Sign 5 of 12 · Animals · Qur'an 29:41
The spider's house
The flimsiest house of all.
Signs · The spider's house
“The example of those who take protectors other than God is like the spider, which builds a house; and the flimsiest of houses is the spider's house, if only they knew” (29:41, our rendering).
The science. Spider silk is astonishingly strong for its weight; Darwin's bark spider spins one of the toughest materials known. Yet the web, as a house, gives no shelter from wind or rain.
Three faiths. Job says of the one who forgets God: “whose trust is a spider's web” (Job 8:14, JPS 1917). The same parable, centuries apart.
Pause and ponder
Look again. What else have you looked past?
Wonder, not proof: we never say a verse “predicted” science. Why not? · Science: Biology · Index entry F04
