The formation of bones is awe-inspiring. How is that they have been made so hard and resilient by the Almighty when created from a mere drop of sperm? How are they then, as the skeleton, turned into the buttress of the body, so balanced and sturdy? And how are they then measured into distinct shapes, in a host of sizes and varying densities?
Neither is man made up of a single piece of bone. Bones are attached to one another through flexible joints, each with a shape compliant with the movement it is meant to make. So wonderful is the greasing mechanism of these joints that attempts to explain it through the three recognized types of mechanical greasing have proven fruitless.
Let’s consider for a moment the difficulties we would encounter in life if a single joint in our body was to break down!
Had Allah, glory unto Him, created a bone more in our bodies than the amount there already is, that bone would have been a cause for agonizing discomfort, something needing to be surgically removed. In contrast, had there been a bone less, we would have been required to exert an enormous amount of effort to make up for its loss; and in most circumstances, our efforts would have been of little avail.
Let’s imagine we were not able to use just one thumb. How immense an obstacle would that have proven to be?
Some teeth are flat, suitable for grinding. Others are pointed and sharp, ideal for cutting into and dividing food.
To move the bones, the Almighty has created muscles. The amount and shape of each muscle varies according to its specific location in the body. The eye, too, comprises many muscles. Only a simple malfunction of one has a detrimental effect on the entire eye.
These marvels are just those that are visible. There are also spiritual qualities imperceptible to sensory experience, like temperament, character, personality and conscience, which are even of a more astounding nature.
The wonders of the human body are the Almighty’s art devised from a single drop of water. Upon seeing a beautiful painting, one tends to admire the painter’s skill, art and genius. The painter’s reputation is suddenly blown out of proportion. Yet, far from creating something out of nothing, all that the painter does is assemble some paint and a brush and reflect onto a canvas his impressions of sensible things, all of which are created by the Almighty in the first place.
In that case, seeing that even a painter’s work attracts admiration, should not we contemplate the nature of the admiration we ought to nurture towards the wonder that is the human being, a unique masterpiece of art created, by the Absolute Artist, from a mere drop of liquid?
Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş, Contemplation in Islam, Erkam Public.
The Magnificent Subtleties of Creation
