What is the first condition for the immaculate coordination in our bodies?
What processes take place in our bodies when we see someone we know or as we walk?
What kind of co-ordination is there between nerve cells and the brain?
What processes are taking place in your body as you read this?
The flash of a camera in the dark, the way your car starts when you turn the key in the ignition, the way your computer performs the processes you want at high speed: A large number of components have to work together in harmony for the processes summarized in just a few words here to take place. Just like the technological devices cited here, all the events that take place in the world come about as the result of a perfect harmony in the universe. One of the most striking examples of this perfect organization takes place in our own bodies. This organization allows a person to perform many actions, such as laughing, speaking, opening and closing their eyes, walking, recognizing people and understanding, at one and the same time, and also performs vitally important tasks for us. In addition, all these processes take place very fast, in just a thousandth of a second. Almighty God has created all these systems in our body in harmony with one another, directed toward all our needs and in a flawless manner. This sublime intelligence and awareness manifests itself in every cell in our bodies as we walk, breathe, look around or greet someone we know in our daily activities, activities that seem so very ordinary to us, and our organs and tissues work together in an extraordinary coordination and equilibrium.
The Processes That Are Involved in the Body As We Walk
Walking is a process we all learn at an early age and regard as “very easy.” Yet in order for us to take even a single step, various different systems in our bodies go into action and work together with astounding rapidity in order for us to take that step. In addition, these systems work in such an organized way that after we have taken one step there is no need for us to wait to take the next one. The way that all these processes we have to write down one after the other take place “simultaneously” in the body is of course a great miracle.
-The way that our bones, which weigh around 16 kg, can bear a body weighing 3-4 times more than them without breaking,
-The way that the reactive force that forms toward our bodies because of their weight every time we take a step is reduced by means of the “force distributing” effect of the 33 small bones that make up the spine and its curved S shape,
-The way some 100 of the muscles so carefully attached to the bones work as we walk,
-The curved sole of the foot and its special shape resembling a cushion that eliminates the adverse effect of the weight of the body,
-And the way we maintain our balance owing to the coordination between the cerebellum, inner ear and microhairs in the inner ear, are just a few of the processes that allow us to walk.
Moreover, at the same time as such complex systems are going into action to allow us to walk, we can also speak, breathe, close our eyes, turns our heads right and left and recognize objects by their names. The way these processes, summarized here in just a few sentences, take place at the same time once again reveals the perfect creation in the human body.
We Make No Special Effort to Speak
In order for the words we wish to say to leave our mouths we do not have sit and calculate the aperture of our vocal cords and how much they need to vibrate, which of the hundreds of muscles in our mouths, tongues and throats need to contract or expand, by how much and in what order, how many cubic centimeters of air to take into our lungs, and how fast and at what intervals we need to expel that air again. And even if we wanted to, we could not do it! This is because the emergence from our mouths of one single word is the result of many structures, from the respiratory system to the nervous system and from our muscles to our bones all working in harmony.
When We Meet and Get Acquainted
Whenever we meet anyone we know, a glorious organization take place in our bodies in response to this new situation. We can list these processes that go into operation simultaneously as follows:
The recognition process begins with sight. The light reflected from the body of the other person reaches our pupils at a rate of 10 trillion photons (light particles) per second. The light first passes through the lens and then through the fluid filling the eye sockets, and then falls onto the retina. There are hundreds of millions of cells on the surface of the retina; “cone cells” able to perceive color and “rod cells” able to distinguish between dark and light. The retina cells perceive the photons by means of complicated chemical processes and produce electrical signals. The electrical stimulus from the retina is thus transmitted from one neuron to another to the visual cortex of the brain. In this way, the image of the person you know forms in a perfect manner in the center of the cerebral cortex.
In order to establish that this person is someone you know, the memory cells are checked and data in the memory concerning the person’s face are compared. Even the face in the image in the cerebral cortex and the facial data in your memory are compared, and any change in that person (such as a new hairstyle or perhaps a sickly appearance) is immediately identified.
The thousands of complex processes that take place so far do so at an amazing speed, and we immediately recognize the person in front of us, smile, say hello and begin speaking to them. And this time, 17 muscles have to work together, accurately and at the same time, in order to produce a small smile. If just one of the 17 does not work or misperforms, then the smile will not happen and the expression on your face will be meaningless.
We do not make any special effort to speak and to greet people. In order for the words we wish to say to leave our mouths, we do not have sit and calculate the aperture of our vocal cords and how much they need to vibrate, which of the hundreds of muscles in our mouths, tongues and throats to contract or expand, by how much and in what order, how many cubic centimeters of air to take into our lungs, and how fast and at what intervals we need to expel that air again. And even if we wanted to, we could not do it! This is because the emergence from our mouths of even one single word is the result of many structures, from the respiratory system to the nervous system and from our muscles to our bones all working in harmony.
Almighty God has created human beings in a perfect manner. The human body is just one of the proofs of Almighty God’s infinite power and knowledge. Anyone capable of using his intelligence and conscience will clearly see this. The creative artistry of our Lord is revealed as follows in verses:
“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 Amazing Coordination between the Nerve Cells and the Brain
There are 10 million (10,000,000) brain cells in every cubic centimeter of the brain, and a total of between 10 to 15 billion cells. At the same time, the nerve cells have up to 10 times as many connections between them, in the region of 15 trillion (15,000,000,000,000). The number of cells (brain connective tissue) in connection with the nerve cells and feeding and supporting them is around 90 billion (90,000,000,000).
Messages carried to the brain via the nerves travel at 200 miles (320 km) per hour. In other words, the nerves that reach the body from the nerve cells literally act like a highway for information traveling between the brain and the body. All events taking place in our bodies moment by moment, such as;
The way you are using your eyes to read these words;
The way you lean back as you sit down;
The way you understand what you read;
The way your heart beats;
The way you breathe;
The way you close your eyes;
The way your hair grows;
The way you perceive smells;
The way you hear what is going on around you;
In short, processes of all kind that we could go on listing forever, continue by way of signals reaching the brain and commands issued by the brain to every part of the body. (Between 100,000 and 1,000,000 chemical reactions are known to be capable of taking place in the brain in just one minute.)
The Billions of Pieces of Data Processed Every Second Are All under the Control of God
The first condition for the flawless harmony in the body is the provision of accurate information. New analyses can only be performed with new information being obtained: That is why there is a wonderful communications network in the body.
In order for coordinated activity to take place, the positions of the relevant organs in the body and the relationships between them all need to be known. That information comes from the eyes, the balance mechanism in the inner ear, the muscles, the joints, the skin and the bones; billions of pieces of information are processed and analyzed every second, and decisions are taken accordingly. Even while you sleep your vital organs continue to function owing to instructions coming in from part of the nervous system, the lower brain and the spinal column. Your heart beats, your lungs work and you breathe.
The speed of data processing in your body cannot be matched by any computer. No matter what you do, extraordinary calculations take place in your body, from the simplest actions to the most difficult.
Everything described here clearly takes place as the result of a creation requiring an infinite power. That infinite might belongs to God, the Almighty Creator of the entire universe. This is revealed as follows in the Qur’an:
“…No, everything in the heavens and Earth belongs to Him. Everything is obedient to Him.” (Surat al-Baqara, 116)
As You Read These Words
The systems in your body continue functioning perfectly every second. Due to that organization, you can hear the sounds around you and see and understand what you read at one and the same time. Meanwhile, your heart continues to beat, your nose detects smells and your lungs continue to breathe. You constantly blink and swallow. Maybe you sip a cup of tea beside you, and then your digestive system goes to work. Additionally, if you do not eat or drink anything, you will soon feel hungry. The interesting thing is that while all these things are taking place you still continue to read and understand what you are reading. While you are concentrating on reading and understanding, the organization in your body continues to keep you alive outside your own volition. What is more, these processes continue to take place without your asking for them. Of course, this flawless co-ordination is not something that a person can carry out for himself; nobody ever thinks, “I must close my eyes to stop them from drying out” or “I must regulate my breathing” when he is out jogging. Actions that seem very simple to you - and that you may never even have thought about - actually show the presence of a highly detailed organization in your body and reveal the flawless nature of the creative artistry of Almighty God. Almighty God reveals in verses of the Qur’an how His creations are all magnificently coordinated with one another:
“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)
There is an amazingly complex and enormous co-ordination network inside us. Its aim is to ensure we stay alive. This co-ordination can particularly be seen in the body’s locomotion system because the skeletal system, the muscles and the nervous system have to work together in perfect collaboration for even the smallest movement to be possible. This is only possible with the flawless creation of Omniscient and All-Powerful God. Our Almighty Lord, Who has flawlessly created the heavens, the Earth and all that lies between, has also created the human body with the most miraculous details and extraordinary co-ordination.
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