of them are born together, and begin to coalesce, as is the case with
onion peels. Onion peels appear simultaneously, each one of these begins to grow, and till the time of ripening reaches its maximum density.
Nasr's statement, however, also leaves room for the assumption that one
peel appears after another and the possibility that he saw them during
different rains cannot be ruled out.
Al-Kindi writes:
The pearl grain in the bulbul is close to the animal from both sides
and the superior kind of pearl is that which is close to the ears and
the mouth. It is, therefore, said that the large kind is within the
gullet of the oyster which it keeps on rolling. The grain, therefore,
becomes a spheroid. Its layers go on increasing and it grows larger.
The argument given in favour of one layer following the appearance
of another is that, if the uppermost layer is removed, the interior is like
the shell and it has no lustre. The same is true of the second layer. This
would show that the surface of the inner layer was open at one time as
was that of the upper one.
It is said that pearls are like bones and spheres for the animal. The
thin flesh of the animal is sustained by them, and they derive power
therefrom. It is necessary for animals to possess bones and cartilages to
move from one place to another. But this does not seem to be correct,
since it is said bulbul is liquid in the beginning, ripens and grows till it
becomes inahar. It is, therefore, but essential that there should be large
pearls in maiiar as it is necessary for bulbul to have smaller pearls, since
pearls would grow within bulbul as the bones grow until they reach their
maximum extent in maiiar.
Some authors have also mentioned the lustre of the external portion
and have argued that the layers appear one after another. This argument
is wrong too, as every peal of the onion is bright and it becomes harder
and more lustrous, while the interior remains soft, turbid and rough, although the peels did not appear successively but at the same time.
We could quote the examples of old men whose upper teeth have become worn off through mastication, and also the space between the
teeth of the elephant, even though the teeth of the elephant are not
arranged in rows.
God alone knows the secrets of the creatures. How could man know
about them, travelling as he does from the sensible, tangible, to the abstract. He ponders over the nature of brass; how one layer has been put
over another; he ruminates upon the nature of the teeth; he visualises
how one bone has been joined to the other in the skull, the cavities
filled, so as to form a beautiful form, while they were apart from each
other before. But if he believes that all these parts or organs had had
their gestation at different times he would be wrong, although the matter
