The Quran: A Miracle Beyond Time- A Study of Its Miraculous Nature (part 92)
Birds: The Miracle of Flight, Power, and Divine Guidance
Manifestations of a Creation Beyond Human Ability and Technology
Birds are among the most astonishing signs of creation, creatures whose vast diversity, wide habitats, extraordinary abilities, and complex physical systems are wondrous in every respect. Scientists, in the introduction to one of the world’s largest encyclopedias of aviation science, have written: “No aircraft ever built by humans can rival a bird, nor even dare to approach the level of its capabilities.”
This scientific judgment is an explicit acknowledgment of the incapacity of human intellect and industry before the masterpiece of divine creation. Birds, with all their diversity, elegance, and remarkable abilities, are a clear sign among the signs of Almighty Allah, as the Holy Qur’an states: أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَٰفَّاتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ بَصِيرٌ[1] Translation: “Do they not see the birds above them, spreading and folding their wings? None holds them except the Most Merciful. Indeed, He is All-Seeing of everything.”
This section is an effort to contemplate the world of birds from both a scientific and faith-based perspective, a world in which miracles of structure, movement, behavior, and ecological function are displayed in a truly astonishing manner.
The Astonishing Global Distribution of Birds
Birds are among the most beautiful and captivating creatures of Allah (SWT) whether in form, song, or their presence in nature. They exist everywhere on Earth: along the frozen edges of the poles, atop the highest mountain peaks, across the stormiest seas, within the darkest forests, throughout the barest deserts, and even in the busiest human cities.
To date, scientists have identified more than nine thousand distinct species of birds. This immense diversity is itself a sign of the boundless power and precise wisdom of the Exalted Creator.
The Structure of Flight: Divine Engineering Beyond Aircraft
Allah (SWT) has created birds in such a way that every part of their bodies serves the purpose of flight:
Light and proportionate body weight;
Hollow yet strong bones;
Lightweight, aerodynamic feathers;
Air sacs distributed throughout the body to reduce weight and cool the muscles;
Powerful chest muscles to generate the force of flight.
This astonishing combination is precisely what aerospace engineers identify as the fundamental requirement for flight:
High energy production + a light and resilient body.
Zoological scientists affirm that these two conditions are realized perfectly and flawlessly in birds, not through metal and fuel, but through flesh, bone, and feathers.
Extraordinary Vision: Seeing What Humans Cannot
Birds possess some of the most powerful visual systems in the animal world. The eyesight of certain species is up to eight times stronger than that of humans. Some birds can clearly see carrion from an altitude of two thousand meters. Others can detect eggs hidden among branches and beneath leaves. Certain birds of prey can spot fish beneath the surface of the water and then plunge directly downward from great heights.
A bird’s eye is proportionally larger than its brain, and because the eyes are positioned on both sides of the head, they provide near 360-degree vision without the need to move the head. Humans, by contrast, see only about 180 degrees and must turn their head or body to expand their field of view.
Speed, Endurance, and Non-Stop Flight
Some birds fly at speeds exceeding 130 kilometers per hour, and certain species are capable of covering six thousand kilometers without a single stop. Others can remain airborne for up to 86 continuous hours, with no refueling, no food, and no water.
Which human-made aircraft can travel such distances for such durations without stopping?
Once again, the divine verse manifests itself before human eyes: (مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ [2]) Translation: “None holds them except the Most Merciful.”
The Respiratory System: A Divine Cooling Masterpiece
Birds possess the most efficient respiratory system among vertebrates. Inhaled air does not go only to the lungs; it is distributed through channels throughout the entire body, even reaching the extremities of the legs, cooling the muscles that heat up during flight.
In aircraft engineering, one of the greatest challenges is engine cooling. Yet a bird that flies thousands of kilometers neither sweats nor suffers muscular degradation.
The fuel for its flight is a small reserve of fat stored beneath the skin, consumed with extraordinary efficiency. A bird such as the golden plover loses only a very small fraction of its body weight after a 5,500-kilometer flight.
«فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَهُ آيَةٌ تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّهُ وَاحِدٌ » Translation: “In everything there is a sign that points to His Oneness.”
Saqr al-Bahr (Sea Swift) and the Miracle of Migration
A bird known as Ṣaqr al-Baḥr (the sea swift) is intolerant of cold and migrates every year from northern Asia and North America to the southern hemisphere, a round trip of approximately 19,000 kilometers. Its feathers never absorb water; had water penetrated them, it would not be able to take flight again after diving. Scientists state that all seabirds share this characteristic, since their primary food source is fish.
This bird can even snatch prey in midair, catching a fish that has fallen from the beak of another predatory bird before it reaches the water. Can any human pilot perform such a maneuver?
Another species of seabird travels up to 32,000 kilometers annually, flying from the North Pole to the South Pole. These migration routes have been identified through scientific banding of birds’ legs.
Qur’anic Verses and the Call to Reflection
The Noble Qur’an repeatedly calls human beings to reflect upon birds: (أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَن فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلطَّيْرُ صَٰفَّٰتٍ [3]) Translation: “Have you not seen that Allah is glorified by all who are in the heavens and the earth, and by the birds with wings outspread?”
(أَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ مُسَخَّرَٰتٍ فِي جَوِّ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ[4]) Translation: “Have they not seen the birds subjected in the atmosphere of the sky? None holds them except Allah. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who believe.”
These verses are clear and manifest proofs for the people of faith.
The Ethics of the Falcon: A Mirror Held Before Humanity
The falcon symbolizes dignity, loyalty, and nobility:
It defends members of its own kind;
It is trainable and takes pleasure in learning;
It does not accept humiliation or betrayal;
It takes only when in need, and releases when satisfied;
It treats its mate with utmost gentleness;
It is fiercely protective of its offspring.
When observing these traits, a human being is compelled to look inward and ask:
Is it possible that a bird could be more honorable than a human whom God has endowed with dignity?
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِيٓ آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَٰهُمْ فِي ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا﴾ [5]) Translation: “Indeed, we have honored the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, provided them with good things, and favored them greatly over many of those We created.”
Ecological Balance and Divine Wisdom
In the United States, bounties were once placed on falcons in an effort to eliminate them. Falcons were exterminated—but a major catastrophe followed: an unprecedented explosion in the rodent population and the destruction of agricultural crops.
Humanity then realized that a precise balance exists within nature, and that any ignorant interference carries a heavy cost. For this reason, today biological control has replaced chemical substances as a method of managing ecological systems.
The Woodpecker: A Living Drilling Machine
The woodpecker is a unique masterpiece of divine engineering.
It possesses a beak like a drilling tool—resistant to pressure and tension; a neck with powerful muscles; a thick skull reinforced with shock-absorbing connections; vibration-dampening tissues; a long, rough, and sticky tongue; short yet strong legs; toes shaped like gripping clamps; and a stiff tail that serves as a support.
All of these components are designed in perfect harmony with its mission: to penetrate tree bark and eliminate harmful insects.
صُنْعَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ﴾ [6]) Translation: “This is the work of Allah, who perfected everything.”
Conclusion
In all of these examples from the extraordinary flight of birds, their miraculous vision, their astronomical migrations, the noble ethics of the falcon, to the astonishing engineering of the woodpecker one single truth becomes evident:
This universe is not random.
It is a creation that is complete, precise, wise, and purposeful.
All creatures proclaim, through their very existence, that in everything there is a sign pointing to His oneness: قَالَ رَبُّنَا ٱلَّذِيٓ أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُۥ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ﴾ [7]) Translation: “He said: Our Lord is the One who gave each thing its form, then guided it.”
Nothing sustains this magnificent system except the power of Allah.
Although the human being is the noblest of creatures, if reason does not prevail over desire, he becomes lower than even animals.
The Qur’an issues a grave warning: وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ ٱتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ ٱلْعِزَّةُ بِٱلْإِثْمِ﴾ [8]) Translation: “And when it is said to him, ‘Fear Allah,’ pride drives him to sin.”
