Albatrosses are faithful birds, returning to the same remote outcrop year after year to breed with the same partner. These behemoths of the bird world use their long wingspan to glide on the ocean winds, travelling thousands of miles without ever seeing land. In fact, albatrosses can fly nearly 5 million miles – 10 times to the moon and back – during their lifetime. However, the numbers of these long-lived creatures are rapidly dwindling due to fishing practices and climate change.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: The sleep of a married person is better with Allah than an unmarried one who fasts during the day and keeps vigil at night, establishing prayers.

This mysterious shark is not often seen by cameras: The first photograph of a live Greenland shark wasn’t taken until 1995.

Some have speculated that Greenland shark sightings could be behind the Loch Ness monster myth.

A Greenland shark was spotted off the coast of Belize in spring 2022, raising the possibility the sharks are more widespread than previously thought.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: A two rakat prayer that a married person establishes is worthier than when a bachelor keeps up prayers at nights and fasts during the days.

Humans do pose a threat to Greenland sharks: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the Greenland shark as vulnerable to extinction. The animal’s slow growth rate, late maturity, and low reproduction rate make it vulnerable to threats such as fishing, pollution, and climate change. Until the 1960s they were hunted for the oil in their livers, which was used as industrial lubricant or for lamp oil.

There’s no proof of Greenland sharks attacking humans: An 1859 report of a Greenland shark found with a human leg in its stomach was never corroborated. However, the animal’s flesh is poisonous; eating it can cause diarrhea, vomiting, stumbling, and convulsions, also known as getting “shark drunk.”

Arctic Greenland sharks often have poor vision because of a parasite called Ommatokoita elongata. This tiny crustacean latches onto the shark’s eye, damaging the cornea and leaving scar tissue with each infection. The shark is not debilitated by its blindness as it relies heavily on other senses in its dark habitat far beneath the ice.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: Yes, the reward of a woman during her pregnancy until childbirth, and unto when she weans the child, is like that of a stationed (soldier guarding the Muslims borders against the attack of pagan enemies) for the sake of Allah. So, if she dies during that, she will have the rank of a martyr.

Imam Sajjad (PBUH) said: The right of your child is that you know that he has emerged from you and in this world, his right and wrong are attributed to you. You are responsible of his fine teaching and training, guiding him to his Lord, Almighty, and, assisting him to obey Him. Therefore, be sure that if you do a favour to your child, you will obtain it; and if you act viciously against him, it will come back to you, too.

Greenland sharks are not fussy eaters and consume a variety of fish, squid, and carrion. Stomach contents of sharks have even included polar bears, horses, and reindeer. Evidence suggests they may be opportunistic hunters capable of ambushing seals in stealth attacks. They have been linked to the discovery of nearly 5,000 mutilated seal corpses in Nova Scotia between 1993 and 2001: The victims’ pelts were ripped off in a spiral shape—like a peeled orange—giving the shark the gruesome.

Greenland sharks have narrow, pointed upper teeth and broader, squared teeth on the lower jaw. Holding large prey in position with their upper teeth, they roll their head in a circular motion, using the lower teeth like a blade to tear off circular chunks of flesh. Smaller prey is eaten whole.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: When your children are grown up to seven years, teach them the prayers, and when they are ten years old, seriously admonish them for it (in order that they establish prayers); and separate their sleeping beds from each other.