Abstract
Examples of multiple pairs of appendages (wings and legs) in the creation of Allah.
Full Text
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]
As can be seen from the various translations of the ayat, at the link above, some have translated it as two, three or four wings, while others have translated it as so many pairs of wings. Q6:38 uses the term بِجَنَاحَيْهِ to refer to that which the birds fly with. However, أَجْنِحَةٍ doesn't necessarily limit to the meaning of wings, as the same root (jīm nūn ḥā (ج ن ح)) is also used to refer to a part of the human body: Q20:22 and Q28:32 use جَنَاحِكَ to refer to, most probably, the natural space between the upper arm and the upper side of the ribcage, which forms a natural pocket. In Surah alQasas, when Moses received the miracle of his hand turning 'white without disease', he was told to draw his arm close to himself from fear: a general self-hugging posture of folded arms assumed when people are scared; also Q17:24 commands the believers to lower in humility جَنَاحَ in mercy towards their parents; Q15:88 and Q26:215 command to lower جَنَاحَكَ for the believers.
Scientists classify wing as a type of fin. It is theorised that the appendages of land creatures also evolved from fins. The wings and legs of insects are genetically similar in origin and, according to emerging studies, scientists believe, evolved from crustacean leg segments. The Quran tells us that:
Scientists classify wing as a type of fin. It is theorised that the appendages of land creatures also evolved from fins. The wings and legs of insects are genetically similar in origin and, according to emerging studies, scientists believe, evolved from crustacean leg segments. The Quran tells us that:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Do not see those who disbelieved that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, then We parted them and We made from [the] water every living thing? Then will not they believe?
In the creation of Allah several examples of winged creatures exist. The Quran itself mentions some of these winged creatures, such as hoopoe, raven, mosquito, honeybee, housefly, ant. In fact, it states:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَن يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَّا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًا يُضِلُّ بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَيَهْدِي بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِ إِلَّا الْفَاسِقِينَ
Indeed, Allah (is) not ashamed to set forth an example (like) even (of) a mosquito and (even) something above it. Then as for those who believed, [thus] they will know that it (is) the truth from their Lord. And as for those who disbelieved [thus] they will say what (did) intend Allah by this example? He lets go astray by it many and He guides by it many. And not He lets go astray by it except the defiantly disobedient.
[Al-Quran 2:26]
Rather, each and every creation of Allah is a marvel in itself, and worthy of admiration:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَن يَخْلُقُوا ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ وَإِن يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئًا لَّا يَسْتَنقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ
أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ
Birds typically have a pair of legs and a pair of wings, while insects usually have three pairs of legs, and two pairs of wings. Counting the wings and legs both as أَجْنِحَةٍ, the following are some examples of creatures with multiple appendages:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَن يَخْلُقُوا ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ وَإِن يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئًا لَّا يَسْتَنقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ
O mankind! Is set forth an example, so listen to it. Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah will never create a fly even if they gathered together for it. And if snatched away from them the fly a thing not they (could) take it back from it. So weak (are) the seeker and the one who is sought.
[Al-Quran 22:73]
أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ
Birds typically have a pair of legs and a pair of wings, while insects usually have three pairs of legs, and two pairs of wings. Counting the wings and legs both as أَجْنِحَةٍ, the following are some examples of creatures with multiple appendages:
One Pair of Wings & Three Pairs of Legs
Mosquitoes, houseflies, and other true flies also display one pair of wings, though they also have a pair of halteres to help them balance in flight.
Two Pairs of Wings & Three Pairs of Legs
Butterflies and most other insects usually have two pairs of wings. Fossils of ancient birds have also been discovered who used to have two pairs of wings.
Excerpt from The Rise and Fall of Four-Winged Birds:
...
Then, in 2003, the prolific Chinese dinosaur-hunter Xing Xu found an actual four-winged dinosaur. He called it Microraptor gui. Xu saw the outlines of feathers clearly splaying from the creature’s legs as well as its arms. These were clearly traces of long, flat and asymmetric plumes, much like those that keep today’s flying birds aloft. While it lived, Microraptor probably looked like a starling wearing flares. Xu suggested that it may have used its leg wings to help it glide, while others later suggested that it could have flown like a biplane.
Xu went on to find other dinosaurs with long leg feathers, such as Anchiornis, Pedopenna and Xiaotingia. For a time, it looked like these feathers disappeared before true birds arrived on the scene, but Xu is now back with 11 new fossils that discount that idea.
The specimens include species like Sapeornis, Confuciusornis, Cathayornis, and Yanornis. All of them are early birds, perched on primitive branches of the group’s family tree. All of them lived in China during the Cretaceous period. And all of them had four wings, with long feathers on their legs.
You can see them in the images throughout this post—dark shadows protruding from the bones of the lower leg. In some of the specimens, the leg feathers show a stiff, curved central rod (or “rachis”) with symmetrical vanes sticking out from either side. They protrude from the bones at right angles and seem to form a large flat surface.
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(for images mentioned in the excerpt, visit this link)
Three Pairs of Wings & Three Pairs of Legs
Treehoppers are a curious yet fascinating form of insects, who have three pairs of wings.
Excerpt from Insects with three pairs of wings?
Excerpt from Insects with three pairs of wings?
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To tackle the question of body plan evolution we are studying a group of insects, the treehoppers (Membracidae), which, we submit, have evolved a novel thoracic appendage, and thereby depart from the typical winged insect body plan. The presence of dorsal flight appendages on the second (T2) and third (T3) thoracic segments is a hallmark of the winged insects body plan. Treehoppers, in addition to T2 and T3 wings, have acquired a novel dorsal structure named the helmet, which derives from the T1 segment. In order to trace the evolutionary origin of the helmet, we have gathered anatomical and gene expression data describing the formation of this morphological novelty. Anatomical observations show that the helmet is a dorsal appendage, rather than a mere extension of the T1 segment, and that it shares multiple structural similarities with wings. Furthermore, the helmet’s development uses the same genetic programme that underlies the patterning of wings. Altogether our data indicates that the helmet is a fused pair of modified wings on T1, making the treehoppers the only known group of extant insects equipped with three pairs of wings, and therefore a derived body plan.
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For amazing photos of treehoppers and more info, visit this link.
Four and More
Other than insects, there exist other creatures with three pairs of legs but no wings. Moreover, the arachnids, crustaceans and myriapods also have segmented bodies with several paired appendages. Octopus, squids and nautilus are yet other examples of creatures with multiple appendages. Crabs have five pairs of appendages, as do crayfish, lobsters, shrimps, and other decapods.
The above examples are but just a few from the world we can see, which is actually a tiny portion of the observable electromagnetic spectrum. There may be many other creatures that we cannot even see. Who knows how they are made. And then there is the unobservable dark matter and dark energy, which scientists assume constitutes the majority of the Universe, but which we cannot even perceive. We believe in the angels, even though we do not see or perceive them.
Last updated on: November 26, 2018
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