Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | The Sunday Guardian | December 11, 2016, p. 12

“Do they not look at the camels, how they are made?” (The Quran 88.17)

The camel is one of the unique creations of God. It serves as a sign for those who disbelieve Him. Besides giving us milk, meat, wool and hide, as other animals do, a camel is endowed with some unique characteristics, hence its title, ‘Ship of the Desert’. Camels can go for about twenty-five days in winter and about five days in summer without water. They can travel, carrying their master, for 400 kilometers at a stretch, without receiving so much as a drop of water. 

Recent researches have shown that camels’ humps are like generators of water. In adverse conditions, it draws on this reserve by converting the stored fat into water through some mysterious chemistry. 

The Camel loses its body water slowly, and can regain lost weight in ten minutes by drinking as many as 25 gallons of water! Standing seven feet tall at the shoulder, they can subsist on coarse, sparse food such as thorny plants and dried grass. Ranging through many colours from white to black, they have double rows of protective eyelashes, haired eye-openings, the ability to close the nostrils and keen senses of sight and smell, just the sort of things required to help them adapt to their harsh environment. 

When kneeling, they are supported by horny pads on the chest and knees. Their long limbs and soft, widespreading two-toed feet enable them to walk on sand or snow. 

In spite of being a wild animal, it is docile when properly trained. Man can see in everyday life, signs like these, which are full of meaning, high design, and the goodness of God to man.