Page 42 - Miracles of The Qur'an Vol. 3
P. 42
Have you thought about the fire that you light? Is it you who
make the trees that fuel it grow or are We the Grower? We
have made it to be a reminder and a comfort for travelers in
the wild. So glorify the name of your Lord, the Magnificent!
(Surat al-Waqi 'a, 71-74)
One of the chemical substances mainly responsible for the structure
of wood is "lignocellulose." This substance is a compound of the materi-
als known as "lignin" and "cellulose" that give wood its hardness. In terms
of chemical structure, wood is made up of 50% cellulose, 25% hemicellu-
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loses and 25% lignin. An analysis of these substances' chemical formu-
lae reveals three vital elements: hydrogen, oxygen and carbon.
Hydrogen, oxygen and carbon are the building blocks of millions of
substances in nature. But as a miracle from Allah, these three also com-
bine to give rise to the substance "lignocellulose", which is found in
plants. Although scientists know that hydrogen, oxygen and carbon are
the ingredients of lignocellulose, some of the greatest minds in the world
have been completely unable to reproduce this special material in plants.
Although these elements can easily be obtained, scientists have been un-
able to create a single piece of wood by artificial means, despite having
countless examples before them to study. Yet all the trees we see
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