah (SWT) can tame an animal of such great size, so that even a small child can milk it and control it with a thin rope?
To be continued…
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References:
- [Al-Nahl: 66]
- [Taha: 50]
- [Al-Nahl: 5]
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[Ya-Seen: 72]
