Allah's Art of Detail 41-45

Protein: The Cell's Most Basic Detail

Proteins, the building blocks of all cells, emerge as the result of sequences of amino acids. Many basic conditions need to be met for a protein to form, among them the following: The amino acids have to be attached by a peptide bond, be left-handed, and be combined in a special sequence.

These three conditions cannot form as the result of chance. Scientists who realized this fact performed calculations and determined that the odds were 1 in 10¹⁹⁰ against such a series of events happening by chance. Even if a period of time as long as the age of our planet were allowed for this to take place, it would still be impossible for this protein to form by chance. Bearing in mind that, mathematically speaking, a probability of 1 in 10⁵⁰ is regarded as zero, the fact of the matter emerges very clearly, because the number 10¹⁹⁰ represents the number 10⁵⁰x10⁵⁰x10⁵⁰x10⁴⁰=10¹⁹⁰.

Proteins, the basis of your body and of all life, represent both the cells' building material and highly complex machinery. Although a single protein cannot come into being by chance or spontaneously, this perfect structure still represents the basis of the cell. Thus, many proteins combine together and are constantly being reproduced-an important proof that fundamentally invalidates the theory of evolution.

y introducing this perfect raw material, Allah shows the sublime nature of His creation. By reflecting for just a few seconds on the existence of the countless proteins that comprise our body, we can see that He creates miracles at every moment. Thus, we should always be grateful to Him:

(It is) so that He may know that they have indeed transmitted the Messages of their Lord. He (Allah) encompasses what is in their hands and has counted the exact number of everything. (Surat al-Jinn, 28)

The Kidneys' Flawless Purification System

Giant dialysis machines can carry out the processes that are constantly being performed in the kidneys, just 10 cm (3.937 in) in size, only with great difficulty.

It is no easy task to invent a machine just 10 cm (4 in) in size and then establish a system to purify the blood, water, and other fluids inside it. A whole factory would be needed to accomplish these tasks. Even if one managed to do this in such a small space, the performance and results would still be inadequate. One might manage to purify water or other fluids, but doing so for blood, which is essential for human beings, has not yet been achieved in such a small device.

However, all human beings are actually perfect examples of this special purification system, thanks to the kidneys, each one of which is about 10 cm (4 in) in size and weighs 100 grams (3.5 ounce). This small space harbors around 1 million micro-purifiers that constantly clean the blood, which carries everything that makes continued life possible, and regulate the density of the water that reaches all of your cells and tissues. The kidneys, which know how much fluid is in your tissues as well as its level of concentration, carry out the necessary adjustments by His will so that we can go on living without difficulty.

Everybody more or less knows what happens when the kidneys fail to function: the person is hooked up to a dialysis machine several times a week until a new kidney can be transplanted. When the machine can no longer fulfill its purpose, the person dies. This example puts into stark relief the importance and miraculous aspect of this extraordinary purification plant. How can any logical person suggest, even though no scientist has ever been able to replicate this perfect organ, that it emerged by chance?

This extraordinarily detailed and flawless system represents the artistry of Allah, Who created humanity with a flawless perfection. This organ alone is enough for a person to see His greatness and turn to faith:

He has given you everything for which you have asked Him. If you tried to number Allah's blessings, you could never count them. Humanity is indeed wrongdoing, ungrateful. (Surah Ibrahim, 34)

The Superior Detail That Permits Life under the Ice

People seldom wonder why water is transparent, how sand can become transparent glass and play an important role in our lives, or how a giant ship can sail without sinking. So familiar to us are all these things that perhaps no one has ever wondered what would happen if sand did not turn into glass at a sufficiently high temperature. A little consideration of such things will show that they have all been equipped with similar and sometimes vital details.

One such detail is water. At sub-zero temperatures, water turns into ice. This is just one of many natural phenomenon in our lives, and yet this transformation violates the known laws of physics. The special details in water, created by Allah for a specific purpose, are one of the reasons why life on Earth exists.

All known substances contract as their temperatures fall. As liquids contract and lose volume, their densities increase and their cold parts become heavier. This is why matter's solid state is always heavier than its liquid state. We can cite the liquid and solid states of steel as an example of this.

Contrary to all other known liquids, however, water contracts until it reaches a specific temperature (+4°C), after which it begins to expand until it freezes. Thus, water's solid state is lighter than its liquid state. As a result, according to normal physical laws, ice should sink instead of floating. This is why the lower parts of frozen seas and lakes are covered in water at 4 degrees, which makes it possible for life to survive. If ice did not float, then most of the water on Earth would freeze entirely, no life would be left in any body of water, and the planet's ecological equilibrium would be irreparably damaged. In other words, life as we know it would come to an end.

This important detail, an amazing blessing for human beings, makes those who are aware of it more sensitive to the blessings created by Allah, the Creator of each physical law. However, He can create without physical causes, if He wills to do so, and is not bound by any law or rule. His sublime, detailed artistry prevails throughout all of creation:

Is He Who creates like him who does not create? So will you not pay heed? If you tried to number Allah's blessings, you could never count them. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat al-Nahl, 17-18)

The Body's Special Cleaning Unit

Cells are constantly nourished, multiply, and die in a miraculous manner, because each one has been created in such a way that it can copy, feed, and destroy itself. Dead cells need to be gathered and removed from the body. A series of proteins eliminate themselves when cells need to be eliminated. While the cell is useful to the body and fully functioning, these proteins are dormant. When it ages, however, or becomes sick, non-functioning, or malignant, these killer proteins are sent to kill it. The cell takes the right precautions at the right time, with the result that healthy cells remain alive while sick and elderly ones are constantly eliminated. The body always remains healthy, and dead cells are quickly replaced.

A very large number of elements have to combine in order for human beings to remain alive. Yet the individual remains unaware of these elements and the perfect system of regulation. Just when particular cells need to be manufactured and eliminated is decided with perfect timing and order, beyond human will and knowledge, because Allah, Who created them, supervises and controls them.

Dead cells are eliminated by a series of proteins that go into action only when a cell dies or is sick. This magnificent control system, which people cannot control, is under the control of Allah, the Creator and Lord of all things.

Each blessing bestowed upon humanity has a special purpose. When people realize that everything has been created with a direct cause and within a flawless system, and then bestowed upon them as a blessing, they will better comprehend His infinite Might and see the surrounding truth and beauty more clearly. The all-important truth is that Almighty Allah has created everything they possess and maintains these by His will. Allah's mercy on humanity is very great:

Were it not for Allah's favor to you and His mercy ... and that Allah is All-Gentle, Most Merciful. (Surat al-Nur, 20)

The Brain's Impeccable Communication Network

Each glance, thought, or detection of a smell begins in our brain. The relevant nerves interpret the transmitted message via an electrical current. When we look at a glass, we recognize it as a glass only because the brain's nerves interpret it as such. When we think about something, these nerves establish coordination with and pass electrical currents through each other. We imagine that the image of the glass forms in our brain; however, this image reaches the brain solely as an electrical signal. Moreover, the brain does not contain the slightest trace of this image. In other words, we perceive the outside world only through the processes taking place among these nerve cells. This being the case, the facts that 10 billion nerve cells have been carefully placed within the brain, are means by which everything related to us is controlled, and that they allow us to perceive a vivid world are great miracles. Such miracles are simple things for Almighty Allah, Who created humanity as well as the causes in question from nothing.

This system is a great secret that we are still striving to unravel. At a time when no scientist can claim to fully understand the brain and when the whole system points to a sublime creation, how can anyone seriously assert that blind chance is a creative force? With His mercy, Allah continually reminds us of His might and sublime creative artistry by means of the entities He creates. Believers who see and understand all of this will attain salvation in this world and in the Hereafter.

Everyone in the heavens and Earth requests His aid. Every day He is engaged in some affair. So which of your Lord's blessings do you both then deny? (Surat al-Rahman, 29-30)