Human Face

Allah urges man to examine his own physical features,

“Do they not reflect in themselves?”

(Surah Ar Rum, Verse 8.)

Today we will examine one of the greatest and amazing feature of the human body that could only have been created by a supreme being, namely Allah. The body is a complex mass of many different parts. All the parts have vital jobs to do and they all have to work properly to keep the body alive and healthy. The body is made of more than 50 billion individual living units called cells. Some cells are so small that they cannot be seen through even the most modern microscope, which can enlarge 200 000 thousand times. All human beings develop from just two cells: the ovum and the sperm cell. A fertilized human egg is about the size of a pin head.

Allah Ta’âla states in the holy Qur’ân:

شَيْـًۭٔا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۙ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

“He had made ears, eyes and hearts so that you may be grateful.”

(Surah Nahl, 78 Also Surah Muminun Verse 23-78, Surah Sajdah 32-9, Surah Mulk 67-23, Surah Ahqâf 46-26.)

What we look forward to discuss from the Human Face today:

THE BRAIN

The brain is a soft mass of tissue inside the head floating in shockproof fluid that is protected from knocks and jolts by a ‘helmet’ of bone, the skull and wrapped in three cushioning layers of tissue. The outer layer of the brain is the cortex. It is about a millimetre thick. It is like a piece of cloth crumbled over the rest of the brain. The folds and lumps are made of grey matter.

The brain is the central office which controls, directs and coordinates the varied activities of all the innumerable organs of the body. It receives messages from each of the senses, interprets them, sends the proper replies to the organs concerned so that the body reacts appropriately (jumps out of the way of an approaching car, for instance), and registers all the information received in the archives of the memory. The brain can remember more than 50 000 different smells. Think of a huge telephone exchange in continual contact with every man, woman and child on earth, sending and receiving messages to and from each one every few seconds – and you have a faint idea of the incredibly complex organization of the brain.

In the white and grey matter of the brain, there are nearly a thousand million nerve cells, each of which is, by turns, an electric battery and a small telegraph transmitter. Each cell branches out into a number of fine conducting threads, the nerve fibres, which extend to all parts of the body. A large number of them run down the hollow back-bone, twisted together into a thick cable, the spinal cord, admirably protected by the bony and well-cushioned walls of the spine. Through these tiny threads,

each of which is covered with an insulating sheath, a current flows at the speed of about 70 metres per hour, carrying messages to and from the brain, with marvellous speed and accuracy. There is an elaborate system of relays, condensers, switches, etc, which permits the transmission of the most unexpected messages between the brain and each of the millions of cells it controls, without the least confusion or delay.

The most complicated radio station, the most up-to-date telephone exchange is like a tin of sardines compared to the incredibly elaborate maze of the nerve system of the brain.

The brain accounts for about 3% of body weight. But it uses 20% of all the oxygen we breathe, 20% of the calories in the food we eat and about 15% of the body’s blood supply.

Parts of the brain

The human brain is not only one of the important organs of the human body; it is also the most complex than any other known structure in the universe.

The brain is divided into four major sections known as lobes —the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the parietal lobe.

Each lobe has exclusive role to play and some functions associated with it are as:

1. The Frontal Lobe, 2. The Temporal Lobe, 3. The Occipital Lobe, 4. The Parietal Lobe

1. The frontal lobe is responsible for conscious thoughts, attention span, judgement, perseverance, critical thinking, impulse control, problem solving, organising and management, supervision, self-monitoring, forward thinking, memory for skills and motor activities.

2. The temporal lobe is in control of holding memories and acquiring the knowledge, interprets auditory stimuli, understands spoken form of language and controls the ordering of things.

3. The occipital lobe processes visual form of information, construe shape, distance, and colour.

4. The parietal lobe is in control of visually determining the depth, location, perception of touch, monitoring sensation and body position, face recognition, understanding time, goal directed voluntary movements and manipulation of objects.

Effect of the Dhikr and Quran on the Brain

As a source of peace of mind, Dhikr and Quran plays an essential role in the lives of Muslims. It is the simplest way to get closer to Almighty and seek peace and love from Him. In recent years, some researchers are actively seeking the connection between religion and science. Several studies have been conducted on meditation states using EEG, ERP, and other neuroimaging studies. The studies found that EEG waves like Alpha and Theta are most active after meditation. However, studies were conducted to find the neurological changes during the recitation and listening to Dhikr and Quran as compared to reading a book. Studies reveal that the EEG power spectrum is high in range of Alpha wave (associated with relaxed state of the brain) at the parietal cortex of the brain during the recitation of Dhikr and Quran in comparison to reading a book. Other studies report that reciting Dhikr and Quran increases the Delta wave in the brain. Delta wave is linked with deep relaxation and spiritual activities and are also used as a therapy in sleeping disorder. Thus, recitation of Dhikr and Quran have calming effect and reduces stress