In a glance, the falling of the leaves from the trees looks like an ordinary natural event. However, upon closer inspections it is not as such for the scientists, who earnestly scrutinize this phenomenon which is termed as “abscission”.

Abscission is a process undertaken by the plants in order to detach and ‘dispose’ their organs like the leaves, flower petals, flowers, and fruits which are no longer needed or have been infected by diseases.

The falling of the plant organs evidently involves very complex genetic information. The researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) have uncovered the control in the shedding arrangement of the plant organs from the Arabidopsis Thaliana species, which is usually used as an experimental subject.

Not An Ordinary Event

This field is very attention-grabbing for the fruit and floral agricultural industry. This is due to the businessmen in this field who are very depending on the nutritional values, stimulating factors or the shedding preventer of the plant organs which have high business values, one of them is for the purpose of looking after the quality of the fruits. This was presented by the luminary journal website Physorg.com, 22 September 2008.

According to John Walker, head of the MU Interdisciplinary Plant Group in the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, plants shed their organs because of some reasons. Old leaves for example, are shed in order to assist the repeat cycle of the food nutrients, while the fruits that have already ripened deciduously and fallen down are for the purpose of assisting the seed propagation.

Also, parts of the flowers that have been infected by diseases are purposely dropped and discarded by the plants. It is done in order to prevent the spread of the diseases.

A Lot More Are Unknown

However, there are still other aspects about the shedding of the plant organs that are still not uncovered by the scientists. They still do not understand why Arabidopsis Thaliana shed its flowers after those flowers mature.

The parts of the flowers of the Arabidopsis Thaliana plant do not require a big space, that its shedding does not show any obvious purpose. Strangely, the genes that trigger this shedding have been in the plant for a long time, Walker said.

"The process of the shedding is a phenomenon that is yet to be fully discovered," Walker, who is also professor in the biology field in MU's College of Arts and Science.

The Knowledge Of Allah Is All-Encompassing

Thus, the shedding of the leaves, flowers, fruits and other parts of the plants is in fact not an ordinary event or co-incidence alone. It is a big incident which is purposely created by Allah, which involves a very delicate and complex arrangement of the plant’s genes.

Without this shedding, there is no repeat cycle of the food nutrients, there is no dissemination of the seeds and there is no prevention of the disease infection. If all these processes are stopped, plants will be destroyed in the end. Eventually, human beings who are extremely relying on the existence of plants are sure to suffer and disappear from the surface of the earth.

The statement by the professor about the shedding of the floral part of the Arabidopsis Thaliana which does not seem to have any obvious benefit, only shows the yet incapability of the scientists to understand a complete understanding about this phenomenon. This is also an indication of the limitation of the human knowledge and the All-encompassing Knowledge of Allah.

Allah, He is the Creator of everything, no matter how minute, with a clear intention and purpose, for the sake of goodness for the entire world and its contents, including human beings. He is the One Who created every matter in this world, along with the events, in a perfect and balanced way according to the Majestic decree and knowledge of Allah which had already been written in the Lauh Mahfuzh. It includes the creation of the event where the plants shed their organs such as the leaves and the seeds, which is a form of grace from Allah the Most Merciful to human beings.

“With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knoweth but He. He knoweth whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf doth fall but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (Lauh Mahfuzh).” (QS. 6:59).