Page 21 The Islamic Bulletin Volume XXV No. 29 The Magnificent Creation of this tiny Mosquito “Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it.” (Qur’an 2:26). Allah’s reference to the mosquito in the Qur’an is unique among His references to animals. “Allah does not hesitate to mention the mosquito as an example because of what is carried above it.“ One of the strangest discoveries of modern science is that a very small microscopic insect lives on the backs of mosquitos. 1400 years ago, the Qur’an told us about this microscopic insect! In other verses in the Qur’an, Allah mentions other small animals, like the fly and the spider. However, when Allah narrates parables about them, the idolaters objected. They think that they found what they were looking for: the opportunity to discredit the truth of the Qur’an. Modern science discovered, much to its amazement, that an adult female mosquito is an extremely complicated biological organism: • Anatomy: The mosquito flaps its wings about 500 times per second to realize a speed of flight of approximately three miles per hour. Only the female mosquito sucks blood, a thing she does to feed her eggs. She obtains her own nourishment from the nectar of flowers. In its head, the mosquito has 100 eyes, 48 teeth, and 6 cutting implements in its snout—each with a unique function. In its torso, it has 3 complete hearts with 3 wings on the exterior of its chest. • Chemical sensors: By detecting carbon dioxide and lactic acid, special chemical sensors in the mosquito enable it to find prey which is located up to 100 feet away from itself. Mammals and birds give off these gases when they breathe. Certain chemicals in mammalian sweat also attract mosquitos. • Visual sensors: Mosquitos can detect color and color contrast. Thus, the wearing of clothing that contrasts with the background, and moving while wearing such clothing, facilitates the mosquito’s ability to see and target its prey. If something moves, that means to the mosquito that the thing is alive with the desired, needed blood flowing in its veins. In the dark, the mosquito’s X-ray vision distinguishing the skin of a human as a violet-colored sheath. It then injects a liquid local anesthetic into the human’s skin to help it insert its snout into the human’s skin without its human prey feeling it. Then, the mosquito can sucking the human’s blood uninterrupted. To provide for the fact that it does not like all types of blood, it has the ability to test its prey’s blood prior to extracting it. It also has the ability to thin the blood to speed up its flow so that it can be drawn out of the body faster, before the anesthetic wears off and the person perceives the intrusion. • Heat sensors: Mosquitos detect heat. These special sensors help them find warm-blooded creatures, i.e., humans and other mammals when they are within a certain distance. Sensitive Receptors Sense the Location of Prey in the Dark Even if a man is sleeping in a pitch-dark room, a mosquito can find him easily. Even if a person’s entire body is under their bed covers, with only a hand sticking out, the mosquito can find that small piece of flesh and extract its blood, without waking the person up. The mosquito has the ability, by the Will of its Creator, to seize a prey millions of times larger than itself—in the dark. One of the ways the mosquito does this is with heat-sensitive sensors; they perceive heat given off by the body. The mosquito’s heat-sensitive receptors are as effective as that of our military technology, particularly in the dark. These organs, known as “tarsi,” are located in the forelegs. When the tarsi detect heat waves from a body, the mosquito is drawn to its target unerringly. With heat detectors, the mosquito can also find the areas under the skin where the blood is warmest, as in the veins as compared to the tissue. In the pitch-dark, a mosquito can locate the exposed parts of a sleeping person and the veins closest to the skin. Amino acids, amines, ammonia, and lactic acid found in the blood also attract the mosquito. Even when these substances are diluted 2,000 times, the produce is 5 times more attractive to mosquitos than distilled water. The mosquito is like a warplane loaded with detectors for heat, gas, humidity, and odor. The mosquito can identify prey 25 to 30 meters (82-98 feet) away. Such a unique and powerful structure cannot be the result of a chain of coincidences. Obviously, despite its tininess, the mosquito is not insignificant but complex and fascinating,. In fact, its tininess adds to the mystique of it unique form of life. Thus, we can understand why Allah refers to the mosquito as wondrous and miraculous. We know the female mosquito sucks blood for the protein needs of her eggs. To obtain that blood, the mosquito must first find a source of blood, i.e., prey. Evolutionary theory claims that the mosquito acquired its attributes and skills in stages. But, the mosquito could not afford to have thousands of years for its body to acquire its heat receptors. It had to have its system of perception from the beginning for it to find its prey, or its eggs would The mosquito has 100 eyes, 48 teeth, and 6 cutting implements in its snout— each with a unique function. In its torso, it has 3 complete hearts with 3 wings on the exterior of its chest.
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