Miracles in the Quran – Locusts in The Quran

The Quran is filled with numerous miracles and features that all attest to its authenticity as the book of God. Amongst these features is the Quran’s remarkable use of language when describing certain occurrences and events. For instance, many have noted the Quran’s remarkable usage of the word “علقة” (clinging, leech-like substance) to describe embryonic development. The word has left scholars around the world dumbfounded when considering its accuracy in describing the human embryo 1400 years ago. Another example is the Quranic choice of words to describe the resurrection of mankind.

There eyes humbled, they will emerge from the graves as if they were scattered locusts. Quran 54:7

In this verse, Allah likens the resurrection of man coming out of their graves to the emergence of locusts. At first glance, it may seem quite ordinary, yet this is not until one actually observes the activity of locusts. At the beginning of their lives, locusts emerge from the ground after hatching. After their emergence, they then gather in large groups that densely occupy an area in their millions. Such a dense swarm of insects is a rare sight that often amazes filmmakers for its uniqueness. A desert locust swarm can expand to almost 1200 square kilometers in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into a square kilometre. To put this into perspective, this is approximately the size of Sydney and its surrounding areas. In fact, such is their immense quantity that they are responsible for many agricultural disasters that occur all over the world and throughout history. They are also considered pests that feed off of farmers crops. Allah, in fact, makes mention of locusts being used as a tool to destroy the land of the tyrant Pharoah.

So We sent upon them the flood and locusts and lice and frogs and blood as distinct signs, but they were arrogant and were a criminal people. Quran 7:133

Having an extremely large population emerging from under the ground and engrossing an extremely immense section of the Earth’s surface is a sight that distinctively compares to our resurrection. No doubt, the example of locusts is a remarkable metaphor that uniquely describes the Day of Judgement in a manner like no other. May Allah allow us to ponder over the Quran and benefit from its extraordinary reminders. Source: https://www.britannica.com/animal/locust-insect