The Bolas Spider That Hunts by Lassoing Its Prey

People generally think of spiders as hunting for their prey by building webs.
However, the Bolas spider's hunting technique is quite
extraordinary. It first produces a thread stronger than silk inside
its own body. It then places very powerful and sticky droplets on
the end of this thread. It then dangles the thread from a tree,
rather like a fishing rod, and begins patiently waiting for its
prey. It also employs a miraculous tactic to attract its prey toward
it. It manufactures a scent in its body and then releases it! How?
Female moths release a special scent hormone known as a pheromone
to attract males. Bolas spiders replicate this scent and place it at
the edge of the lure. In addition, they can change this pheromone
to match the features of other insect species. Deceived, the male
moth heads in the direction the scent comes from. When the moth
approaches, the spider places the lasso on its two front feet and
casts it, faster than the human eye can see. The sticky tip flies
through the air and sticks to the moth's body, and the prey is
caught. The adhesive substance sticks to the moth's body and the
insect is reeled in. The fine but very strong thread can easily
carry living things much heavier than itself at its tip. The Bolas
spider wraps the moth up in a special silk it produces. The
distinguishing feature of this silk is that it keeps the food fresh
for a long time. The spider thus keeps its prey fresh to be
consumed at a later time.
Its marvelous plan has worked.
There is another point to bear in mind here.
The Bolas spider is practically blind. Yes, that's right! Spiders'
eyesight is very poor, but they can perceive the vibrations caused
by insects when they fly. Although the Bolas spider is almost blind,
it can catch a flying insect with the help of the lasso it makes
itself hanging suspended in the air. This is an obvious miracle.
Let us now review what the Bolas did in order to hunt, step by step:
-It manufactured a silk thread stronger than steel but highly
flexible, and prepared an adhesive ball right at the end of it...
-It produced a scent manufactured by an insect, from a totally
different species to its own, and released it...
-It threw the lasso at its prey faster than the human eye can see.
-The lasso hit the target even though the spider was suspended in the air.
-Finally, it wrapped its prey up in a special silk to keep it fresh.
Almighty Allah, Lord of the universe and all living things, once
again shows us His sublime and unique creative artistry in this
spider.
The way that every spider ever born knows the hunting techniques
employed by its own species is a miracle all by itself. For example,
this Bolas spider made its first lasso when it was still a baby; at
that time, it is smaller than a fingertip. The lasso is smaller
than a pinhead. But it knows just what it has to do.
There is no doubt that this ability to spin webs and set traps shows
that spiders are "inspired." It is without doubt Almighty Allah,
Lord of all the worlds, Who creates these creatures with these
wondrous characteristics and inspires in them all they do.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed satan-
I have put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord. There is no
creature He does not hold by the forelock. My Lord is on a Straight
Path. (Surah Hud, 56)

How do our cells recognize and bind toone another?

Every cell that multipli es and divides as the embryo develops
knows what its task is and heads towards the relevant location in
the body. Bone cells locate other bone cells and adhere to them,
while eye cells bind to eye cells and other cells to others of
their kind.
Let us now examine these statements with care.
Every cell that multiplies and divides knows what its task is. In
these images you are looking at, you are seeing a fertilized egg
multiply and divide. As the number of cells grows, cells begin
grouping together. It is at this stage that the decision is taken as
to what tasks these cells will undertake in the body. Some cells
group together as muscle cells, others as nerve cells and others
again as bone cells.
So how and why do these millions of constantly multiplying cells
decide to become nerve, heart, muscle or liver cells?
Scientists discovered that cells use calcium in order to join
together. They first combined and separated various embryonic cells
in a laboratory environment by reducing the amount of calcium. The
cells in this calcium-deprived environment could not combine
together. They then added calcium to these cells and saw that cells
of the same type recognized one another and joined together. In
other words, all liver cells, heart cells, stomach cells and all the
other types of cells recognize each other, come together and give
rise to the relevant organ.
But how is it that these cells find one another, making no mistakes,
and combine to create an organ?
Combination takes place in three stages; cell activation, mutual
recognition and finally binding together.
Cell activation takes place with micro- protrusions which resemble
fingers on the surface of the cell. By means of these protrusions,
a bone cell moves along millions of developing cells and finds
another bone cell to adhere to. But in order for a cell to move
among millions of cells, the fluid inside the cell has to be of just
the right thickness. If the fluid were a little bit thicker, the
cell could not bear the resistance, and therefore could not move.
That would make it impossible for cells to produce first a tissue
and then later an organ.
THAT IS, IF CELLS DID NOT MOVE, our organs would not be formed.
The answer to the question of how a liver cell recognizes another
liver cell lies in the wondrous proteins on the cell membrane.
Known as cadherins , these proteins first move toward the cell
surface before binding takes place. They settle on the cell
membrane and form a bridge between the inside of the cell and the
outside. There are various types of cadherins. When two cells with
the same cadherin molecules make contact, they recognize one
another and binding begins. During the binding process, molecules
on both the inside and outside of the cell become involved and
establish a glorious cooperation together. The cadherin protein
has the ability to bind to that part of the calcium remaining
outside the cell. That is why calcium is one of the chemicals
necessary for cells to bind to one another.
You are now seeing how nerve cells that recognize one another during
embryonic development fold in on themselves after binding together.
This takes place as cells with the same kind of cadherin bind
together. When this process is over, all the nerve cells gather
together in a single layer.
Two binding molecules use the force of attraction to join together.
In order for a force of attraction to be established between cells,
the distance between the two surfaces of the binding molecules has
to be less than one nanometer and they have to be at the same level.
While it is difficult for these conditions to be met the cells
still manage to combine together because the force of attraction is
capable of bearing a load of 40 nanograms; if the force of
attraction between cells were not that strong, it would be
impossible for one cell to bind to another. Allah has created this
force attraction in such a sensitive manner that this bond permits
both a very powerful binding force among cells as well as providing
for a degree of flexibility, meaning it can be dissolved when
necessary.
If our cells lacked this superb functioning that allows them to
identify one another, we could not survive because in the event of
any sickness, our red blood corpuscles would be unable to defend
the body, our blood would not clot and, most important of all, the
cells that give rise to our organs during embryonic development
could not combine together.
This flawless functioning in our bodies is one of the manifestations
of Allah's glorious creative artistry.
I seek refuge in Allah from the satan;
Does not man recall that We created him before when he was not
anything? (Surah Maryam, 67)

Fathwa, - Is it permissible to take passport picture without a headscarf?

Question:
A sister was told in order to obtain a visa, she must take a picture
for her passport without a headscarf (not just niqab) -- her family
wants to know if it would be permissible/impermissible and whatever
the ruling, they would like to know the proofs behind it.
Answer:
Wa `alaykum as-Salam wa rahmatullah:
It is neither permissible in the Law nor, to our knowledge, required
by any country for passports, and the proofs behind the ruling of the
Divine Law are those of the hijab; unless it is a matter of life and
death or assured expectation of harm to one's life or property or
religion as in the case of fleeing a land of disbelief to a land of
Islam, in which cases it would be permitted and Allah knows best.

Fathwa, - The Female Voice & Gender Interaction

Question:
I was told that hanafi women are not allowed to speak when non-mahram
men are present, is this true? Also I was told that according to the
maliki position that women can speak to non-mahrams, but on a business
level. What is the hanafi position on women speaking amongst
non-mahram men in and out of the masjid?
Answer:
Wa `alaykum Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu,
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful & Compassionate
Please see the following links which relate to your question:
In which cases is a woman's voice considered awrah?
The female voice and singing
Women's Singing and Qur'an Recitation in Public
Questions on Women's Prayer: Women's Congregational Prayer, Raising
the Voice When Alone, Giving Adhan and Iqama
Mixed Gatherings: A detailed response regarding gender interaction
Wassalam,
Hanafi Fiqh Team