All four feet have five claws apiece and are webbed, but the webbing of the front feet extends in a flat flange beyond the toes when the platypus swims. Back on land or in its burrow, the animal folds the extra webbing under its forefeet and walks on its knuckles. The platypus uses the forelimbs and forefeet for swimming and digging, while using the hind feet and claws as combs to keep the fur clean and waterproof.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: He who enjoins right and prohibits wrong is the vicegerent of both Allah and His Messenger on the earth.

The body is flattened and streamlined. The limbs are short and muscular. As in other monotremes, the limbs of the platypus are set in a permanent push-up position, the upper limb bones extending out from the sides of the body, horizontal to the ground, the lower limb bones going straight down. Although an excellent swimmer, the platypus is clumsy, and seldom does so anyway, except within its tunnels, since it burns up twice the body energy moving about on land as it does swimming underwater.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The one who sees a wrong action done should prohibit it by his deed, if he is capable, of course; and if he cannot do that, he should prohibit it by his tongue, but if he is not able to do even that, he may forbid it by his heart.

Imam Ali (PBUH) said: The firmness of the religion is due to enjoining what is good and forbidding what is wrong, and observing the limits of Allah.

Platypus fur is fine, soft, and dense, with up to 900 hairs per square inch of skin. The fur has two layers, an undercoat with a woolly texture and an overcoat of coarser hair. As the platypus dives, the two fur layers trap a layer of air next to the skin, thus keeping the body dry and helping to insulate it against cold while the platypus swims, often throughout the night, and sometimes in temperatures close to freezing.

Imam al-Baqir (PBUH) said: Verily, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong is the way of prophets and the method of good doers. It is such a great obligatory deed (wajib) by which other obligatory deeds can survive, other creeds can be saved, bargains are lawful, injustices are warded off, and prosperity can fill the earth.

The word "platypus" means "flat feet," referring to the animals webbed, somewhat ducklike feet. The scientific name, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, means, in Latin, "bird-snout, resembling a duck." The plural is "platypuses" or just "platypus."

Most of the body is covered with fine, soft fur. The pelt color varies from dark amber to very dark brown on the platypus back and sides, and from grayish white to yellowish brown on the underbelly.

Imam Ali (PBUH) said: Ask others to do good; you will thus be among the good doers. Desist others from evil with your action as well as your speech, and stay away, to the best of your ability, from he who commits it. Struggle for Allah as is His due; and the reviling of a reviler should not deter you in matters of Allah. Leap into danger for the sake of right wherever it may be.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: To prevent a Muslim from doing an unlawful action is equivalent with Allah to the performance of seventy accepted Hajj.