He Created the Earth for All Creatures
We can look at the earth as a patchwork quilt, stitched together, each piece connected to those around it. It’s like a puzzle that fits together perfectly, by God’s great design. And for our time on earth, each one of us is a puzzle keeper. I saw a quote once that says: “The first step in intelligent puzzle solving is to save all the pieces.” How true. How frustrating is it when you work on an intricate jigsaw puzzle for days or weeks only to get to the end and find a piece or two missing, leaving a gap that ruins the whole design.
Humans by nature are egotistical, greedy, impatient, and very materialistic. People aren’t thinking about God and how He created it all. They’re not thankful for the beauty and the diversity all around us. Most people just think what’s in it for me. What can I get out of it. There’s no appreciation, no caring. So, if we slaughter all the buffalo for our immediate needs, or even just for fun, what does it matter? If there are no buffalo left for future generations, well, who cares? If we eliminate all the wolves and coyotes because they’re just vicious predators that kill our sheep, that seems like a good thing. But famed naturalist John Muir said, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” ¹ Everything is connected in this magnificent jigsaw puzzle we call earth.
If, for instance, we remove a predator like wolves or coyotes from the top of the food chain, it disrupts the delicate balance of the whole ecosystem. Prey species, like rabbits, have nothing to keep them in check, so they breed, well, like rabbits! They destroy the natural vegetation and eat crops indiscriminately. So, while thinking that we’re protecting the rancher’s cattle and sheep, we’re wrecking the farmer’s fields. God made all the systems and they work beautifully together. They fail, when we interfere with no regard to God’s plan.
Humans tend to see themselves as the superior being, the epitome of creation, and all other creatures are inferior, something to be used and abused by us. Henry Beston, a naturalist who lived about a hundred years ago, wrote: “We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals…. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.” ²
This is what God says in the Quran, chapter 6, verse 38: All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book. To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned.
Communities like you. Think about the individual communities of animals on earth, how they function, how they interact with other communities in this wonderful web God has created. He created the earth for all creatures, man included, of course, but not for man at the expense of other creatures.
Throughout the earth’s history, change, evolution, even extinction has been a part of life. Scientists have identified five extinction events in Earth’s history, with some so severe that more than 90 percent of all life forms were killed off. The last extinction was the event some 63 million years ago that killed off the dinosaurs. We are right now in an extinction event caused directly or indirectly by humans. Many species, like the passenger pigeon, the dodo bird, the auk and the aurochs, have become extinct within recorded history. We still know that it’s part of God’s plan. [4:126] To GOD belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. GOD is in full control of all things.
[39:62] GOD is the Creator of all things, and He is in full control of all things.
So, does that mean we can just say oh well, it’s God’s will as the tigers are wiped out, the polar bears are gone, the last condor soars in the sky? I don’t think so. God tells us that we should not corrupt the earth. [7:56] Do not corrupt the earth after it has been set straight, and worship Him out of reverence, and out of hope. Surely, GOD’s mercy is attainable by the righteous.
[25:63] The worshipers of the Most Gracious are those who tread the earth gently, and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.
I have had the joy of seeing tigers in the wild. Not many of us get that opportunity, and if I never saw a tiger in the wild, it wouldn’t affect my day to day life. But what an incredible moment it was to be so close and to look into that beautiful face. And even before I saw one, it was a pleasure for me to think of them existing in the jungles and going about their lives according to God’s will. We probably can’t save the tigers. India is doing what it can, but greed is more powerful than beauty, and there are reports that say tigers might be extinct in the wild in less than 15 years. We probably can’t save the polar bears either. The ice that they need to live on is receding at such an alarming rate that in only 50 years, there may be only small pockets where these largest of land predators can survive.
The interesting thing is that because we have zoos and private preserves all over the world, most large animal species will not go truly extinct. We’ll still be able to see them — just not roaming free. Is it enough to preserve them in enclosures? (At least in most zoos, it’s no longer cages — the animals have spacious areas mimicking their natural habitat. But it’s still just a mimic). Should we be content with that? Or can we help change the situation?
There are success stories; proof that if we make a concerted effort, we can make a difference. We can certainly accept that whatever happens is God’s will. And like the dinosaurs it might be His will to have certain species become extinct. But people can make a difference. If we care, if we’re appreciative, if we recognize the unique beauty of each creature, and say it matters that that animal is on this earth. I like the concept of saving all the pieces of the puzzle, trying not to let any slip away. We’re all connected and so we benefit from having every creature God has placed here on earth — although I personally wonder about mosquitoes. But since there’s no danger of their going extinct, it’s a moot point.
And we have made a difference with some animals; we have turned around some extinction events. We’ll never have the numbers of those animals again — with the pressures of increasing human populations, the truth is, there’s less and less space for other creatures. But there have been cases where public awareness and appreciation changed the course, by God’s grace.
The American bison once roamed the plains numbering in the millions. But with westward expansion, the railroad cutting through their range, and the greed of the new settlers, the buffalo was doomed. In less than twenty years, from 1867 to 1884, a population of 4–5 million buffalo was reduced to essentially zero. There simply were no more buffalo on the plains. The only reason it wasn’t true extinction is that a few people recognized the danger. Some calves were saved from the last buffalo hunt and kept on ranches. These few survivors became the herds that now roam free in places like Yellowstone and Wind Cave National Parks — not in the millions, of course, but we’re lucky to have 3–4 thousand individuals for us to enjoy in their natural habitat. From nearly zero individuals, it’s now calculated that there may be as many as 500,000 buffalo, most on ranches raised for food or entertainment. Without the foresight of a few people, the only way we’d be able to see these amazing creations of God would be in captivity. But by God’s grace, we can still see them roaming wild and free, and try to imagine what it would have been like when there were millions of them.
[42:29] Among His proofs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the creatures He spreads in them. He is able to summon them, when He wills.
Another success story, though some species are hanging by a thread, is whales. These giants were no match for humans with fast ships and exploding harpoons. In the late 1800s, with a world-wide demand for whale oil, it was a systematic slaughter. Catches far exceeded reproduction — in the 1930s 50,000 whales were killed annually. It wasn’t until the 1970s that people began to see whales as something other than a commodity to be exploited. And public outcry made a difference. People were outraged to think that there might be no more whales in the oceans, and they wanted to see them before they were gone. So whale watching became more profitable than whale killing. Populations of some species have rebounded, though it is a fragile truce, as even in the face of huge protest, Japan intends to resume commercial whaling. We can only pray that public outcry will win out. Whales are recognized as highly intelligent creatures with lives of their own. How wonderful that we still have these giant creatures roaming the oceans, so we can study and learn from them and appreciate them. If all the whales were gone, the oceans would seem empty indeed.
[11:6] There is not a creature on earth whose provision is not guaranteed by GOD. And He knows its course and its final destiny. All are recorded in a profound record.
I have seen the Asian one-horned rhinoceros in their natural habitat, feeding on the tall grass, with egrets and mynah birds riding on their backs picking off the insects that would otherwise bug the rhino. This large mammal is another of God’s mysterious creations — why did He make it in this way? It can weigh well over 5000 pounds, standing over 6 feet tall and 13 feet long. The Indian rhino once ranged all over the northern plains of India, Pakistan and other Asian nations — hundreds of thousands of them. Sport hunting claimed thousands of lives, but poaching was and is the biggest problem. Also habitat destruction is a major concern. By the early 1900s the population in northern India was about 12 individuals, with populations elsewhere becoming completely extinct.
At Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India, they began serious conservation in the 1930s. With a concentrated effort, the numbers have improved dramatically. In 1966 they counted 366 rhinos. In 2018, 2413 individuals were counted. That’s a wonderful turnaround from just 12.
The horn is quite a unique feature and it’s present on both males and females. It’s like human fingernails, pure keratin. It doesn’t begin to grow till the rhino’s about 6 years old, then it continues to grow throughout their lives, which might be 40 years. The horn usually reaches about 10 inches in length, though some have been recorded over 20 inches. Size matters. They use the horn to fight for status, for the right to mate, and a rhino with a large horn will be more intimidating. They also use the horn to dig for edible roots, and to nudge their calves along. The horn is a fascinating feature, and it’s that horn that was and continues to be the main reason for the decimation of the population. It’s used in Chinese medicine and so it’s lucrative. Poaching is hard to stop.
Why save the rhino or the buffalo or the whales? Or tigers or polar bears or elephants? Or even the frogs, which are disappearing at an alarming rate? Because we are all connected. Because we appreciate the beauty or the strangeness, the unique lives of every animal. Because we know that God created the earth for all creatures. And we know that it’s all part of God’s signs to us.
[45:3–4] The heavens and the earth are full of proofs for the believers. Also in your creation, and the creation of all the animals, there are proofs for people who are certain.
Because when a creation of God is lost for all time, we are diminished. Each creature plays a role in God’s ecosystem. The Planet Earth program reported: “ We can look at the ecosystem as a brick wall, and we are knocking out the bricks randomly one at a time. Eventually the wall itself will collapse.” God tells us that He loves those who stay united like the bricks in one wall.
We need to treasure all the pieces of the puzzle. It’s God’s gift to us. From the tiny insects to the largest mammals, He created the earth for all creatures.
Praise be to God
Notes:
¹ John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra from Goodreads
² Henry Beston, The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod, from Goodreads
