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55.4%ANMag Issue 23 Global Awareness
The Cell and the Soul
By Ali Sadeeq, Staff Writer
Kano, Nigeria – God told us in chapter Q15:28-29 "Behold thy lord said to the Angels, I am about to create man, from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape. When I have fashioned him in due proportion and breathed into him my spirit, fall ye down in obeisance" About three and a half billion years ago, when God decided to create life on earth, the condition of the planet was such that the planet spun faster (about 18 hours a day) and radiation, cosmic rays and meteorites bombarded the earth. In the primitive earth just before the beginning of life, the earth was composed primarily of six atoms: Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Neon. In the very early period a much larger abundance of Hydrogen prevailed which was subsequently lost to space. Thus the Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen were present on the primitive earth not as (CO2), (N3) and (O2) as they are today but in chiefly saturated Hydrides as methane (CH4), Ammonia, (NH3) and water vapor (H2O). There was also the presence of intensive solar radiation, which could kill any living organism in matter of minutes.
The ozonosphere was in the process of development, it had not fully progressed enough to protect the organisms on land. Under these conditions life was only possible in the great depths of the ocean, depths at which the ultraviolet rays would have been unable to penetrate. Scientifically, we know that the abundance of molecules of Methane (CH4), Ammonia (NH3) and Water (H2O) led to them reacting together in the oceans and mixed together forming a solution. Due to reaction of this mixture with ultraviolet rays and lightning, amino acids and hydroxyl acids were formed (this condition was simulated with the same result by various scientists, notably Miller).
Formaldehydes were also formed. Under Alkaline conditions and in the presence of inorganic catalysts they formed sugars, fundamental to formation of nucleic acids. And polymerization of Amino acids formed long protein-like molecules. Poly-nucleotides and proteins joined together and were absorbed into the clay. This prevented water from breaking up the said polymers of biological significance. This partnership makes contemporary life possible, but this by itself cannot create life. All matter on this planet is composed of cells, and all cells are in turn composed of the product of proteins, nucleic acids, sugars and fats.
Sugars are the energy providers and Adenosine phosphates distribute energy. Proteins are the body builders for growth and regeneration. Nucleic acids gave life the ability to copy itself, while fats and oil serve as the reservoir. This coordinated partnership is what God calls "fashioning in due proportions" as every part works towards efficiency and development of the whole. As I have mentioned earlier, scientists understood quite well this process that originates the first living cell, but admitted by itself only, it cannot create life. In the above verse God told us the mysterious component that made life possible Q15:29 "and breathed into him my spirit". The soul, originating from the spirit of God, is the key to life. Life could never have emerged from inorganic matter alone. God being the only living being is thus the only one capable of originating life. He breathed the spirit (the soul) into that first living cell after it has reached certain level of physical development. The soul, which originates from the spirit of God possessed the attribute of immateriality thus it went beyond the physical laws and escapes the grasp of physical science. The unification of the chemical reactions with the soul made life possible. The soul is an immaterial entity that is beyond our physical senses. We can only know it is around in a living body and know of its absence in a dead body. No matter how hard we try, we can never fully understand it.
That is why God said in chapter: Q17:85 "They ask you concerning the spirit, say: " the spirit is of my lord: of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you O men" thus God retains all knowledge. That is why despite the amount of scientific knowledge on the origin of life scientists are unable to artificially create life. God throws this challenge to any one who says he is not the creator in chapter: Q22:73 "O men here is a parable set forth! Those on whom beside God you call, cannot create even a fly, if they all met together for the purpose!" And nobody can, because even the most eminent scientists, despite their mastery in Medicine and Genetics, admit "the whole spectrum of the origination of life from inorganic beginnings has occurred only once in the history of this planet… and all attempts to create artificially the organelles or the whole cell itself has proved futile" (Encyclopedia Britannica: Origin of life). History has clearly confirmed that nobody has ever created life from inorganic matter. Though God in his infinite wisdom has granted scientists the ability to regenerate life through cloning, but in itself is not akin to creating from inorganic materials. That is for God alone and in order to defeat skeptics; whoever says God is not God then let him create one of the lowliest of creation (the fly) and if he does, then he deserves partnership to divinity.