Page 76 - The Miracle in the Atom

What Would Happen If Every Atom That
Stood Close Together Immediately Reacted?

We just said that the whole universe is formed by the interaction of the atoms of 109 dif-
ferent elements. Here, there is a point that needs to be mentioned, which is that a
very important condition must be fulfilled for the reaction to start.
For instance, water does not form whenever oxygen and hydrogen come
together and iron does not rust away as soon as it comes in contact with
air. If it did so, iron, which is a hard and shiny metal, would be transformed
into ferrous oxide, which is a soft powder, in a few minutes. No such thing as a
metal would be left on earth and the order of the world would be greatly dis-
turbed. If atoms that happened to be placed close to each other at a certain distance
had united immediately without the fulfilment of certain conditions, atoms of two differ-
ent substances would have interacted right away. In that case, it would be impossible
even for you to sit on a chair, because the atoms forming the chair would
immediate react with the atoms forming your body and you would
become a being between chair and human (!). Of course, in such a
world, life would be out of the question. How is such an end avoided?
To give an example, hydrogen and oxygen molecules react very slowly at
room temperature. That means that water forms very slowly at room temperature. Yet,
as the temperature of the environment rises, the energies of molecules also increase
and reaction is accelerated, and thus water is formed more rapidly.
The minimum amount of energy required for molecules to react with each other is
called the "activation energy". For instance, in order for hydrogen and oxygen mole-
cules to react with each other to form water, their energy has to be higher than the acti-
vation energy.
Just consider. If the temperature on earth were a little higher, the atoms would react too
rapidly, which would destroy the equilibrium in nature. If the opposite were true, that is
the temperature on earth were lower, then atoms would react too slowly, which would
again disturb the equilibrium in nature. As this clarifies, the distance of the earth from
the sun is just appropriate to support life on earth. Certainly, the delicate balances
required for life do not end there. The inclination in the axis of the earth, its mass, sur-
face area, the proportion of the gases in its atmosphere, the distance between the
earth and its satellite, the moon, and many other factors have to be precisely at their
present values so that living beings can survive. This points to the fact that all these
factors could not have formed progressively by chance and that they were all created
by Allah, the Owner of Supreme power, Who knows all the properties of living
beings.
Typically, the role of science during these processes is just to name the laws of
physics that it observes. As we explained in the beginning, in the case of such
phenomena, questions like "what?", "how?", and "in what way?" fade into
insignificance. What we can reach by these questions are only the details of
an already existing law. The main questions that should be asked are "why?"
and "by whom was this law created"? The answer to these questions
remains an enigma for scientists who blindly adhere to their materialist
dogmas.
At this point, where materialists reach a deadlock, the picture is very
clear for a person who looks at events by using his mind and con-
science. The flawless balances in the universe, which cannot be
explained as coincidences, have been brought about at the bid-
ding of a supreme mind and will, as stated in the verse, "Allah
takes account of everything." (Surat an-Nisa: 86), and He creat-
ed everything according to a very precise calculation, order
and equilibrium.