The spider is a creature of God. For many people it’s a scary creature, but spiders are very beneficial in the number of insects they consume. This is how God has guaranteed its provision, through the myriad of insects as an unending food supply. Spiders have different ways of catching their prey. Some, like the wolf spider, hunt and stalk their food. The jumping spider lies in wait, ambushing its prey. But spiders are most renowned for spinning webs.
There is not a creature on earth whose provision is not guaranteed by God and He knows its course and its final destiny. All are recorded in a profound record. (11:6)
The silk glands, the spinnerets, of the spider create fine silk threads. It’s actually protein. It cannot be dissolved in water and it’s the strongest natural fiber known, much stronger than steel and elastic to resist breakage. An intricate web, truly a fine work of art, may be completed by the hard working spider in under an hour. The spider begins with a bridge line from which the foundation lines are laid. The spider uses 3 or 4 objects to attach the lines to, such as branches, leaves, and walls. Then it will lay out radial lines between the foundation lines and bisect and rebisect these lines creating spokes. Finally spiral lines are laid on top using a sticky layer of silk for trapping prey. A French entomologist once commented: "What a refinement of art for a mess of flies."
The Quran states: The allegory of those who accept other masters beside God is that of the spider and her home; the flimsiest of all homes is the home of the spider, if they only knew. God knows full well that whatever they worship beside Him are really nothing. He is the Almighty, the Most Wise. We cite these examples for the people, and none appreciate them except the knowledgeable. (29:41-3)
This is a very interesting reference to the spider. God uses the feminine gender because it is the female spider that spins webs and is very apt to mistake a male spider as prey and eat him. But the important aspect of these verses is the reference to other masters beside God. It is true that the silk thread used to make webs is a very strong fiber. Yet if we simply sweep our hand through a spider web it completely disintegrates. That is what the knowledgeable must appreciate. The idols that people set up in this life seem important and strong and beneficial. Yet, one sweep of God’s hand and all idols become nothing, making it clear the flimsiness of idol worship.
Say, "Consider the idols you have set up beside God; show me what on earth have they created." Do they own any partnership in the heavens? Have we given them a book wherein there is no doubt? Indeed, what the transgressors promise one another is no more than an illusion. (35:40)
O people, God’s promise is the truth; therefore, do not be distracted by this lowly life. Do not be diverted from God by mere illusions. (35:6)
- Lydia