Wings: Permanent or Temporary?

Abstract 

Exploring wings' research to understand the ayaat of The Quran. 

Full Text 

وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا إِذْ جَاءَهُمُ الْهُدَىٰ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا

قُل لَّوْ كَانَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَلَائِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ مَلَكًا رَّسُولًا

And what prevented the people that they believe when came to them the guidance except that they said, "Has Allah sent a human Messenger?"
 Say, "If (there) were in the earth Angels walking securely, surely We (would) have sent do to them from the heaven an Angel (as) a Messenger."
[Al-Quran 17:94-95]

اللَّهُ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا وَمِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ بَصِيرٌ

Allah chooses from the Angels Messengers, and from the mankind. Indeed, Allah (is) All-Hearer, All-Seer.
[Al-Quran 22:75]

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 

All praises (be) to Allah, Originator (of) the heavens and the earth, (Who) makes the Angels messengers having wings two or three or four. He increases in the creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah (is) on every thing All-Powerful.

[Al-Quran 35:1]

From Surah alIsra, we infer that angels walk in peace and security, not on this Earth, but wherever it is that they call home. Surah alHajj informs us that Allah chooses messengers from angels and humans. Surah Fatir informs us that the angels who are appointed as messengers are given pairs of wings/extra appendages, as needed.


Temporary Wings 
In the creation of Allah that we can observe on planet Earth, there are examples of temporary wings which creatures grow when needed, and shed when the purpose has been served. Termites and ants are examples of such creatures.


Adding to Creation 
Q35:1 informs us that Allah increases in His creation what He wills. That is, there need not exist any biological basis for a new growth on the body. Allah can and does enhance His creation as and when He wills. Scientists debate about the origins of wings, especially from an evolutionary perspective. To quote Wikipedia:

How and why insect wings evolved is not well understood and there has been a long standing debate about their origins. During the 19th century, the question of insect wing evolution originally rested on two main positions. One position postulated insect wings evolved from pre-existing structures, while the second proposed insect wings were entirely novel formations. The “novel” hypothesis suggested that insect wings did not form from pre-existing ancestral appendages but rather as outgrowths from the insect body wall. 

Furthermore, new research informs us that 'For many species of insects, wings are like fingerprints – no two patterns are the same.'

Perhaps the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb is an example for the believers of creation of something without conditions pre-existing for it. When Allah wills something, He simply commands it, just like the command that was sent to Mary's body. Students of modern science can comprehend this better, as genetic engineering is opening up many new possibilities. Allah, the best of creators, can make changes in the master-plan without causing unintended consequences to occur. He adds wings and sheds them. He makes them unique. Its wondrous to ponder over the amazing creations of Allah.

The Quran informs us of Adam: that Allah had taught him knowledge and appointed him khalifa. However, when Adam, a bashr, attempted to become a malak (an 'angel'), he was not able to achieve the desired change. Instead, he caused some permanent damage to his genome, as evidenced from his external appearance (loss of natural clothing), that has persisted through the generations in all his offsprings. We need to learn this enduring lesson as a deterrent to the temptations that increasing human knowledge is bringing to us, lest we wrong ourselves yet again. The more scientists explore our genome, tales of other misadventures emerge. Allah offers us hope and warns us of terrible consequences if we do not heed to the guidance and the warnings. May Allah restore for us the perfect designs He made for us when He resurrects us. May we be of the reformed ones (alssaliheena).

وَمَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلَّا مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ 

And who will turn away from (the) religion (of) Ibrahim except who fooled himself? And indeed We chose him in the world, and indeed he, in, the Hereafter surely (will be) among the righteous alssaliheena.

[Al-Quran 2:130, Translation edited (in italics)]