Imam Al-Sadiq

I (the author) say: How strong this proof is! And how lofty this explanation is! And every
wise person throughout centuries is about to say: The Imam gave this example for the people
of his time and produced suitable evidence for it.
-2-
Then, on the second day, the Imam told Al- Mufaddal about the second part. It was about the
creation of the animal. So, he, peace be on him, said: "We will start with the animal to know
its formation as you have known the formation of those things before it. Think of the
formation of the body of the animal and its present shape. It is not as solid as the stone. If it
(the body) was solid, then it would not bend. Nor is it very soft. If it was so, then it would
have no ability to bear (things). So, it was created from soft meat which has the ability to
bend. There are solid bones among it. Nerves catch it. And veins tie it and bring it together.
Then, there is the skin which covers all the body.
Like the bodies of the animals are these statues which are made of sticks, wrapped with pieces
of cloth, tied with threads, then they are covered with gum. So, the-sticks represent the bones,
the piece of cloth represent the meat, the threads represent the nerves and the veins, and the
gum represents the skin. So, if it is possible for the moving animal to happen through
negligence, without maker, too. As it is impossible for the statues to happen in such a way,
therefore it is impossible for the animal to happen in such a way, too.
After this, think of the bodies of the animals. They were created as the bodies of men were
created. They have meat, bones, and nerves. Also they have ears and eyes. They were created
in such a way to help man get his needs from them. If they (the animals) were blind and deaf,
the man would not avail himself from them, and they would not behave to achieve his aims.
Then they (the animals) were deprived of intellect to obey man, (in other words) they obey
him when he makes them very tired and carries a heavy load on them. If a person says: 'Man
may have some slaves who obey him with severe tiredness; still they have intellect.' The
answer is: Such a class of people is very few, and many people do not obey as the animals do
when the latter carry loads, goods, and the like. Then if people carry out such work with their
own selves, they will not be able to achieve their other work because they will be in need of
my people to achieve the work of one camel or one mule. So, there will be no people to
achieve other acts. In the meantime they will be very tired when they try to get their own
living."
Then the Imam, peace be on him, mentioned the qualities of the three kinds of animal: Man,
the carnivorous, and the herbivorous. Also he spoke about their organs.
The Imam tells you about the reason why the eyes are prominent in the face of the animal and
why some mouths of them are spilt in the lower part and why their mouths were not created