A Miraculous System Created for
a New Life
The
continuation of the human race in the world is possible
with the perfect working of the reproductive system.
The bodies of men and women are quite different from
each other in the functioning of their reproductive
systems, but these functionally very different systems
perfectly complement each other with the result that
a new human being is born into the world. From basic
elements produced in two distinct human bodies, independently
of each other, one of the greatest wonders of the world
occurs: the miracle of human creation...
In order for the miracle of human creation to happen,
the necessary preparations actually begin many years
earlier. First, male and female reproductive cells must
become functional. This comes about in every human being
through the process called puberty. The most important
element in this process is certainly the hormonal system,
which establishes communication among the cells under
the direction of the brain.
God created a system in which all the needs of the
human body and its development would be under the control
of the brain. He caused messages coming to the brain
from the organs to be evaluated by the brain, which
then gives the appropriate response; this is then delivered
to the required area in the shortest possible time.
In this process the hormonal system is used to deliver
the information. God has created in the human body a
perfect postal route for communication. On this postal
route, message-carrying molecules are called "hormones"
each one of which really performs the function of a
postman. Just as a postman follows his route throughout
the city, delivering letters to the right addresses,
so do hormones carry commands from the brain to the
relevant cells. In this way, the functions required
for human life are activated within the body.
But here we must be reminded that hormones are not
human beings who possess the consciousness to know what
messages to carry or to what place to carry them, or
to determine the direction of their route. They have
not received training, nor have they gained experience
after years of studies. The hormones we have called
the postmen, are composed of molecules that may be expressed
in the most complex formulas. It is certainly a great
wonder that a molecule knows where it is going and what
it is delivering; that it determines what message it
will take to which cell; that it finds its way without
ever getting lost in the total darkness of a human body
millions of times larger than itself and that it carries
out this duty flawlessly, without damage to itself or
to its message. This example alone is proof of the extraordinary
systems that God has put in place within the human body.
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It
is He Who forms you in the womb however
He wills. There is no god but Him, the Almighty,
the All-Wise.
(Qur'an, 3: 6) |
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The functioning of a person's hormonal system generally
begins when he is still in his mother's womb and continues
right up until his death. Reproductive glands start
to function as a result of the effect of hormones too.
But unlike other parts of the body, the secretion of
hormones relevant to the reproductive glands begins
in puberty. The hypothalamus, a small area at the base
of the brain, is regarded as the controller of the hormonal
system; in puberty, it begins to send messages to the
pituitary gland to cause the reproductive organs to
begin functioning.
Here too it is useful to point out another wonder.
The hypothalamus is aware of the developments in the
human body; for example, it knows how old a person is
and whether or not the person is physically developed
enough for his reproductive system to begin functioning.
And the hypothalamus performs its work consciously.
In other words, the hypothalamus, taking time into account
and determining that a person's adulthood has come,
gives the appropriate commands to the various endocrine
glands in the body. It sends the messages (hormones)
at exactly the right moment to the destined reproductive
organs and assures the beginning of the development
required to allow the human race to continue. And this
does not apply to the hypothalamus of just one individual;
at this moment the hypothalamuses of millions of people
living in the world are performing this function in
the same way and at almost the same period.

The master of the hormonal system is the hypothalamus.
Its connection with other parts of the brain is
illustrated in the picture. |
The fact that this piece of flesh, occupying in our
bodies a place no larger than that of a few sugar cubes,
is aware of time and can make adjustments for the passage
of time is certainly something that demands our thought
and attention. How does the hypothalamus make such calculations?
Has someone told the hypothalamus what it must do, or
has it found out for itself? How does the hypothalamus
calculate that the reproductive glands must develop
in order for a human being to come into being? How does
it know that this particular hormone must be secreted
at this particular time? And how does it determine,
among all the hormones that it produces, which one will
set the reproductive system in operation at exactly
the right time? Does it have the foresight to decide
on some plan for the future, and make the requisite
provisions and preparations to carry out this plan?
Why does it wait until the exact time, neither sooner
nor later, when the human body is physiologically ready
for reproduction?
The intelligence that can make a mass of flesh without
eyes, ears or even a brain, direct cells as if it were
itself an intelligent being, is incomparable and too
much for us to imagine.
It is neither chance nor any other force that makes
the hypothalamus aware of time; the high intelligence
that gives it its particular function belongs to God.
It is the All-knowing God Who inspires this small piece
of flesh to know what it has to do. That everything
is in God's control is revealed in the verse:
... God is watchful over all things.
(Qur'an, 33: 52)
In the pages that follow, it will be beneficial to
keep this fact well in mind.
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