Scientific Wonders-12: The Wonder of Bird Flight
- Islamic Topics
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- Miraculous scientific facts
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Bird migration:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Do they not see the birds held (flying) in the midst of the sky? None holds them but Allah [none gave them the ability to fly but Allah]. Verily, in this are clear proofs and signs for people who believe ﴿.
﴾ Do they not see the birds above them, spreading out their wings and folding them in? None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah). Verily, He is the All-Seer of everything. ﴿
Our film is about bird migration, which is something incredible to talk about.
Who guides the bird to the flight techniques?
The most critical thing that we notice is that when the swarms of aircraft fly, they fly in a V formation, but why? When a plane flies, it scoops the air and pushes it behind. Regarding birds, when they fly exactly behind one another, air pressure is reduced, requiring less efforts. So, the most modern mechanism for airplane flight is to fly in a V formation.
The bird that flies in the front scoops the air, pushing it behind, so the bird that follows it makes benefit of this, because the air resistance is reduced and the effort is less by 20%. This is the most recent findings in aeronautics.
Who guides birds to fly in a V formation during migration, the same way as modern aircrafts? Allah, The Almighty, does. Our Master Musa, peace be upon him, replied Fir'aun as Allah, The Almighty narrates:
﴾ Fir'aun (Pharaoh) said: "Who then, O Musa (Moses), is the Lord of you two?" * [Musa (Moses)] said: "Our Lord is He Who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided it aright." ﴿
In fact, there is something unbelievable about the way birds fly in addition to flying in a V formation just like modern aircraft flight mechanics. I repeat the question: Who guides birds to this mechanism of flying?
The bird in the front of the flock makes a great effort, more than those who follow it, so birds take turn for this position. It seems that the first one in the flock is the leader that withstands the forces of air. Regarding leadership, our Master Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I carry the heaviest burden among you", didn't he?
As for birds, the one which flies ahead of other birds looks like the leader of flight mechanism. It changes from time to time as it faces the density of the air; while the other birds which fly behind it face the rarefied air that scientists call "the air scoop" in which air pressure is 20% less, and the effort made to resist air is less. This is one of things that take place in flying.
The flutter of the bird's wings is harmonious among themselves, and it creates an air scoop and a rarefaction in the air that help birds at the back in flying.
I am not saying that the flutters are equal, but rather they are harmonious and consistent. This flight mechanism regulates the movement of bird wings during flight, since the bird may keep flying for 17.000 kilometers or 86 hours without stopping.
I mentioned in the previous episode that in the introduction of the largest encyclopedia of birds it is written, "Verily, the most state of the art aircraft man has manufactured so far does not live up to birds' creation." Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ Do they not see the birds above them, spreading out their wings and folding them in? None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah). Verily, He is the All-Seer of everything. ﴿
"None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah)" is a definitive fact. Some scholars have interpreted the previous Ayah saying, "Nobody has yet known how the birds fly together to its specific destination." There are only surmises and guesses. No theory has been proven true regarding this fact. Allah, The Almighty says:
﴾ None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah). ﴿
It seems that Allah intends by His Own Character to pay the attention of his creations to this Divine Sign.
The professionalism of storks during long migration:
Let us move to a more detailed topic: Storks are at the forefront of professional birds in determining the destination of their migration.
Every year, storks travel thousands of kilometers during their migration. The journey of storks starts from Africa to Europe, passing through the Mediterranean. They reach Europe when season changes, and greenery covers the ground, so everything during this period changes completely. How do storks find their way from central Africa to Europe, passing the Mediterranean?
According to research, there is a unique system in the bodies of the storks that realizes the magnetic gravity. This system works as a natural compass that tracks magnetic gravity, and helps the storks be guided to travel thousands of kilometers towards their destination.
Mr. Alaa (Dr. Nabulsi is addressing the interviewer), usually, the pilot is provided during his flight with a radiophone, maps, an automatic flight system, and an alert, and he keeps communicating with control towers. Birds, on the other hand, have no devices, no compass, no destination marker, no maps, nor control towers to direct them. This is unbelievable!
Pumps are designed to pump air eight times in aircrafts, and the air pressure decreases. Fighter pilots wear oxygen masks, whereas birds fly without these oxygen masks, because they can fly at high altitudes although oxygen is less there.
Magnetoreception in birds:
The first important point is that birds have a magnetoreception that helps them know their destination, but this hypothesis is not 100% true. The definitive fact is:
﴾ None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah). ﴿
Birds are guided to their destination even at night, despite the different terrain features of the places they travel to. According to the theory of the magnetoreception in birds, birds are supposed to fly towards a certain destination. However, they are able to define their destination even if they are placed within an opposite magnetic field. Scientists took a bird from Britain to India aiming at changing the destination of its journey. They assumed that if its journey was from the north to the south, it might change its destination since it was taken to the east. However, it flew back to its specific destination.
﴾ None upholds them except the Most Beneficent (Allah). ﴿
Birds sometimes are guided at night by the stars, but as human beings, we cannot be guided by starts in spite of our education and the high scientific certificates we have. Some birds are guided by stars!
I do say in such meetings: Contemplating the creation of the heavens and the earth is the shortest path to Allah, and it is the widest gate through which we approach Allah, because it places us just before the Greatness of Allah.
