Hatchetfish
The hatchetfish uses the light it manufactures for camouflage. There is a light strip on the lower part of its body, much like a double row of light bulbs.
Those parts of the sea that are deeper than 1,000 meters (3,300 feet below sea level) are known as “black depths,” and there is absolutely no light in such waters. Until very recently, it was thought that nothing could live at such depths. The fact is, however, that by means of improvements in diving technology over the last 25 years, life has been found in these depths and some 50,000 new species have been discovered.
Researchers investigating life in the ocean depths realized that these dark waters were not in fact quite so dark after all. The life forms in these dark depths were observed to make use of bright lights for a range of purposes. Scientists were amazed to discover that these life forms, which possess bioluminescent organs, manufacture light of different colors and in different frequencies and use them with great expertise.17
Hatchetfish
The hatchetfish uses the light it manufactures for camouflage. There is a light strip on the lower part of its body, much like a double row of light bulbs.
Flashlight fish
This fish’s light organ is in the lower part of the eye. They use that light to communicate with members of the same species and to attract other living things as prey.
Angler fish
The angler fish takes its name from a luminous rod on the upper part of its head. It turns a blue light at the tip of the rod on and off in order to attract its prey. As soon as the prey approaches the rod it senses it and immediately attacks with its powerful jaws.
BIOLUMINESCENT LIFE FORMS MANUFACTURE COLD LIGHT
Some of the life forms in the deep oceans manufacture light with their own internal organs, while using bacteria in their bodies to produce light. This production of cold light, known as bioluminescence, is the result of highly complex chemical reactions. These life forms can emit red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet light in different shades and frequencies.
500 meters
(1,640 feet)
1,000 meters
(3,300 feet)
When we look at the fossil records, we see that these life forms, which the scientific world has only recently become acquainted with, were actually living millions of years ago. Luminous fish have left behind detailed remains in the rock strata. Fossils provide accurate scientific data dating back to millions of years in the past. The truth imparted by these petrified photographs is that these life forms were producing light in pitch black waters millions of years ago and never changed over millions of years; in other words, they never evolved at all.
Darwinists base their theory, not on the scientific data, but on a superstitious belief in chance. They are totally unable to explain how such a life form, devoid of any intelligence or consciousness and indeed unaware what light even is, could have begun manufacturing light millions of years ago.
There is a huge significance in these creatures, which remained a secret in the depths of the oceans for thousands of years, for human beings able to observe them today. This diversity is a means whereby mankind can once again see and grasp the infinite might of Almighty Allah, Who created them all.
THE LUMINOUS STRATEGY OF THE HATCHETFISH
One bioluminescent marvel living at depths of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) is the hatchetfish. Some ten centimeters (four inches) long, this fish has large eyes, located as to be looking upward because fish living at these depths tend to hunt prey passing above them.
At the same time, they themselves have to be invisible. Their bodies have been created so as to make this possible. Their bodies are flat and silver in color, reflecting the color of the water like a mirror, which camouflages them in the darkness. Some fish that look downward can still identify them, however, because by means of their large eyes, fish at these depths are able to distinguish their prey with light filtering down from the surface.
But the hatchetfish possesses an amazingly deceptive system against this danger from two eyes looking down from above.
It has very special organs known as photophores that manufacture light on the lower part of its abdomen. Two different chemical substances are combined together in these organs to initiate a chemical reaction, the result being biological light, or bioluminescence.
The organs in the fish’s abdomen imitate light filtering down from the surface and produce light of exactly the same color. The hatchetfish thus prevents its shadow being seen from below.18
This astonishing defense system is obviously the product of a superior intelligence. The hatchetfish cannot be aware of how it is visible from beneath. Neither can it know how light is manufactured. It is impossible for such a sensitive system to have appeared in the animal’s body by chance.
These marvelous characteristics of the hatchetfish are not the result of blind chance, as evolutionists maintain, but one of the countless examples in the universe showing they were created by Omniscient and Almighty Allah.
![]() The 37 to 23-million-year-old hatchetfish on the left clearly shows that living things did not emerge as the result of an evolutionary process by going through various stages. The hatchet fish produces light in the same way today as it did millions of years in the past. Bioluminescent organs |
1- The hatchetfish possesses organs capable of emitting light, known as photophores. These organs are set out along the underside of the stomach.
2- The hatchetfish that lives at depths of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) approaches the surface to hide from predators and turns on its bioluminescent organs.
3- The chemical substances inside bioluminescent organs enter into reactions and emit a cold, blue light resembling that filtering down from the surface. 20
4-Just as with the firefly, this light is the result of the breakdown of a protein known as “luciferin” and the simultaneous operation of the enzyme luciferase. 19
5- When the light goes into full operation, the fish assumes the same color as the light coming down from above. This confuses predators lurking above, so they can no longer make the hatchetfish out. This is exactly like turning a light bulb on in broad daylight. As the product of Allah’s flawless creation, this tiny fish, that nobody is even aware of, uses a wonderful tactic and perfect technology to protect itself.
The electric light bulb was invented by Edison in 1879 following hundreds of experiments. Edison's technique was based on a simple logic, and of course the first light bulbs had only a very short life span. This problem has today been resolved, and some electric light bulbs can last for many years. But there is still one problem that has not been solved: normal bulbs have an efficiency level of only 10%, and some 90% of the energy is wasted. This represents a significant energy loss.
All the light in the universe is basically produced in the same way. Electrons play the main role in light production. When an electron absorbs energy, it deposits an energy packet known as a photon in an upper orbit and passes on to a lower orbit. The electrons in the Sun, or those shining in a light bulb are affected thermally. That is why light also gives off heat. While 3% of the energy turns into light, the remaining 97% is lost in the form of heat.
The solution to this problem is being sought in nature, because there are life forms in nature that manufacture light with an efficiency level of 100%. The electrons in the “cold light” or bioluminescence produced by many life forms in nature perform a chemical reaction that releases no heat. In contrast to the light bulb, almost 100% of the energy in the chemical process of bioluminescence is turned into light, and no loss of energy takes place.
Fish are not the only light-emitting life forms; some squid, jellyfish, seaweed, shrimp, plankton, lightning bugs and some species of fungi all know, through inspiration by Allah, how to manufacture their own light.
![]() Light-emitting squid Light-emitting fungus Lightning bug Light-emitting jellyfish |
The manufacture of electricity requires a specialized knowledge and expertise. Whether you use a battery to obtain electricity or a giant power station, specific experience and knowledge on the subject is essential. But here we are discussing unconscious living things, not electrical engineers. These life forms certainly have no knowledge of concepts such as luciferin, luciferase and ATP. They are unaware of even a single atom involved, let alone their chemical structures, formulae and interactions.
In addition to it being impossible for the whole electrical chain to emerge in stages, it is also impossible for a single chemical involved, such as luciferin, to do so. It would be pointless for any one link in the chain of chemical reactions to emerge by itself. It is essential for all the processes involved to take place one by one, in the right sequence and order. It is Omniscient and Almighty Allah Who teaches these living things, with no consciousness or knowledge of biochemistry, to produce light.
One of the most striking examples of bioluminescent technology is to be found in the oceans. The light technology used by light-emitting fish, jellyfish, sea urchins and some shellfish is so perfect as to amaze scientists.
Although the techniques that all these life forms employ to emit light are similar, they are not exactly the same. However, their common feature is that, unlike human beings, they do not have to use giant power plants, generators or batteries to manufacture light. The light technology in living things at the bottom of the ocean has none of the disadvantages of the systems used by human beings: there is no noise, no power disruptions, no heat given off and no harmful waste products.
There is a highly important point to the fact that every living thing in the universe, great or small, is equipped with characteristics requiring a very high level of knowledge and intelligence. Those who seek the source of this sublime intelligence in life forms with no consciousness are making a grave error. Any such “work” obviously points to an “intelligence” that produced it. The life forms that possess such stunning characteristics are all manifestations of the omniscience and matchless power of Almighty Allah, their Creator.
Evolutionist logic maintains that living species emerge in a gradual process of evolution from the primitive to the more advanced. The fact is, however, that even organisms with the very least complexity still possess marvelous features that human beings cannot replicate. For example, according to evolutionary logic, bacteria are some of the supposedly “most primitive” life forms there are. Yet these micro-organisms have been using advanced technology to manufacture light for millions of years.21
![]() The chemical reaction bacteria use to produce light: The formula for this chemical reaction is; |
The energy required in the basic reaction that takes place as bacteria manufacture light is obtained from the ATP of the bacterial cell. Oxygen binds to a molecule known as luciferin and a new molecule thus emerges. The marvelous thing here is the appearance of light as a side product of this reaction.
The energy needed in the basic reaction in bacteria’s production of light is taken from the bacterial cell’s ATP. Oxygen binds to a molecule known as luciferin and forms a new molecule. The marvelous thing here is that light is produced as a byproduct of this reaction.
This formula, that someone without a knowledge of chemistry will likely not understand, is only a brief summary of the light production system in bacteria.
The chain of reactions that take place during light production may well be compared to a clockwork mechanism functioning with a number of interconnected cog wheels. The chemical reaction, whose formula is given above, takes place where these cog wheels touch one another. However, in order for there to be constant light emission, the molecules used also have to be restored to their original forms because these molecules are consumed by being turned into other molecules, like a candle burning down. The chain reaction, functioning like cog wheels, enables molecules to return to their original forms.
The majority of processes requiring continuity in the cells take place with these cog wheels, as it were, being literally turned into one another by such molecular systems.
As we have seen, many various components need to be present together for light production. When these components are present at the right time, in the right place and perform the right processes, the result is a most superior product – the manufacture of light.
Just one flaw in the components in this system, or the absence of just one enzyme involved in the process, or the slightest error in their architecture, will halt this system of production. This is like damage to one of the clock's cog wheels impairing the functioning of it.
In the same way that it is impossible for a clock consisting of cog wheels all working together in harmony to emerge by chance, so the light produced by the chain reaction made up of biological cog wheels cannot be the work of chance, either.
The amazing miracle of light in living things is part of the artistry of Allah, and one of the proofs of His infinite might and omniscience.
Another amazing point is that all these reactions and processes take place in micro-organisms just 0.001 millimeters (3.93700787 × 10-5 inches) in size. There is no doubt that the way this perfect system is packed into such an extraordinarily small space shows that these organisms are created by Omniscient and Almighty Allah.
The white layers immediately beneath the eye in some fish is a light organ where bacteria gather. By using this light organ, which resembles the headlights of a car, the fish catches prey entering into the light and can also send signals to attract a mate.22
The fact that bacteria produce this light, not for themselves, but for the fish they inhabit is particularly striking.
Bear in mind that this light is of no use to the bacteria. The theory of evolution is totally unable to account for this. The theory of evolution maintains that those changes arising in living species due to mutations that are useful will be selected and so evolution will take place in the species concerned. The fact is, however, that there is no possibility of random mutations being able to give rise to such a complex system as light production and, in addition, the production of light will not benefit the organism concerned, the bacterium, in any way.
The bacteria cannot conceive of and apply such a technology, and the fish certainly cannot identify such a specific characteristic in the bacteria and include it in their own bodies in such a perfect way. The way that bacteria work together to emit light with a sublime technology on behalf of another living thing is the work of Allah's flawless and incomparable creation.
![]() The 95 million year old fossil flashlight fish above shows that these life forms have remained unchanged for millions of years. The bacterial pouches beneath the fish’s eye was fossilized in the same form as it is today. Although Darwinists try to conceal the fact, these fossils show that 95 million years ago the fish was using light emitted by the bacteria within its body and was able to perform the same complex processes as it is today. |
Research investigating the bacterium with the scientific name of Vibrio fischeri have revealed some highly interesting facts. They established that these bacteria were in communication with one another. According to this research, cells encourage neighboring cells to perform various functions by sending one another special messenger molecules.
Bacteria release a messenger molecule known as AHL in order to simulate one another. This AHL molecule activates a protein known as LuxR. The activated LuxR then activates a marvelous system known as Lux Operon created for light production by binding to the DNA. This system produces both the molecules and enzymes necessary for light production and also the AHL messenger molecules. These AHLs then increase light production by stimulating other bacteria.23
One important detail here is the way the bacteria are present in large numbers and the aggregation of the AHL molecules. In this way, the bacteria are able to emit a large amount of bright light for the fish to use. Indeed, when these bacteria are alone in the sea, no light production like that in the fish takes places, since there is no accumulation of AHL, and thus no light is given off.24
17. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/deep_sea#p006v478
18. BBC, "Deep Sea Creatures", documentary film.
19.http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/chem/
20. Anita Ganeri, "Creatures That Glow in The Dark", p. 22
21. http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/chem/
22. Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece, Biology, Translated from the 6th edition, p. 540 / (Anita Ganeri, Creatures That Glow in The Dark, p. 12-13)
23.http://www.bio.cmu.edu/Courses/03441/TermPapers/97TermPapers/lux/bioluminescence.html Saraçlı M. "Quorum sensing": Mikro-organizmalar iletişim mi kuruyor? Gülhane Medical Journal 2006; 48: 244-250. Devine, J.H. et al. "Identification of the operator of the lux regulon from Vibrio fisheri strain ATCC 7744," Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:5688-5692 (1989).
24. Hastings, J. W. and Greenberg, E. P. (1999) "Quorum Sensing: The explanation of a curious phenomenon reveals a common characteristic of bacteria". J. Bacteriol. 181: 2667-2668