Page 75 - The Miracle in the Atom

The Second Step On The Path To Matter: Molecules

Carbon is a very unusual element. Diamond, which is a
Without the presence of carbon very valuable stone,
is a derivative of
and its unusual properties, it is un-
carbon, which is
likely that there would be life on otherwise common-
Earth. 29 ly found in nature as
graphite.
Concerning the importance of carbon
for living beings, the British chemist Nevil
Sidgwick writes in Chemical Elements and
Their Compounds:
Carbon is unique among the elements in
the number and variety of the compo-
unds which it can form. Over a quarter of
a million have already been isolated and
described, but this gives a very imperfect
idea of its powers, since it is the basis of all forms of living matter. 30
The class of compounds formed exclusively from carbon and hydrogen
are called "hydrocarbons". This is a huge family of compounds that include

natural gas, liquid petroleum, kerosene, and lubricating oils. The hydrocar-
bons ethylene and propylene form the basis of the petrochemical industry.
Hydrocarbons like benzene, toluene, and turpentine are familiar to anyone
who's worked with paints. The naphthalene that protects our clothes from
moths is another hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbons combined with chlorine or
fluorine form anaesthetics, the chemicals used in fire extinguishers and the
Freons used in refrigeration.
As the chemist Sidgwick stated above, the human mind is insufficient
to fully understand the potential of this atom that has only six protons, six
neutrons and six electrons. It is impossible for even a single property of this
atom, which is vital for life, to form by chance. The carbon atom, like everyt-
hing else, has been created by Allah perfectly adapted for the bodies of li-
ving beings, which Allah encompasses down to their very atoms.
What is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Allah. Allah en-
compasses all things. (Surat an-Nisa': 126)

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