A question was asked based upon the familiar reply to those who say there is good in all things: "What shall we say when they ask, 'Of what use are the flies and mosquitoes?'"
'Abdu'l-Baha: "What is the use of your creation? What benefit have you given to the world?' The same benefit that you have given to the world, the mosquito has. You say that the mosquito harms, and sucks in the human blood; but you kill animals and eat them. You do not suck blood, but decapitate the animals. Therefore, you are more harmful than the mosquito. By this, I mean that man commits greater sins.
“But that which is the reality of the matter is this: The world of life, the world of existence is connected, each with the other. All the created beings are the members of this stupendous body. Each one is a member, and that member should not remain imperfect. If that member is, for instance, harming the human body, but it is useful from some other standpoint, because it is one member of the members of this creational book, is it allowable that a member of the members of this great world be imperfect? For instance, we do not know what is the use of this nail. It grows and it is cut again. We see that we have the nail; but we do not know that there are a thousand wisdoms within the creation of this nail. For instance, men ask: Why should we have the beard; why should we have the moustache? They shave. But in reality there is a great wisdom in this. It is healthful. The skin receives the oxygen through the beard."
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to a group of Baha’is at ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s residence, Dublin, New Hampshire, 31 July, 1912; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, September 27, 1912)