Page 80 - For Men of Understanding

us from all external effects, which alone is enough to show how important the
existence of our skin is to us.
All of the functions of the skin are vital. Some of these are:
It prevents disturbance of the body’s water balance: Both sides of the
epidermis, the outer layer of skin, are waterproof. Water concentration in the
body is controlled by means of this feature of the skin. The skin is a more
important organ than the ear, nose and even the eye. We can live without our
other sense organs, but it is impossible for man to survive without skin. It is
impossible for "water", the most vital fluid of human body, to be retained in
the body without the skin.
It is strong and flexible: Most of the cells of the epidermis are dead.
Dermis, on the other hand, is made up of living cells. Later, epidermal cells start
to lose their cellular characteristics and are converted into a hard substance
called "keratin". Keratin holds these dead cells together and forms a protective
shield for the body. It may be thought that its protective quality would increase
if it were thicker and harder, but this is deceptive. If we had a skin as hard and
thick as that of the rhinoceros’, our highly mobile body would lose this mobil-
ity and be clumsy.
Regardless of the species in question, the skin is never thicker than
required. There is a very well balanced and controlled plan in the structure of
the skin. Let us suppose that epidermal cells constantly died and this process
did not stop at a certain point. In this condition, our skin would continue to
thicken, and become thick like an alligator’s skin. Yet, this is never the case,
the skin is always just thick enough. How does this happen? How do skin cells
know where to stop?
It would be very illogical and ridiculous to claim that the cells constituting
skin tissue determine where to stop on their own, or that this system came
about in a coincidental way. There is a manifest design in the structure of the
skin. No doubt, it is Allah, the Sustainer of all the worlds, the One and Only,
Who has brought about this design.
It has mechanisms to cool down the body in hot weather: The dermis

is surrounded by very thin capillaries which not only feed the skin, but also
check the blood level within it. When body temperature rises, the veins expand
and help the excessively warm blood to travel through the outer layer of the
skin, which is relatively cooler, and the heat is released. Another mechanism
that cools the body down is sweating: the human skin is full of many tiny holes
called "pores". These pores reach as deep as the lowest layer of the skin where
sweat glands lie. These glands pass the water they take from the blood through
the pores and throw it out of the body. The water thrown out uses the body

78 For Men of Understanding