Page 62 - The Miracles of Smell and Taste

60

The answers are clear:
This adaptation system in scent
perception is one of the innumera-
ble examples of the superior design flawless

planning and perfect order to be seen everywhere in the universe. There
is absolutely no doubt that such a marvelous order leaves no room for
chance. Every component of these flawless systems in our bodies is far too
perfect to be accounted for in terms of coincidence.
As it is revealed in the Qur’an, “He directs the whole affair from heav-
en to Earth . . . .” (Surat as-Sajda: 5)

Scent Memory

The sense of smell is closely bound up with memory. The reason you
recognize most smells around you with no feelings of unfamiliarity is that
every kind of smell is archived with a special code in your scent memory.
The moment you encounter an aroma smell, it is identified by application
to that archive. A smell you encounter for the first time, which you have
never experienced, is interpreted by being compared to other scents. If we
did not possess such a memory, smells would be impossible to describe.
Smells also remind us of various events that we experienced in the
past. A familiar perfume scented as we walk along the street reminds us
of another woman who wears it. The smell of something cooking can
evoke a memory of a meal that took place years before. The same aroma
can awaken pleasant feelings in one person,
but unpleasant emotions in another.
Where, then, are the memo-
ries of various scents—and

the emotions they evoke
perceived anew—pre-