so quickly?"
"Baby ducks manage to make their way to
the water to swim and feed themselves just a
few hours after they hatch," the duck informed
him.
Ahmad wondered what would happen to him if
they left him in the water a few hours after he was
born. He would certainly not be able to swim;
he would swallow a lot of water and die. He
considered how perfectly Allah had created ducks
so that they can live, swim and feed themselves in the water. Then
Ahmad's grandfather got up from the bench and came up beside
him.
"Grandpa," said Ahmad: "Ducks can swim really well, can't
they? And they're so cute!"
His grandfather agreed: "Yes, Ahmad. Just one of their special
qualities shows us how perfectly Allah has created every living
thing. Did you know that ducks can also fly? When they fly, they
keep changing direction so that they will not fall prey to wild
birds."
"How do the ducks know that they have to change direction all
the time to escape predators, Grandpa?" he asked.
His grandfather told him: "Just as Allah has given special qual-
ities to other animals, he gave this
one to cute ducks so that they can
protect themselves. Allah creates
what He wills. There is a verse
about this in the Qur'an: 'Allah
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