The amazing butterflY

Evolution now enjoys unequivocal acceptance, declared as the de facto truth, and described as the answer to all things. The simplicity of this theory lies in how it attempts to explain the origin of everything. It suggests that simple, gradual genetic variations and mutations over an extended period of time resulted in the complex formation of all the multitude of organisms you find around you, simply through natural selection; where good changes outweigh bad ones. How do we come to such a conclusion? I’d argue that fossil records raise more questions than they answer - that’s a separate debate. But primarily, it's by observing the fundamental similarities between different species, even between those vastly different, both externally in their appearance and internally at a genetic level.

That sounds totally logical - and convenient. You’re probably already convinced!

Believe it or not, this remarkably simple idea has the ability to rattle and shake anyone’s faith, especially when a growing number of religious clerics, whom you look up to, of the faith of your choosing, begin to declare, in good faith, that evolution may just be how God brought everything into being - in stages. This means that "everything coming into being automatically over time" isn’t at all in conflict with the principle that “everything came into being precisely and purposefully by the will of God”.

“Pfft! What’s the big deal? It’s just a theory, and a fairly good one, leave it or believe it” you say?

Not every person that believes in this hogwash may be an atheist, but every atheist I have ever come across believes in Evolution. In fact, Evolution, I’d argue, provides a breeding ground to atheism. Atheism, simply put, is the idea that a God, a Creator, a Designer does not exist - or is simply not needed. And so if God does not exist - you can’t just stop there - how do you explain everything else around you? It happened automatically of course! Over a period of billions of years, by gradual mutations and natural selection. And what might that sound like? That’s right, back to the theory of Evolution.

The cosmos, they say, hold the keys to many mysteries. Sometimes surprisingly though, it can be little things beneath our very feet that hold answers to the biggest of questions.

Who would have thought that a little creature we all love and hate for different reasons, would take on and disrupt one of the most fundamentally flawed, yet universally accepted theory of evolution, which as I argue, “evolves” and disguises its way into atheism and gives rise to baseless, fictional ideas that challenge real, historically recorded events of real Messengers with real miracles.

Look no further than your flower bed. As a little caterpillar makes its way up a branch, it’s preparing to go through a miraculous transformation. One, that will turn evolution and all its byproducts, on its head. 

First stop - kindergarten.

Answer this truthfully. Had you not already known that a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, would you have guessed it to be the case? Simply observing both these creatures side by side is enough to conclude that there’s absolutely nothing in common between the two - even the thought that these two may somehow be related seems impossible.

A butterfly is one of the few creatures that undergoes a complete metamorphosis. In plain English, this means a total transformation, from internal organs to external appearance. Their transformation is so remarkable and astonishing that it could be likened to a cat turning into a crow. Surprisingly, a caterpillar doesn't simply grow into a butterfly, unlike a tadpole transforming into a frog, or a cub growing into a lion. Instead, the caterpillar effectively dissolves, giving birth to a new creation - a butterfly. In contrast, other insects in the animal kingdom, such as grasshoppers or crickets, experience incomplete metamorphosis, where their young closely resemble their adult forms.

It all starts with a tiny egg, laid on top of a leaf or a plant - not just any plant or leaf, but the only kind of leaf that this particular specie of butterfly will eat (there are 18,000 or so different species of butterflies). As the egg hatches, the baby caterpillar begins to feed on the egg shell and the leaf as its immediate source of food. Now, its sole purpose in life is to eat, eat some more and grow to around 100 to 250 times its original size. 

It’s important to make note of some of its distinct features. A caterpillar has a mouth it effectively chews with. In fact, that’s all they’re capable of doing - chewing and munching on plants and leaves. Their mouth leads to a very large intestine where the digestive system is only designed to process solid intake, which then converts it into food source to be used later. Their abdomen usually have five pairs of stumpy prolegs, a few simple eyes (like an ant) and a short antenna (if any). What’s remarkably absent is a reproductive system. There’s no sign of it in a caterpillar. It just does not exist. Apart from this, caterpillars are known pests. They’re known to destroy plants, flowers, crops and even large parts of a forest. You especially wouldn’t be thrilled to see one in your flower bed. Now compare this to its miraculously transformed counterpart. 

Once the caterpillars is done growing into its desired length and size, it finds a good spot to hang and turn into a chrysalis. After it has shed its skin 4 to 5 times, its final shedding removes everything we knew of the caterpillar - its eyes, its antenna, its legs - including the whole outer body.

Within this chrysalis, the old body parts of this caterpillar begin to go through a remarkable transformation, a.k.a metamorphosis. If like myself you thought the caterpillar’s just growing its wings and legs at this stage, you couldn’t be more mistaken.The chrysalis is closer in likeness to a womb than an upgrade factory. Inside, its internals dissolve into a soupy liquid, giving rise to a huge re-structuring in order to give birth to an altogether new being with a totally different design. 

Depending on the specie of the butterfly, in a matter of days to a few weeks - not millions of years - the transformation completes. A new creature emerges, with a completely distinct set of characteristics. 

Compared to its recent-past, where the caterpillar would wriggle and crawl, the butterfly now has 4 delicate ornate wings, each with millions of bio-photonics structures in place - not pigmentation - but tiny crystalline structures placed roughly 0.00004mm apart, creating beautiful iridescence, designs and symmetrical patterns. Instead of several stumpy legs, it now has 6 delicate, segmented legs.  It uses them for walking, clinging as well as cleaning itself. Instead of short antennas (or none for many species), it now has two long antennas not just for smelling and navigation, but for maintaining balance in-flight. Earlier the caterpillar could only chew and process solids, the butterfly now has no mouth and a completely different digestive system that can process only liquids - it now has a specialized, flexible tube it can suck nectar with, which it uses for feeding as well as for pollinating flowers. The caterpillar had a big chunky body, whereas the butterfly now has a sleek aerodynamic, armored body. The caterpillar had a simple eye, while the butterfly now has a set of two complex eyes (i.e. one eye composing of many tiny eyes) which it is able to use to see more than just light and brightness, but ultra violet as well as light at lower wavelengths and a flicker-fusion rate that’s 250 times higher than a human-being. And finally, unlike the caterpillar with no reproductive organs, the butterfly is now functionally complete, with a fully formed reproductive system ready to mate and lay eggs.

While caterpillars are considered a pest, butterflies are a symbol of beauty.

The caterpillar possesses none of these traits. We're looking at two absolutely distinct beings, differing not just in outward appearance but also in both internal and external functions.

One might label the various stages in any manner, but what remains challenging to explain is how, through simple, gradual mutations over a billion years - one variation at a time, via natural selection - a caterpillar transforms into an entirely different creation. This transformation is so profound that the two stages no longer share a set of physical traits.

The caterpillars metamorphoses, my friends, is the antithesis of evolution.

God, by way of a caterpillar, entirely affirms me my faith:

“The Originator is He of the heavens and the earth: and when He wills a thing to be, He but says

unto it, "Be" - and it is.” [2:117] Qur'an

The hatching of a caterpillar is similar to how we are born into this world. We live for a short while, and will be caused to die. The chrysalis, our grave, is our resting place. And from our deaths, God will raise us with our original souls, but different bodies, similar to a butterfly. 

“And they say, "When we are lost within the earth, will we indeed be [recreated] in a new creation?" Rather, they are, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, disbelievers. Say, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you. Then to your Lord you will be returned." [32:10-11] Qur'an

The next time someone tries to convince you of mindless “monkey business”, remind yourself the miraculous transformation a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly and hold on to your faith. And if there's still room for doubt, wait until you discover the remarkable journey of a dragonfly (spoiler: it's a tale of an aquatic creature, complete with gills, transforming into a airborne one).

Indeed - our Creator is real. His Heaven is real. His Angels are real. His Prophets, peace be upon them all, were real and so, their message was real.