A world of small miracles

In my previous post, I stated that, “we are going to have a peek at an “unseen world”, a world which we never really consider”. I’m talking about the world of microbiology, which I am sure that everyone has been exposed to at some point, at the very least during biology classes at school…

However, this is a big subject, (I see the irony using the word big in this context), which mostly has a language of its own. Words like mitochondria, nucleus, DNA, chromosomes, ribosomes, lysosomes, and many other terms connected to cells, are enough to make most people’s heads feel dizzy. If we just look at human cells alone, we have 37.2 trillion cells (37,200,000,000,000 !) performing different functions for our bodies to work properly. To even imagine that, right? It’s the miracle of life. Stem cells, blood cells, nerve cells, muscle cells, male and female reproductive cells, fat cells, epithelial cells, photoreceptor cells… just to name a few, as we actually have 226 different kinds, working to make it possible for us to go about our daily lives, seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, growing, giving us energy…

…helping wounds heal, defending our bodies from illness… basic functions that most people take for granted and don’t think too much about… the cells are living organisms. Even plant life contains cells. With that in mind, it may not be so strange that we find similitudes like this in the Quran…

سورة الزمر ٢١
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعًا مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ حُطَامًا ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَ‌ٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَىٰ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

سورة المؤمنون ١٤-١٢
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ
ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ
ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

Surah Az-Zumar 39:21
Seest thou not that Allah sends down rain from the sky, and leads it through springs in the earth? Then He causes to grow, therewith, produce of various colours: then it withers; thou wilt see it grow yellow; then He makes it dry up and crumble away. Truly, in this, is a Message of remembrance to men of understanding.

Surah Al-Muminoon 23:12-14
Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);
Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!

Something remarkable is that these things are so small. A single drop of blood contain millions of blood cells… not hundreds, or thousands. Millions. Just in one drop of blood. We need advanced microscopes to see them.

What is even more mind-boggling is when you try to put all this into perspective with what I have shown about stars earlier… I will give a quick reminder…

If we imagine ourselves as being the size of a small human cell in comparison to the planet we live on… then what would a single human cell be like in comparison to our sun?

And if our own sun is this small compared to one of the biggest stars we know of… try to imagine the size of a tiny human cell placed next to it… which is clearly impossible, because we can’t even imagine it compared to ourselves. Just look at these images posted over again in more depth and try to get an idea. How many things hide in the depths of the tiny world of microbiology that we have not yet discovered, because we simply can’t see them… or out there, in the vastness of space? What if this star, VY Canis Majoris, is similarly like the size of our sun on this picture, next to something that we have not been able to see… and if such a star exists, how can we imagine the tiniest size of an atom next to it? That is mind-boggling indeed. Life is a very fascinating miracle. A mystery. A gift that we continue to discover and learn from…

سورة التغابن ٣
خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ وَصَوَّرَكُمْ فَأَحْسَنَ صُوَرَكُمْ ۖ وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ

سورة النحل ٨
وَيَخْلُقُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

سورة فصلت ٥٣
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ ۗ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

Surah At-Taghaabun 64:3
He has created the heavens and the earth in just proportions, and has given you shape, and made your shapes beautiful: and to Him is the final Goal.

Surah An-Nahl 16:8
and He has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge.

Surah Fussilat 41:53
Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?

I hope you found this a fascinating input and that it has brought something to consider.

The best of times to you all inshallah.
Peace, happiness, and stay faithful.

Reference:
Body Cells and Tissues compiled by Howie Baum
(Retrieved on December 19th, 2022).