Of course there are no plants that poison themselves, because any mutation that causes a plant to poison itself, would cause the plant to die, so that it cannot reproduce. Probably mutations that causes plants to poison themselves have occurred, but the plants probably died before we could research them. My point was rather that not any poison would work, and plants need the right balance between being poisonous for animals, but not so poisonous that their own system would be disturbed.
What I meant is, if some plants did become poisonous, why didn't all plants become poisonous? it would be beneficial for their survival because animals wouldn't eat them (due to their bad taste). Why are there still non-poisonous plants that animals can eat? why haven't they become extinct? If evolution were true, shouldn't all plants be poisonous as they would survive while the non-poisonous would have become extinct because they would be the ones that the animals ate?
Of course, plants do not really 'know' anything about this. You can imagine that at a certain point there only existed poisonous plants with non-sticky seeds. Because of a certain mutation, some plant suddenly got sticky seeds. This plant could more easily reproduce itself, because the animals would transport the seeds in their fur, so the plant could spread itself faster than the non-sticky plants (although it wouldn't happen often, because the plant was not attractive for animals because of its toxicity). From this point on, the plant would benefit from being non-toxic, so non-toxic 'children' would spread over the world faster. It is a quite beautiful system, I would say: although all the organisms in nature can be relatively simple and do not need to have explicit 'knowledge' about the organisms that act as their 'friends', still everything works well together.
Why does everything work well together? why do plants get nutrients from soil? why is there soil in the first place? if there were only sand or rocks/pebbles, plants wouldn't be able to grow. Who created the soil?
why is rain beneficial to plants? if rain / water had been harmful (like acid rain) then plants and animals wouldn't survive. Who made the rain/water compatible with plant & animal needs?
Why are plants beneficial to animals? why aren't there only harmful plants? why is the sun beneficial to plants and animals? Why are plants able to use sunlight to make food? what if plants couldn't use sunlight to make food, or sunlight didn't cause plants to make chlorophyll, what would happen? Did all this really happen by itself or did God make it happen. It's unrealistic to think that it all happened by itself. It's impossible for it to happen by itself and so if anyone thinks with an open mind he/she will realize that God made it happen.
It works the other way around. You can imagine that animals at some point in time enjoyed eating poisonous food. But of course, such animals wouldn't live long. So only the animals that liked healthy food, and disliked poisonous food, would survive and be able to reproduce.
my question was, why should poisonous plants taste bad? what makes them taste bad? the bad taste wards off animals so animals don't eat them. That's good for the animals, otherwise animals would end up eating poisonous plants and dying. But why should poisonous plants taste bad while nonpoisonous plants taste good? Why don't all plants taste the same? if evolution had caused it, it would be equally likely for poisonous plants to taste good and nonpoisonous plants to taste bad. But actually, it didn't all happen by itself. God made it happen. God caused poisonous plants to taste bad to keep animals from eating them while nonpoisonous plants don't taste bad in order to make animals eat them, which is necessary for animals' survival.
You are more than welcome. Fortunately these are simple questions that science has well-agreed answers on.
unfortunately, science doesn't give the correct answers for these questions. just saying "it all happened by itself" is not correct. It's not sensible to believe that it could all have happened by itself and yet all work perfectly together. it's sad that those as knowledgable as scientists would believe such impractical ideas.
But don't worry, there are more than enough questions left, for example about the origin of the universe, that science cannot answer and are free to religion to debate on
yes, the origin of the universe is something all athiests/agnostics/evolutionists should first try to answer, before believing that evolution caused it all. where did the first cell or dust particle or matter come from from which everything evolved? As long as they haven't got the answer to this, the whole theory of evolution (that it all happened by itself) has no basis.
Allah mentions in various parts of the Quraan that what we have on earth, in the universe, etc are signs of Allah. For example, in Surah 17 (Al-Isra) verse 12 Allah says:
We have made the night and the day as two of our signs ...
Now if Allah (God) hadn't made the night and day, life on earth might be impossible or at least very difficult. Imagine if the earth didn't rotate around the sun and so one part of the earth always faced the sun and the other part always faced away from the earth (as is the case of the moon) what would happen? Wouldn't life on earth be difficult? Is it sensible to say that this happened by itself? Or are the night and day really great signs of Allah just as Allah has said in the Quraan?
In Surah 78 Al-Naba Verses 6 - 23, Allah says:
Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse*
And the mountains as pegs?
And (have We not) created you in pairs,
And made your sleep for rest,
and made the night as a covering,
and made the day as a means of subsistence?
And (have We not) built over you the seven firmaments,
and placed (therein) a Light of Splendour?
And do We not send down from the clouds water in abundance,
That We may produce therewith corn and vegetables,
And gardens of luxurious growth?
Verily the Day of Decision is a thing appointed -
the Day that the Trumpet shall be sounded, and you shall come forth in crowds;
and the heavens shall be opened as if there were doors,
and the mountains shall vanish, as if they were a mirage.
Truly Hell is as a place of ambush -
For the transgressors a place of destination:
They will dwell therein for ages.
*Note: the earth as a wide expanse is a metaphor. This doesn't mean that the Quraan is stating that the earth isn't round. If you look at the earth you will see it is expansive, spread out, and flat (as opposed to hilly and crators/valleys) - that is, it is fit for human habitation. Had the earth all been mountains and crators/valleys it would be difficult for humans to live on it.
Since Allah has given us everything to make our lives on earth possible and easy, likewise Allah has given us a way of life to follow and will judge us on the Day of Judgment. The Lord who had the power to create the universe the way it is has the power to recreate us after death, judge us and reward us with Hell or Heaven depending on our faith and deeds.
After mentioning some signs of Allah in verses 95 to 103 of Surah 6 (Al-Anam) Allah says in verse 104:
"Now have come to you, from your Lord, proofs (to open your eyes): If any will see, it will be for (the good of) his own soul; If any will be blind, it will be to his own (harm): I am not (here) to watch over your doings."
So it's important to think over all this with an open mind.