THE MECHANISMS IN OUR BODY
The Creation of Man
- By Harun Yahya -

In many verses of the Qur’an, Allah calls our attention to the creation of man and invites people to ponder on this creation:

"O man! What has deluded you in respect of your Noble Lord? He Who created you and formed you and proportioned you and assembled you in whatever way He willed." (Surat al-Infitar: 6- 8)

The human being is one of the living beings with the most excellent, sophisticated and amazing systems in nature, fashioned in due proportion by Allah.

The human body is an amount of flesh and bone of approximately 60-70 kilograms. As is well known, flesh is one of the most fragile materials in nature. When left in the open, it decomposes within a couple of hours, becomes maggoty within a few days and starts to stink unbearably. This feeble substance constitutes a large part of the human body. However, it is maintained without being spoilt, and without decaying, for about 70-80 years by means of the blood circulation that feeds it, and by the skin that protects it from external bacteria.

On the other hand, the skills of the body are very impressive. Each one of the five senses is a miracle. Man gets to know the external world through these senses, and lead his life peacefully thanks to the wholeness of these senses. Details that we encounter as we survey the senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste and their flawless designs are each pieces of evidence that prove the being of the Creator.

The miraculous structures of the human body are not limited to the five senses. Each of the organs facilitating our lives is a separate miracle. They all function just to meet our needs. Let's just imagine how hard life would be if we were created without hands. What would happen if we did not have legs, or if our bodies were covered with thorns, scales or a hard outer layer, instead of skin?

Moreover, the existence of complex systems in the human body, such as respiration, feeding, reproductive and defence mechanisms, and the aesthetics of the human body are each separate wonders.

As seen, there are many delicate balances in the human body. The perfect relation of the entirely interdependent systems to the other systems in the body enables man to carry on his vital functions without problem.

Moreover, he does all these without spending any extra effort, or facing any difficulties. Most of the time, the person does not even become aware of all that happens. Man is not aware of many things: the time when digestion starts or ends in his stomach, the rhythm of his heart, the blood’s carrying exactly the required material to exactly the right places, and his seeing and hearing.

A flawless system has been established in the human body and it works perfectly. This is the creation of Allah, Who regulates all affairs from the heavens to the earth. Allah creates everything, every detail and every living being in the universe. The design we confront when we closely examine the human body is evidence of the uniqueness and flawlessness of Allah’s art of creation.

Allah draws our attention to the perfection in the universe in Surat al-Mulk:

He who created the seven heavens in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again - do you see any gaps? Then look again and again. Your sight will return to you dazzled and exhausted! (Surat al-Mulk: 3-4)

A few of the millions of delicate balances in the human body are as follows:

The five senses are arranged entirely according to the human’s needs. For instance, the ear can only sense those sound vibrations that are within certain limits. At first glance, to hear within a larger range might seem more advantageous, yet these sensory limits - called the "hearing threshold" - are regulated for a purpose. If we had very sensitive ears, every moment we would have to bear the sound of many noises from the beating of our hearts to the rustling of microscopic mites on the floor. Then, life really would be very irritating for us.

The same "punctuated equilibrium" holds true also for the sense of touch. The nerves sensitive to touch lying under the human skin are made sensitive in the best possible way and are spread all over the body. The nerves are amassed mainly on our fingertips, lips and sexual organs. Comparatively, "less important" regions of the body such as our backs have fewer nerves. This provides great advantages for man. Let us imagine if the contrary was the case: that our fingertips were extremely insensitive, and that the majority of nerves were collected on our backs. Undoubtedly, this would be quite irritating, for while we would not be able to use our hands effectively, we would feel the tiniest substance - for instance, the creases of our shirt - on our backs.

Development of the organs is an example of this "delicate balance". For instance, think about hair and the eyelashes. Although both are ultimately "hair", they do not grow equally in the same period. Suppose that eyelashes grew as fast as our hair. They would impede our sight and go into our eyes, thus harming one of our most vital organs. Eyelashes have a certain length that stays constant. If by any means, such as burning or an accident, they shorten, they then elongate until they reach their "ideal" length and stop again.

Even the shape of the lashes is very important. Since they curl slightly upwards, they do not restrict sight and they give the eyes an aesthetic look. As the lashes grow, they are covered by an unusual oil secreted by specific glands located at the rim of the eyelids. This is why our lashes are not rough and straight like a brush. There is exactly just such a "subtle adjustment" in every spot of the human body.

This punctuated creation is strikingly revealed in the new-born baby as well as in adolescents. For instance, the new-born baby’s skull bones are very soft and can, to a limited extent, move over one another. This flexibility facilitates the emergence of the baby’s head from the womb without harm. If these skull bones were inflexible, during birth they could crack and cause serious damage to the baby’s brain.

With the same flawlessness, all of the organs in a human being develop in harmony with each other in the course of development. For example, in the development of the head, the skull that encases the brain grows along with it. A skull developing comparatively slower than the brain would compress it, and cause death in a short time.

The same balance is true also for other organs such as the heart, lungs and thorax, the eye and eye socket.

For this reason, it is useful to examine the extraordinary structures of our body to see the art and might in the creation. Every part of our body, the structure of which is more perfect than the most advanced factories equipped with the latest technologies, displays the matchless creation of Allah and proves His sovereignty over our entire body.

If we briefly examine the systems and organs in the human body, we will witness intimately the evidence of a flawless and balanced creation.