God Ordains and Guides – Salmon Fish Migration

“مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلاَّ هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا” (سورة هود: 56).

“There is no creature but He holds it by the forelock” (Qur’an, 11:56).

‏‏”وَالَّذِي قَدَّرَ فَهَدَى‏” (‏الأعلى‏:‏ 3‏).

“Who has ordained and then guided” (Qur’an, 87:3).

Migration is not a peculiar behavior of only birds. There are other migratory species on land, sea and even in our bodies.

Female salmon lay eggs in the river which hatch and the small fishes grow for several weeks before they start to advance down the river towards the ocean. After spending two-to-four years there in the ocean –and becoming mature enough to spawn– they swim back upstream to the freshwater streams where they were born. They may travel a distance of about 1,500 km (930 miles) taking several months to complete the journey. Scientists use the word “instinct” to define this inborn behavior. How was this instinctive behavior developed and passed onto later generations?

Scientists suggest that the fish remembers its way back by using a magnetic map, the sun as a compass, or by tracking waves on the beach through infrasound and smell. As mentioned in the above verse, it is God who has ordained that salmon should go through this interesting journey and therefore, He has guided them.

Sockeye salmon after hatching (A); in fresh water for two weeks (B); in the ocean for 2-4 years (C); spawning salmon migrating against the flow of the fresh water stream on its way to where it was hatched (D).