Page 46 - Allah's Art of Detail

44 ALLAH'S ART OF DETAIL

The Amphipod:

A Detail Living in the Depths of the Oceans

Human beings cannot breathe oxygen dissolved in water or
withstand the pressure under water, which is some 1,300 times
heavier than air. Moreover, this pressure rises rapidly the further
down one goes, approximately 1 atmosphere for every 10 m (32.8
ft) of depth. When one descends to 150 m (492 ft) under water, the
veins may collapse and the lungs contract to the size of a soda can.
Thus, in the absence of man-made technology, human beings can
live only on dry land.

Human beings are exceedingly vulnerable to water pressure.
However, there are other life forms on Earth that, thanks to their
special equipment, possess qualities that are far superior to those
of human beings.
For example, the Mariana Trench, the Pacific Ocean’s deepest
point, is home to colonies of amphipods, which are shrimp-like
transparent crustaceans. This area lies some 11.3 km (7 miles) be-
low the ocean’s surface. Even the intense pressure at 4 km (2.5
miles), the average ocean depth, is equivalent to that applied by
1
the weight of fourteen cement trucks loaded with concrete. This
creature, about which almost nothing is known to us, can survive
under even harsher conditions. The animal itself is unaware that it
lives many kilometers below the surface of the ocean and can sur-
vive under a pressure that would kill a human being. The way that

it remains alive at depths we cannot reach is one of the proofs that
all living things, whether in the ground, in the depths of the ocean,
or in the highest skies, are created through Allah’s sublime artistry.
A person may see and appreciate His greatness by looking at
such a creature and understanding that only He can create bless-