The Nervous System:
Electricity’s Journey through Our Bodies

Human beings have a central nervous system, the most complex biological system known. Billions of nerve cells, or neurons, and the trillions of connections among them constitute the nervous system’s main structure. The central nervous system consists of more than 100 billion neurons. In addition, there are up to ten times as many helper cells, known as neuroglia.

Everything in the heavens and Earth belongs to God. God is the Rich Beyond Need, the Praiseworthy. If all the trees on Earth were pens and all the sea, with seven more seas besides, was ink God's words still would not run dry. God is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surah Luqman:26-27)

Our bodies are equipped with bio-electrical cables, known as nerves, millions of meters in length. Information is transported along these cables at a speed approaching that of light. The way nerves extend to every point in our bodies, possessing an astonishing order, and the way commands and information are carried by means of these cables, are miraculous. Despite the intensity of the data flow involved, no confusion ever occurs, and every message is transmitted scrupulously to its destination.

Also surprising is that no matter how different the sensory information, being forwarded—concerning the keyboard you touch, the taste of the sweets you eat, the smell of newly baked bread, the sound of the telephone or the sight of daylight entering your eyes—the same communications system is employed. All information regarding our senses or thoughts travels inside nerve extensions, encoded in the form of electrical stimuli, in a wave state. Although these many electrical signals constantly coming and going throughout the body are all identical, they reveal to us a world full of myriad colors and rich details.3

Our nerves also permit us to obtain information about the world around us, to react quickly to changes, and also let various regions of the body function as a single entity. They also transmit orders from the brain, the body’s command center—so that essentially, nerves are highways that transmit the data that keeps our bodies alive and healthy. Departing from the brain and spinal column, they extend to all parts of the body including the skin, muscles, sensory organs, even the teeth and the interior of the bones.

If the nerves extended to everywhere in your body apart from your right hand, what would happen? First off, your hand would have no sensations. You would not feel a knife that cut your finger, and would be unable to perform any tasks for which you normally use that hand. You could not have your fingers grip a cup, hold a pencil, open a door, or comb your hair. In short, your hand would be just a quantity of living flesh and bone.

1. Motor cortex 2. Motor nerve cell 3. Main nerve nodes (responsible for complex movements) 4. White matter	5. Thalamus 6. Grey matter 7. Cerebellum 8. Brain stem
A. Purple: The cortex of the brain sends messages for the muscles to go into action. B. Blue: The sensory cells that direct movement in the muscle send signals to the cerebellum. C. Red: The cerebellum sends signals to the cortex, by way of the thalamus, in order for the movement to take place. D. Green: The cerebellum sends messages directly to the muscles by way of the spinal cord.
One reason why you can use your hands to do things is that your nervous system has a flawless structure. Even picking up a marble is actually a very complex movement. Delicate adjustments are required, such as how far the fingers need to be opened and how much force should be applied. If the nerves did not reach your hand, or if there were no link between the nerves and the brain, your hand would be a merely an assemblage of flesh and bone.

But the existence of nerves alone is not sufficient for a healthy life. They must also have to reach all parts of the body and be able to communicate with one another. It is impossible for how the nerves interpenetrate the entire body and control all its flawless systems to have come about simply by chance.

Despite the many opportunities provided by present-day technologies, scientists have been unable to produce anything resembling the cell. Evolutionists maintain that a cell, of its own accord, flawlessly fulfills responsibilities that human beings are unable to replicate. But that claim is incompatible with logic and reason. Clearly, the nervous system enfolds and manages our entire bodies and even engages in conscious activities. However, this superior consciousness that astonishes scientists cannot belong to cells—mere collections of organelles and their unconscious atoms. This consciousness belongs to God, the Maker of all.(Surat al-Baqara: 54)

Nerves: Our Bodies’ Electrical Cables

Electricity cables consist of two main components: Inside, there’s generally a copper wire through which the electric current passes; and outside and surrounding it, there is some kind of insulating material that prevents electrons escaping their intended path, in the process called short circuiting.

Nerve cells possess exactly the same design as an electrical cable: Inside are very fine fibers, through which the body’s electrical current passes. Surrounding them is an insulating tissue known as the Schwann sheath, which prevents neurological short circuiting. When the sheath is damaged for any reason—by a virus for example—then the nerve’s current is dispersed throughout the tissues, resulting in partial or total paralysis, in much the same way that an electrical cable loses its function when its rubber casing splits or burns.

Our bodies' electrical system consists of three regions: 1) The brain, which functions like a perfect computer, 2) The spinal cord, which serves like a bundle of electrical cables, one end of which goes to the brain, and, 3) The nerves, which function like electrical wires and establish connections between the spinal cord and the whole body.

Nerves depart from the brain and spinal cord and extend to all parts of the body, including the skin, muscles, sense organs, even the teeth and bone marrow. In short, the nerves are like roads that carry the body's information. Nerves permit us to obtain information about the world around us, and enable different parts of the body to function as an integral whole. They also undertake the transmission of commands from the brain, the body's command center. This system, which functions without our being aware of it, is one of the examples of our Almighty Lord's mercy on human beings.

All nerve fibers have electrical charges. The electricity outside the fiber is positively charged and the inside is negatively charged. The moment a nerve is touched an electrical impulse is given off. Positively charged ions enter the nerve sheath while negative ions move to the exterior of the nerve fiber, thus setting up an electrical current. As a result, the relevant muscle or organ functions. Once the electrical current has been transmitted, everything returns to its normal state. Positively charged ions again flow to the outside of the nerve fiber, and negatively charged ions return inside. In this way, the nerve fiber is readied for another stimulus or impulse.

Thanks to this constantly repeated process, the activities continue that keep us alive. However, this procedure is a great deal more detailed and possesses a far more complex design than is summarized here. The more the imaging power of our electron microscopes increases, the more complexity emerges to amaze scientists. The design of the cells that constitute the nerves is full of astonishing details that display the infinite might of our Lord:

The kingdom of the heavens and the Earth and everything in them belongs to God. He has power over all things.(Surat al-Ma'ida:120)

The structure of a nerve fiber is similar to like of an electrical cable. The nerves inside that allow the transmission of electricity, and the insulating sheath on the outside, are both examples of creation.
1. Ganglion (clump of nerve cells) 2. Epineurium (tissue surrounding nerve-fiber bundles) 3. Myelin sheath 4. Axon 5. Small nerve bundle 6. Perineurium (nerve-fiber bundle sheath)