INTRODUCTION

We sent down a measured amount of water from heaven and lodged it firmly in the earth; and We are well able to remove it. By means of it We produce gardens of dates and grapes for you, in which there are many fruits for you and from which you eat. And a tree springing forth from Mount Sinai yielding oil and a seasoning to those who eat. (Qur’an, 23:18-20)

Have you thought in detail about the fruit trees in your gardens, the pine forest you see from your window, or the plane trees lining the road you drive? Do you know how these plants appeared, and the stages they underwent before growing into mature trees? Or do plants have a purely aesthetic meaning for you, and it doesn’t really matter to you whether or not they exist? If you think that way, you are deceiving yourself, because it’s largely due to plants that there is an adequate balance of oxygen in the atmosphere that enables you to breathe, and that you are not poisoned by excessive carbon dioxide, that the humidity of the air seldom reaches uncomfortable levels, and is neither too hot nor too cold. That is to say, you owe a great deal to plants for being able to lead a comfortable life. Nor are these the only ways in which plants are useful to most living creatures. In plants are found the vitamins and minerals you need in order to live.
How the general characteristics of plants influence the lives of living creatures, how they create nutrients through photosynthesis, and wondrous details such as how great trees carry substances their roots draw from the earth to the outer branches, are detailed in another book, The Miracle of Creation in Plants. Here, we will examine a different aspect of plants in more detail to help people look at the subject in a different way. Everyone knows what seeds look like, and knows that plants arise from seeds. But few have ever wondered how so many varieties of plants can germinate from something so small and seemingly lifeless, or how the seeds come to contain all the individually coded information that determines these plants’ characteristics.
How can fruits, with their unique tastes and aromas and just the right degree of sweetness, come from something that’s small and dry? Does the seed produce the tree and adorn it with fruit? Does the seed determine the shape and color of fruit and flowers? Does the seed pack all the information on the tree into the embryo it contains?
If people give such questions a little thought, they’ll start to wonder about how a seed knows how to produce a tree. How does something so small know what shape and form the tree it will produce should take? This last question is particularly important, because it is not just a mass of wood that develops from a seed. For example, we know that apple trees, like thousands of other plant species, grow from little seeds in the earth. But by some unknown means, after a certain amount of time, from that seed grows a big tree 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) tall weighing hundreds of kilos. The perfect apples on that tree have polished skins, unique aroma and contain sweet juices. While producing this tree, whose proportions are gigantic compared to its own, the only materials this seed has to use are the nutrients it contains at its initial stage – and after that, just earth and sunlight.
Each seed, like those in this example, produces an extremely well-organized life form with its own circulatory system and roots for assimilation of soil nutrients. Even an intelligent human artist finds it difficult to draw a good picture of a tree, much less the details of the roots and branches. But a seed produces a living version of this extremely complex shape, complete with all of its systems.
Though we say the seed “produces,” let’s remind ourselves that the seed lacks any independent mind, consciousness or will. Thus it’s not plausible to claim that it is the seeds themselves that produce trees and plants with such striking systems. Such a claim would imply that the seed is extremely knowledgeable, more intelligent even than a human being.
As evidenced throughout this website, the explanation is that within the seed is concealed a superior intelligence and comprehensive knowledge that, of course, do not belong to the seed itself. It cannot be claimed that the atoms and molecules of the materials that make up the seed are intelligent and knowledgeable, so this knowledge must be inserted into the seed somehow. But who inserted it?
When thinking through these steps, one arrives at some very important truths. The seed, dry and seemingly lifeless, is capable of doing nothing of its own accord. This knowledge has been implanted in seeds by a far greater unrivalled power, Who is God. God creates seeds with the knowledge and system to develop into plants. Each seed cast on the ground is enveloped in God’s knowledge, with which it germinates and grows.

The keys of the unseen are in His possession. No one knows them but Him. He knows everything in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowing it. There is no seed in the darkness of the earth, and nothing moist or dry which is not in a clear book. (Qur’an, 6:59)

THE SECRET IN THE SEED

Have you thought about what you cultivate? Is it you who make it germinate or are We the Germinator? If We wished We could have made it broken stubble. You would then be left devoid of crops, distraught. (Qur'an, 56:63-65)

In the pictures below, what are these things that resemble shriveled bits of wood? Can these objects transform into a living thing?
Some would think they were fruit pits, brushwood or even a kind of rubbish. But then take these objects and put them in a pot in some earth and wait for a time. If you want to see the result, turn the page.
From the pictures overleaf, you will understand that each of these dried bits of matter is a seed. And when the conditions are right, they sprout in an amazing way to produce plants of many varieties. So what sets these small, dry things apart from an inert chunk of dry wood?
Seeds have a very important characteristic that makes them different: They contain the knowledge of the shape of each stem, each leaf, the number of leaves, the thickness and color of the skin or bark, the diameter and number of the channels through which nutrients and water flow, the height of the plant, whether or not it will bear fruit, and if it does, its taste, aroma, shape, color – in short, every possible detail about the plant that the seed will produce.
If we were seeing these seeds for the first time with no idea what they were for, could we guess that countless plants, each different from the others, would emerge, and that some would reach meters in height? We would never have thought that countless fragrant flowers of striking shapes and colors – daisies, tulips, azaleas, geraniums, narcissi, roses, violets – would arise out of some shriveled dry thing. We would never have imagined that so many varieties of fruit – peaches, coconuts, pears, quinces, mulberries, apricots – would grow on the trees arising from these seeds; or that blackberries, oranges, mandarins, melons, plums, peppers and tomatoes would form from these little black, brown and yellow objects.
And so, it’s worth thinking about that for millions of years, all the characteristics related to plants have been contained in seeds. When you think about this knowledge, it opens unexpected horizons that change the perspective of many events. To consider this subject more closely, begin thinking about the things closest to hand, the vegetables, flowers and fruit in your house.
What knowledge is required for a seed to become a watermelon? Hold a slice of watermelon in your hand, and its regular order is very evident. All the knowledge that creates the taste, fragrance and sweetness of the watermelon is present in the watermelon’s seeds. Observe the slender tie by which the seed is attached to the red flesh of the watermelon and the seed’s filmy, slippery skin. The knowledge relating to this structure is likewise present in the seeds. And all the patterns on the outer skin, its thickness and waxy texture – to a degree of smoothness that a stonemason could not create – are also coded in its seeds. Watermelons all over the world have the same characteristics stored in their seeds. For this reason, if you gather a quantity of seeds from any number of places and sow them in the earth, after a time small seedling vines will sprout, and in time each of these will bear real watermelons.
To give another example, compare the characteristics of coniferous trees and those of some plants found in arid habitats.
When the ground freezes in winter, roots are unable to take in water from the earth. In addition, most of the precipitation in winter falls as snow, and for this reason, trees have to be able to withstand conditions of drought that prevail. They owe this resilience to their leaves. For instance, the leaves of many coniferous trees are not shed in autumn and have a tough skin, whose waxy surface reduces moisture loss through evaporation. By maintaining internal water pressure, this resilience prevents the leaves from being shed or the plant from wilting. And moreover, most coniferous trees have needle-shaped leaves that are resistant to frost.
Every spring, these plants gather more energy when new leaves unfurl. The resilience of the leaves is important for these plants, inasmuch as they store nutrients by photosynthesis whenever weather conditions permit. Non-deciduous trees are usually conical in shape, which prevents their branches from breaking under too much accumulation of snow. What snow does settle on them insulates the tree from sub-zero cold and prevents water loss by reducing loss of moisture from the leaves.1

A person scrutinizing watermelon seeds will be aware of an important fact: It is a miracle of creation that these tiny seeds contain all the information to create a perfect fruit in regard to taste, aroma, and protective skin.

Every species of tree has different structural features. All the information relating to these features is stored in its seeds.

For plants living in the desert, drought is one of the greatest dangers. Negative factors such as sporadic rainfall, sand storms and intense heat would normally mean extinction for desert plants. But species living in arid climates enjoy special features that enable them to withstand their environment. Their seeds’ structure and method of reproduction enable these plants to survive under such conditions.
Many desert seeds contain various substances that prevent or postpone germination. The fruit valves of Sinapis Alba contain blastokoline, which delays germination of the seeds. In Arizona, some arid plants sprout after very long dormant periods due to certain substances they contain. For instance, Lepidium lasiocarpum is ready to germinate only after one year, and Streptanthus arizonicus after 26 months. The importance of these substances is evident in the dry season in particular.2
This means that the germination-prolonging characteristics of these two species must be contained in the embryo of every one of their seeds. These few differences that distinguish arid plants clearly show the extent of detail of the encoded information in their seeds.
A rose’s red color, the curl of each of its petals, their number, softness, velvet texture and the proportion of substances that give the rose its perfume each constitute information. The deep purple color of an eggplant or aubergine, its shiny skin, the alignment of its seeds, and the length of the veins in its resilient stem all derive from information embedded in its embryo. Similar information causes sweet, juicy little grapes to grow on dry, contorted vines. The information contained in the seed’s embryo makes the skin of a grape different from that of a hazelnut; it is responsible for these two fruits’ differing color, taste, smell and the vitamins they contain, as well as the fact that the one is juicy and the other dry.

Desert plants’ ability to withstand drought and heat depends on information encoded in their seeds. The One Who packs such varied information into tiny seeds is of course the Almighty God.

God, the Lord of the heavens and the Earth, makes colorful roses of perfect beauty appear from the dry-looking seeds pictured above.

This information has been contained in each species since the emergence of seed-producing plants. The absence of such information would spell the plants’ immediate extinction. At this point the following question should arise:
Who put this information in the seed?
The answer we have is given in the introduction to this website, but at this point, it is pertinent to remind ourselves that it is God, the Creator of all things, Who embedded this vital information in seeds.
The fact that such important information and other characteristics are implanted in a tiny seed is an example of God’s incomparable creative art, and a means by which the faithful are drawn closer to our Lord. We are shown once more, by the way He implants thousands of pages of information in seeds and makes countless plants grow from these tiny objects, that God has power over all things. It is God alone Who causes plants to grow from seeds, a truth made known in the following verses of the Qur’an:

Have you thought about what you cultivate? Is it you who make it germinate or are We the Germinator? If We wished We could have made it broken stubble. You would then be left devoid of crops, distraught. (Qur’an, 56:63-65)

Sweet juicy grapes grow on the dry branches seen above. No doubt, it is God Who creates kilos of grapes on a slender stalk.

Another verse explains that God, the Creator of the seed, causes the seed that falls to the ground to split open and a new plant to grow:

God is He Who splits the seed and kernel. He brings forth the living from the dead, and produces the dead out of the living. That is God, so how are you perverted? (Qur’an, 6:95)

The truth is evident, but there have always been people who fail to comprehend it. Those who deny the existence of God are disinclined to see the miracle of creation and still try to use coincidence to explain the existence of seeds. But try as they will, the result remains the same. On examining the perfect structure of the seed and the extraordinary knowledge contained within it, everyone of reason and conscience will comprehend that it could not have come into existence through coincidence, and bear witness to the fact of creation. As you’ll see later in this website, the creation of the seed and the information it contains are too magnificent for them to have come into being of their own accord.

 

STRUCTURE AND FORMATION OF A SEED

Don’t they see how We drive water to barren land and bring forth crops by it which their livestock and they themselves both eat? So will they not see? (Qur’an, 32:27)

All the different plants – from trees that are meters in height, to the flowers whose fragrance you delight in and the vegetables and fruit you eat – all of them began as seeds. But what stages have these seeds undergone in their formation?
In the development of the seed, the first stage is the transport of the pollen, or male reproductive cells, of flower-bearing plants. Pollen is transported by the wind, insects, animals or some other means to flowers’ reproductive organs.
Right in the center of a flower is one or a cluster of female organs, called the carpel. Each carpel consists of a tip called a stigma, carried on a stalk called a style. At its base is a swollen ovary containing the ovules that will develop into seeds.
Pollen from the male organs is deposited on the stigma, which is coated in a sticky substance, and produces a pollen tube that reaches down the style to the ovary. This sticky surface has the very important function, for if the pollen does not reach the ovary, it cannot fertilize the ovules. The sticky surface of the stigma catches pollen and prevents it from being dispersed and wasted. 
Once the grain of pollen, or male reproductive cell, lands on the stigma of a flower from the same species, the pollen produces a tube like a fine root growing down the neck of the style to the ovary. Each of the mature pollen grains contains two sperm cells. The pollen tube transports the sperm to the ovule. One sperm cell fertilizes the egg in the embryo sac of the ovule, resulting in the development of a seed. The other sperm cell unites with two cells in the embryo sac, creating the tissue that surrounds the embryo and provides nourishment for it. Shortly after this process, called fertilization, a seed is produced.
Every seed contains a plant embryo and a store of nutrients. In this embryo is contained all the information relating to the future plant, as we explained at the start. That is to say, the embryo contains a small copy of the plant; and the store of nutrients enables this embryo to grow until the plant can produce its nourishment.

This diagram shows the phases from the flowering of a plant to seed formation. Any intelligent person can see that such a process cannot be the result of coincidence. (Ozet Arpaci, Biyoloji 3 (Biology 3), p. 17.)

Characteristics of the Nutrient Reserve in Seeds

It is of great importance for the seed to contain a reserve of nutrients for the embryo, since at this early stage, a plant has as yet no leaves for photosynthesis and no roots to draw nutrients from the soil. Until it emerges as a seedling, it must use whatever nutrients already contained within it to complete its development.
At this point we encounter the miraculous detail that stored in every seed is just the right amount of nutrient to satisfy its needs. The nutrient content of seeds that must remain dormant for a long time before germinating (for example, the coconut) and of seeds that germinate soon after coming into contact with water (such as melon and watermelon) is regulated in different amounts. What’s more, the kind of nutrients stored – principally starch and storage proteins, and sometimes additionally sugar and fat – depends on the variety of the plant. Of these, starch is the most essential, as it is the main source of energy for the embryo. Storage proteins, on the other hand, will provide the amino acids the embryo requires to build other proteins important for its growth.3
Who regulates the amount and kind of nutrients? It cannot be the seed, because this calibration is done before the seed is formed. Then does the parent plant regulate the amount of nutrients, by determining the seed’s stages of development and the length of time before it germinates? To admit such a possibility would mean a series of unreasonable events that are hard to believe, such as the plant having intelligence and consciousness, foresight and knowledge of events taking place beyond its own sphere. No logical, intelligent person can believe such a thing.
The evident truth is that the One Who stores in the seed of every plant exactly the right amount of nutrients it requires, the Creator of all plants and their systems and stages of fertilization is God.

These sketches of different varieties of seeds show how the shapes of the nutrient reserve and the embryo differ in each one. (Grains de Vie, p. 18.)

The Importance of the Nutrients in Seeds

The pea, one of the seeds that store sugar.

After fertilization while the seed is forming, sugar and fat are stored in the seed together with starch and storage proteins, depending on the plant species. Starch provides the seed with its main energy supply. The storage proteins will produce the amino acids the embryo needs to build other proteins that are important for the plant. But for the embryo to absorb and transport the proteins and starch, which are largely insoluble in water, they must be broken down chemically into small water-soluble units,4  and as you will see later in the book, the seed is created with a system to solve this problem.
The existence of a store of nutrients is important not only for plants, which need it for their seeds to develop, but also for humans and animals. Nutrients in seeds like wheat, corn, rice, barley, rye, oats, millet, buckwheat, legumes (peas, beans, soybeans, black-eyed peas, peanuts) and nuts with shells (such as Brazil nuts, coconuts, walnuts, almonds) are important for both humans and animals.

God uses seeds as a multi-faceted form of provision for humans.

These seeds have many uses, because of the oil stored within them.

Usually, seeds contain comparatively less sugar than the other substances, though sweet corn, chestnuts, almonds, pistachios and peas store a relatively high proportion of sugar.
The amount of fat in oily seeds increases rapidly as the seeds ripen. Some of the most important oils are obtained from flax, tung, cotton, soybean, olive, peanut, castor bean, coconut, sesame and oil palm. As well as being used in food, these oils are used in making paints and varnishes, linoleum, printers ink, soap, artificial leather, and insulating materials.5
As these examples show, seeds have direct or indirect connections with people’s lives and health, including dietary fibers, spices, beverages, edible and industrial oils, vitamins and medicaments.

Seeds like the ones shown above (barley, pistachio, walnut, rice, hazelnut, chestnut) are extremely nutritious.

The Minerals and Vitamins in Seeds

The majority of dry seeds are extremely high in nutritional value. For example, sesame, and sunflower seeds contain a higher proportion of protein than grains. Pumpkin seeds contain more than 30% protein. More than half of the weight of these seeds, which are high in vitamin E, is fat. More than 80% of these fats are polyunsaturated fats – the kind that prevent hardening of our arteries, essential fatty acids, and the oil-soluble vitamins A, D and E. Vitamin B is also found in seeds, but the quantity varies according to the species.6

Pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin E.

In addition, seeds are rich in minerals, containing a lot of iron and zinc. The amount of magnesium is good, particularly in pumpkin seeds. Many seeds are a source of copper. Seeds also have fairly high levels of calcium, potassium and phosphorus, and a small amount of sodium; and the majority of seeds contain iodine.
Pumpkin seeds have a high concentration of zinc, and for this reason are used in the treatment of various illnesses. In addition, they’re quite rich in iron, calcium and phosphorus, as well as containing vitamin E and essential fatty acids. They also contain a combination of B vitamins, particularly niacin.
Sesame seeds are probably the most widely used seeds in the world. They are rich in oil, over 55%. They are about 20% protein, and contain some of the A and E vitamins, as well as most of the B vitamins apart from B12 and folic acid. As is the case with most seeds, sesame seeds have a high mineral content, with large quantities of calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron. They’re a wonderful source of calcium. Whether due to the vitamin E they contain or other factors, sesame seeds also have a mild antioxidant effect.7

The shells of sunflower seeds have a hard, dry texture. For this reason, the seeds cannot crack their shells when they are ripe. This is necessary for the highly nutritious seed to be saved within the shell.

SIGNS OF CREATION IN THE SEED

It is God Who created the heavens with no support – you can see them – and cast firmly embedded mountains on the Earth so that it would not move under you, and scattered about in it creatures of every kind. And We send down water from the sky and make every generous species grow in it. (Qur’an, 31:10)

As mentioned in the previous section, a seed basically consists of a seed coat, a nutrient reserve and an embryo. Though the basic structure is the same, the amount of nutrients contained in each seed's reserve, the type of surrounding protective membrane, its thickness, the shape and taste of the fruit enclosing it differ greatly from one another. Everything from the shape to the color of the seed coat and the materials it is made from varies according to the plant's species and habitat.

The kiwi has numerous tiny seeds. The apricot, however, has only one, very well protected inside a hard shell.

Seeds reveal marvelous wonders of creation. To give one example, an apricot contains just one pit, or seed, which is well protected by a hard shell. The fleshy interior tastes sweet and is suitable for eating – good food for birds, rodents, insects and other animals as well as people. The fact that the fruit consists of two such sections is also opportune for the plant, for when the apricot is eaten, the seed enclosed in the hard casing at the fruit’s center is exposed, and thus has a chance of germinating in a suitable place and growing into a new tree.
In contrast to the apricot, the kiwi is a fruit that contains numerous little edible seeds, rather than just one. The seeds of this fleshy fruit are grouped together. And because they are so numerous, even if one part of the fruit is eaten, their chances of sprouting into a new plant are increased.

In seeds there is as great a variety as there are plants in the world. When we consider that the seed of every plant has a different shape, contains a different amount of nutrient reserve, and has a coat with a different thickness, we can see evidence of their wondrous creation.   Dry seeds often have a special structural feature like tufts to let them be transported. Seeds of Epilobium glaberrinum shown below are dispersed by the wind. The seedpods consist of four parts. As soon as these separate, the plant’s tufted seeds disperse in the air and carried away in the wind.

It is possible to tell how seeds are distributed by looking at their structure. While these feathery seeds are dispersed by the wind, those of the plant shown above are disseminated when the plant has dried out.

Dry fruits usually have some architectural features to protect and distribute the seed. As an example, take the tufts that crown the thistle. As you’ll soon see in greater detail, these little parachutes carry their precious cargo, the reproductive cells, to distant places on the wind.

All seeds generally have the same contents. As you can see, however, in the picture, the shape of the seed varies according to the species of plant. God has created seeds in an infinite variety.

The seeds of the Montbretia plant shown below are dispersed by the wind, though animals also help in their distribution.

The seeds of the pea plant are arranged in tidy rows and protected in special little pods. Wherever in the world they grow, all peas have the same perfect order, wonderful color and taste, due to the information installed in them by God.

The dry fruits that have multiple seeds open up to distribute them. This kind of fruit is called dehiscent. They have a thick and resilient seed coat that protects the embryo and the nutrient reserve. As they turn green, the seeds are compacted together and exert pressure on one another. They may be of very different colors, shapes and textures, and may have different features such as wings, feathery strands or a fine membrane.
Dry fruits with multiple seeds are very diverse, taking many forms such as pods, bladders, grained etc. A few examples include:
Montbretia, with round, bright orange seeds packed into triple capsules. The plant waits for the wind or a passing animal to shake it to distribute its seeds.9
The leguminous plants form a very broad category, within which each species has its own distinct shape and features. Seeds of the pea plant, for instance, are arranged in an orderly row. On the other hand, Colutea arborescens has air-filled bladders that burst noisily. The most incredible of these plants is the catclaw or black mimosa (Mimosa pigra) with its pods, each one of which contains a seed and is shaped like a hairy claw.10
These are just a few examples of plant seeds’ functional structures. Considering that every plant has a different seed structure, the variety and degree of perfection in seeds is remarkable.

Special Materials in the Seed Coat

Each of the pods of the mimosa plant (above on the left) contains a seed and is in the shape of a tufted thorn. On the other hand, Colutea arborescens (above on the right) disperses its seeds by bursting its air-filled seedpods.

Not only do the seeds have different structures; but the seed coats too are created with all their requirements.
The embryo inside the seed is extremely valuable – and vulnerable, needing to be carefully protected until the new plant has completely developed. This protection is provided by the seed coat, which shows variations in each species of plant. The degree of protection the seed is afforded corresponds to the resilience of the seed coat’s material, which also affects the seed’s ability to float or to be carried by the wind.
The seed’s outer covering takes a great variety of forms, with many interesting features. Some are coated with a bitter substance to deter enemies. Some are rich in a chemical called tannin that prevents the seeds from rotting. The seed coats of several plant species are covered in a kind of jelly-like substance, which consists of complex sugars fused with proteins, and swells easily on contact with water allowing the seed to easily stick to damp materials. As you’ll see subsequently, this characteristic plays an important part in the germination phase.11

These jelly-like objects belong to a variety of basil known as Ocimum basilicum. A few minutes after its seed coats come into contact with water, they start producing a jelly-like substance, and thus assume the above shown appearance. Seeds of this variety of basil are used in Thailand and other regions of the Orient, particularly added to fruit juice. (Grains de Vie, p. 24.)

The heavy seeds of Ipomoea murucoide are able to float on the air due to these fine hairs. Also thanks to these hairs, the seeds roll along the ground with the wind. (Grains de Vie, p. 25.)

The protective outer layer of a seed is usually extremely tough, protecting it from the external forces it will encounter. For example, in the final phase of some seeds’ development, some impervious waxy substances are deposited on the outer surface that make the seed resistant to water and gas penetration.12 Depending on the variety of plant, seed coats may be covered with materials as fine as the membrane covering a bean or as hard and woody as a cherry stone. Seed coats that must be water-resistant are tougher and thicker than the rest. For a seed we frequently encounter in our daily lives, let’s use the bean as an example.
Depending on the variety, the bean may be enclosed in one or two coverings that protect the seed from harsh conditions such as cold air, drought or mechanical effects, in the same way as an overcoat. This is where all contact is made with the outside world.
At the point where the bean has broken off from where it was attached to the pod, there is an oval mark. On careful examination, a small opening called a micropyle is visible. Because of this opening’s function, it can be compared to the navel of a baby. Through this small passage, the pollen tube used to fertilize the female reproductive cell in the ovule once entered. Now, when the time comes, water enters through this opening and allows the seed to germinate.13

The seed coat is not the only factor to protect the seed embryo and aid in its dispersion. In some species, these functions can also be carried out by the fruit. For instance, in Nicandra physaloide, whose various stages of development are shown in the pictures, the ovule develops into a swollen fruit full of seeds. If part of the top layer is removed from this fruit, the seeds appear to have grown to a size 500 times larger than the ovules’ original dimensions. The seeds are connected to the mother plant by bonds that share the same nature as an umbilical cord. (Grains de Vie, p. 26.)

As mentioned already, the seed coat’s thickness is specially regulated according to the type of plant. Every seed coat is neither too thick nor too thin, but has just the right thickness to let the plant develop in its home environment. A seed with a thin coat can be destroyed more easily by various external influences. For this reason, all seeds have coats of the most suitable thickness for their respective habitats. Seeds with very thick coats can survive all kinds of difficult conditions, but the disadvantage of an exceptionally thick coat is that the embryo has problems breaking out of the seed.

Beans enclosed in a protective skin.

Moreover, close examination reveals that seeds distributed by animals have coats thin and easy enough to pierce for the animals to take an interest in their contents. But at the same time, the structure of the coats covering these seeds makes them unattractive to all seed-eaters.14
From the explanations given so far, it is evident that seeds, which appear to be so simple, are actually structured in great detail. Their characteristics, from the proportions of the materials they contain to their content and protective outer layers, all vary according to environmental conditions. But how did this variety and detail come into being?

Pomegranate seeds protected by their fruit’s juicy red flesh. These seeds, with their extremely appealing appearance, are a product of God’s perfect creation.

When we look in books propounding evolutionary theory to answer such questions as “How?” and “Why?”, we find that evolutionists prefer to use obscure expressions and deceptive methods. A book entitled Evolution has this to say on the subject of seeds and fruits:
The outer casing of a seed is strong enough to withstand the molar teeth and intestinal acids and enzymes of various animals, and an atmosphere lacking in oxygen. Moreover, this seed casing has been evolutionarily designed so as to protect the embryo until the conditions for germination are suitable from factors causing it to germinate at the wrong time and seed-eating animals.15
You'll note that having enumerated some of the remarkable features of seeds, the use of the expression "evolutionarily designed" tries to give the impression that they came into being through evolution. But the paragraph above by no means explains how seeds came into existence, because it merely mentions the perfection in their creation. The phrase “evolutionarily designed” actually has no meaning at all.
Moreover, this expression is untenable in itself, because the concepts of “evolution” and “design” are diametrically opposed. It’s unimaginable that the process of evolution could produce a design, for evolution is claimed to depend on coincidences, and the very existence of an order reveals the existence of a conscious mind. Accordingly, if there is an order, it follows that concepts such as evolution, coincidence and chance can have no bearing. Signs of creation in seeds are evident proofs that they are not the product of evolution but are created by Almighty God.

The pictures above show a cherry pit and a cherry tree, which has grown, blossomed, and will in time bear fruit in accord with the information contained in this cherry pit. The picture to the right shows a kind of wild fig tree. These gigantic trees, standing meters tall, have also grown from little seeds like the cherry tree with its sweet tasting and perfectly colored fruit. (The small seed in a human hand below is of the fig tree.) All of these trees’ characteristics are perfectly encoded in their seeds. Moreover, the same information has been encoded in the same seeds for millions of years, and for this reason, the identical plants always germinate from the same seeds. With the information He has installed in seeds, God shows us that He has power over all things.

Let an example clarify this further. Suppose that you visit an art gallery and come across a wall full of drawings, each depicting the seed of a different plant and its related details. Were you to ask the gallery director who drew all these pictures, what if you were told, “These were not drawn by any artist; they were evolutionarily designed with the help of coincidences”? You would find such an answer highly unreasonable, and continue to believe that they were the work of an artist.
Just as you would not believe in the “evolutionary design” of such drawings, neither would you accept that seeds – living structures containing all the information about a plant, which under the right circumstances can germinate to produce hundreds of thousands of different kinds of fruit and flowers – could come into existence as a result of unconscious coincidences. So the question should be who essentially created these perfect systems, how plants were structured accordingly.
With their claims of coincidence, evolutionists can never explain the very clear plan in the structure of seeds, a plan that evidently has not come about as the result of coincidences. Just as every drawing must have an artist, there is someone behind every plan. The perfectly planned systems in seeds is the work of God, with His eternal wisdom and supreme power. The wisdom that can be seen in every stage of the life of plants is clear proof that they are the creation of the Almighty God.

It is He Who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it come the shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. There is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect. (Qur’an, 16:10-11)

Reasons for the Different Sizes of Seeds

The size of seeds, as well as other features of plants, is determined in accordance with a plan. The coconut, for instance, which travels long distances by sea, is one of the biggest seeds. Its size ensures that there are enough nutrients to last during the long journey.
Orchids, on the other hand, have quite tiny seeds. Orchids are delicate plants that can only grow when the right medium, light and moisture conditions are available. Thus they produce seeds small enough to be carried by the wind and numerous enough to be deposited in at least some suitable locations. A single orchid flower can produce millions of seeds.16
The seeds of the beech tree, shown in the picture below left, are dispersed and start wafting through the air towards the end of autumn. These small seeds some 0.5 cm (0.2 in) in length sprout wherever there is enough light.
Tropical seeds are often very bulky. The mommay, shown below right, is one of these, with seeds usually about 5 cm (2 in) long. This seed can put down especially long roots to enable it to germinate in dry places. This reduces the risk of the seedling drying out due to lack of water.17

2cm (0.6 in) 25 cm (10 in) 2 cm (0.8 in) 0.6 cm (0.2 in)

It is He Who sends down water from the sky from which We bring forth growth of every kind, and from that We bring forth the green shoots and from them We bring forth close-packed seeds, and from the spathes of the date palm date clusters hanging down, and gardens of grapes and olives and pomegranates, both similar and dissimilar. Look at their fruits as they bear fruit and ripen. There are signs in that for people who believe. (Qur’an, 6:99)

The seeds of the palm tree are contained in the fruits shown on the right. When the seeds fall to earth and the right conditions are available, a palm tree starts to grow that may be meters tall. From the dry seeds at left have grown the brightly colored, sweet-scented flowers in the pictures below. This fact of creation should be given all due thought.

There are many different flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables on Earth, a variety created by information stored in the seeds of plants. Left: Iris and its seed. Below: Cyclamen and its seeds. The seeds shown below on the right contain information on the fruits shown aside, which are red with thorn-like protrusions on their outer coverings. They also contain information on the green shade of the tree’s leaves, their shape and their red veins. Thanks to this information, this species of tree all over the world has the same characteristics.

In these little seeds (shown above) is encoded all the information on the tree (left) that grows to a height of 30 meters (98 feet), including such characteristics as the tree’s number of leaves, its height, and whether it will bear fruit. Moreover, all this information has been coded into the same seeds in the same way since the beginning of time. The same trees have always grown from the same seeds. Everyone knows that when seeds have been planted in the ground, after a while they produce these brightly-colored flowers. But few people give much thought to how this happens, and who puts this information in the seeds. The most important truth is that God, Who knows all forms of creation, has put this information in seeds. Gomphrena and its seeds

1-4) At night, the magnolia closes its petals only slightly. This enables insects to visit it more frequently. 5) The flower starts to wither. The petals of the corolla will soon start falling to the ground. 6) The petals of the corolla fade. 7) The flower’s pollinated ovule starts turning into a fruit. 8) The fruit ripens to become a beautiful red color. 9) Finally the fruits burst and reveal seeds ready to drop. These seeds will later turn into the magnificent magnolia trees seen adjacent.