The Amphipod: A Detail Living in the Depths of the Oceans

Human beings cannot breathe oxygen dissolved in water or withstand the pressure under water, which is some 1,300 times heavier than air. Moreover, this pressure rises rapidly the further down one goes, approximately 1 atmosphere for every 10 m (32.8 ft) of depth. When one descends to 150 m (492 ft) under water, the veins may collapse and the lungs contract to the size of a soda can. Thus, in the absence of man-made technology, human beings can live only on dry land.

Human beings are exceedingly vulnerable to water pressure. However, there are other life forms on Earth that, thanks to their special equipment, possess qualities that are far superior to those of human beings.

For example, the Mariana Trench, the Pacific Ocean’s deepest point, is home to colonies of amphipods, which are shrimp-like transparent crustaceans. This area lies some 11.3 km (7 miles) below the ocean’s surface. Even the intense pressure at 4 km (2.5 miles), the average ocean depth, is equivalent to that applied by the weight of fourteen cement trucks loaded with concrete. (Bill Bryson, A Short History of Just About Everything (USA: Broadway: 2004), pp. 209-210)

 This creature, about which almost nothing is known to us, can survive under even harsher conditions. The animal itself is unaware that it lives many kilometers below the surface of the ocean and can survive under a pressure that would kill a human being. The way that it remains alive at depths we cannot reach is one of the proofs that all living things, whether in the ground, in the depths of the ocean, or in the highest skies, are created through Allah’s sublime artistry.

A person may see and appreciate His greatness by looking at such a creature and understanding that only He can create blessings and everything that exists. To that end, it is enough to reflect on just one feature. People are responsible for seeing the proofs set out before them and realizing that Allah is the Lord of all that exists:

(People with intelligence are) those who remember Allah [while] standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and Earth: “Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! Safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 191)