Hadith 32

e light of the sun due to their numbers. If this had been from what the hands make, when would this number of them gather, and in how many years would they arise. Thus, it evidences with that upon the Power of the Oneazwj Who, is not assisted upon anything, and Heazwj Multiplies upon it. Contemplate of the creation of the fish and its similarities for the affairs which have been Determined to happen upon it, for it has been Created without legs because there is no need for it to walk when its dwelling is the water and Created without aeration because it is not able to breathe while it is immersed in the depths of the sea. And there have been Made for it, in place of the legs, strong fins to strike with these by its side just as the sailor strikes with the paddles from the two sides of the ship. And its body is cladded with hard interlocking crusts like overlapping shields to protect it from the afflictions. Thus, it is assisted by the excellent sense of smell because its sight is weakened and the water veils it, so it comes smelling the food from a remote distance and seeks it, or else how would it know of its place? And know that from its mouth to its inner ear, there are outlets, and it takes in the water with its mouth and sends it out from its outlets, and it circulates to that just as the others from the animals circulate to a breeze, this gentle breeze. Think now regarding the abundance of its species and what it has been specialised with from that, and you will see in the inside of the one fish, the eggs which its numbers cannot be counted, and the reason regarding that is that there is capacity for the variety of the animal to feed from it, for most of it is eaten by the fish, to the extent that the predators as well in the edges of the depths engaging upon the water as well preying upon the fish, and when it passes by it, ravishes (overcomes) it. So, when the predators eat the fish, and the bird eat the fish, and the people are eating the fish, and the fish eat the fish, it was from the arrangement in it that these would happen to be upon an abundance. When you want to recognise the capacious Wisdom of the Creator and the deficient knowledge of the created beings, then look at that is in the seas from the variety of the fishes, and creatures of the sea and the shells, and the varieties which cannot be counted nor can its benefits be recognised except the thing after the thing, which the people realise by the causes of the occurrences, like the cochineal. But rather the people recognised its colour by a dog wandering upon the beach of the sea, and it finds something from the type which is called a snail, so it ate it, and its nose was coloured by its blood. So, the people looked are its beauty and took it as a dye, and the likes of this from what the people pause upon, year after year, and era after an era’’. [42]