19 Preface أَوَلَم يَرَوا إِلَى الطَّيرِ فَوقَهُم صافّاتٍ وَيَقبِضنَ ۚ ما يُمسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا الرَّحمٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ بَصيرٌYusuf AliDo they not observe the birds above them,1 spreading their wings and folding them in?2 None can uphold them except (God) Most Gracious: Truly (God) Most Gracious: Truly it is He that watches over all things.The flight of birds is one of the most beautiful and wonderful things in nature. The make and arrangement of their feathers and bones, and their streamlined shapes, from beak to tail, are instances of purposive adaptation. They soar with outstretched wings; they dart about with folded wings; their motions upwards and downwards, as well as their stabilisation in the air, and when they rest on their feet, have given many ideas to man in the science and art of aeronautics. But who taught or gave to birds this wonderful adaptation? None but God, Whose infinite Mercy provides for every creature just those conditions which are best adapted for its life.In the Arabic, there is an artistic touch which it is not possible to reproduce in the translation. Saffat (spreading their wings) is in the form of the active participle, suggesting the continuous soaring on outspread wings; while yaqbidna (folding them in) is in the Aorist form, suggesting the spasmodic flapping of wings.