Page 196 - For Men of Understanding

light, which is the basis of life.
The ozone layer surrounding the earth prevents harmful ultraviolet rays
from the sun from reaching the earth. Ultraviolet rays from the sun are so
charged with energy that they could kill all living things on earth. For this rea-
son, to make life possible on earth, the ozone layer is another especially cre-
ated part of the "preserved and protected roof" of the sky.
Ozone is produced from oxygen. While there are two oxygen atoms in the
(O ) molecules of oxygen gas, there are three oxygen atoms in the (O ) mol-
2
3
ecules of ozone gas. Ultraviolet rays coming from the sun add one more atom
to the oxygen molecule to form the ozone molecule. The ozone layer, which
is formed by the action of ultraviolet, arrests fatal ultraviolet rays and thus con-
stitutes one of the most basic conditions of life on earth.
Briefly, if the earth’s core did not have the quality of forming magnetic field,
and the atmosphere did not have the structure and density to filter harmful
rays, life on earth would be out of the question. It is, no doubt, impossible for
any human being or any other living being to have ordered those. It is evident
that Allah has created those protective features that are critically essential for
human life, and that He created the sky as a "preserved and protected roof".
That other planets lack such "preserved and protected roofs" is another indi-
cation that the earth is specially designed for human life. For instance, the
entire core of the planet Mars is solid and therefore there is no protective mag-
netic shield around it. Because Mars is not as big as the earth, not enough pres-
sure has been generated to form the liquid part of the core. In addition, being
the right size alone is not enough for the formation of a magnetic field around
a planet. For instance, the diameter of Venus is almost the same as that of the
earth. Its mass is only 2% less than the earth’s and its weight is almost the same
as the earth’s. Therefore, both in terms of pressure and for other reasons, it is
inevitable that a metallic liquid part should form in the core of Venus. However,
there is no magnetic field around Venus, the reason being the relatively slow-
er rotation of Venus as compared to earth. While earth completes its rotation
about its axis in one day, Venus does so in 243 days.
The sizes of the moon and other neighbouring planets and their distances
to the earth are also important for the existence of the magnetic field consti-
tuting the "preserved and protected roof" of the earth. If one of these planets
was bigger than its actual size, it would cause it to have a greater gravitational
force. A neighbouring planet with such a large gravitational force would
change the velocity of the liquid and solid parts of the earth’s core and prevent
the formation of a magnetic field in its present form.
Briefly, the sky’s having the quality of a "preserved and protected roof"
requires that many variables such as the structure of the earth’s core, its rota-

194 For Men of Understanding