There is mounting evidence in many fields of science that bring us closer to the realization
of the preponderance of a superpower who designed and is in control of the Universe, where He put everything in its functional position and placed everything in balance.

Applying reason and using our God given intellect, we are led to discern the compatibility of the observable facts in our natural world with the many statements, verses (that refer to these observables) in the Quran, whose authenticity as the word of God, the superpower the Creator of the Universe, has been proven beyond any doubt. That the statements described there-in some fourteen hundred years ago regarding various aspects of our lives and the world around us are in total agreement with the scientific facts that we know them today.

If one looks closely to the world we live in, one cannot but notice the evidence in support of a created system and a balanced universe that is essential for the propagation and the continued existence of the life forms on our planet. One is struck by the uniformity and similarity of the elements of the basic building blocks of the life forms. Everything we look into points to a system that is conceived and created by a super human.

Looking around us, we are made aware of this balance and the preponderance of a system everywhere we look. From way above in the skies, the galaxies and to our own terrestrial system all in dynamic equilibrium. The sun, the moon, the night and the day, all are subject to a mathematically tight and exact measure, day in and day out. The flow of the seasons, the temperature, the pressure, the winds and so on all happen and vary seemingly according to a predetermined plan.

“And the skies He raised high and has devised [for all things] a measure: Quran (55:8) so that you [too, O men,] might never transgress the measure [of what is right): Quran (55:5) The sun and the moon run according to a definite reckoning.

Wherever we look around we see this balance manifest everywhere. The Earth, the plants, the animals are all living together within our ecosystem from a time immemorial. Each and every one of these systems can be seen to exhibit remarkable qualities and properties that bring out its unique function and shows how it fits into the overall dynamic balance of the world we live in.    

To demonstrate the measure of perfection in the design of our living universe and as a starter, let us take water as an example, being one of the simplest, most common of and most abundant on earth, which makes up 60 or more percent of our body weight, and see what a profound function it plays in the design of the system of all life forms, animals and plants, in our planet.
 

The Quran 21:30 says:

“Are, then, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then parted asunder?38 - and [that] We made out of water every living thing? Will they not, then, [begin to] believe?3

That is very clear that according to the above verse that the origin of every living form is aquatic, that is, it originated from water. This statement is completely compatible with scientific evidence, that life started from or in water.

And in 24:45 “God created every animal from water. And many more verses throughout the Quran that specifically states how water is an essential in the creation and workings of all living matter from plants to animals.

We are so struck, in awe, as to how and why such a common and universal material as water is so essential to life and that without it life cannot exist. To begin with, let us see, how and when life had started on our planet to follow up on the evidence in support of the statement in the verse above.

1. The earliest recorded time of appearance of water on earth and filled up the oceans was some 4.41 billion years ago.

2. The estimated amount of water on earth is 1.4 billion cubic Kilometers.  

3. Since water has been designed to sustain all life forms and keep THE BALANCE, it turns out that the total amount of water within our planet including the water vapor for miles up in the atmosphere is constant.

4. Water fills about 71% of the outer surface of the earth.

5. It fills lakes, rivers and reservoirs and it

6. made its way down underneath the surface to form big water reservoirs called aquifers.

7. In the cold regions of the Arctic regions and on higher elevations, water covers vast areas in the form of snow and ice.

The lower mantle of inner earth may hold as much as 5 times more than the above (surface water.) The Quran: 55:10 says: "and the earth He has shaped for the living creatures.”  The Creator has made sure the constancy of the total amount of water so as to maintain the balance necessary for the survival of His Creations that is the plants animals and other life forms on this planet. 

In accordance with the verse that “We made every living thing from water”, the first appearance of living forms did indeed take place some hundreds of million years after water first appeared on our planet.  This proves the necessity for the existence of water prior to the emergence of life on our planet. The life forms were very primitive such as algae and then some microbial life forms which were recorded to have appeared some 3.7 billion years ago, that is some 700 million years after the appearance of water on earth signifying the necessity for water to precede life on earth.

The Quran: 24:45 “God Created every animal from water.”

Let us begin to look at water’s special make up and properties that have made it so essential to the existence of life anywhere in our universe.

The simple molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Hydrogen is the simplest element in the universe and was the first element to come into existence after the big bang some 12 billion years ago. Each hydrogen atom is joined by a covalent bond to the oxygen atom and the two bonds form a v shaped structure with an angle between the two bonds of around 105 degrees.

 

Oxygen, along with other simple elements such as carbon, nitrogen, were formed in the atmosphere a billion years after hydrogen. Water, then, began to form when the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen met. water started to accumulate in outer space and eventually made its way to our planet earth some 4.5 billion years ago.

The Quran: 30:53 says: "God is the One who had sent water down from the sky and thereby He brought forth pairs of plants each separate from the other.’

 As the water, to live up to its name as a universal solvent, comes down as rain and brings down with it, as a bonus, some of the atmospheric gases that it dissolves like nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide and some nitrate fertilizer as a result of the lightening that may sometime accompany the rain storms. The fertilizer, together with water and mixed with the soil enable plants to produce food to feed itself and other plants and animals of the whole planet.

Let us now turn our attention to see what qualities or properties that makes such a common substance so unique that it has become the backbone of life on this planet: 

In the temperature range which covers most of the surface area of the planet, water is a liquid and acts as a very good solvent to a large number of many compounds (almost all to a small or large degree). This is due to a very important property which is its polarity, Water carries a small negative charge on the oxygen atom and a slight positive charge on the hydrogen atoms, the amount of charge on the oxygen atom is twice that on the hydrogen atom so that we end up with a neutral water molecule. Because of this polarity, water molecules can form hydrogen bonds within itself and with different molecules in the living cell that contain oxygen atoms and other atoms like nitrogen. This is in the main is what makes it the liquid of choice in the makeup of the living cells.

A very glaring fact about the basic make-up of all living cells, of plants and animals, is that they are more or less similar, (mainly a cell wall or membrane, a jelly liquid material called the cytoplasm and a cluster or nucleus), pointing to a system that is universal and designed by the same Supreme power.

Qualities of Water #1:

Since all living forms are made up of cells where the cell is surrounded by a cell membrane, water is the ideal medium for transporting materials, essential for the livelihood of the cell, bringing food and minerals from outside of the cell membrane to the inside of the cell and throwing out waste products to the outside of the cell. As we shall see, the polarity of the water molecule is what gives water its amazing properties and makes it so vitally important in our lives and the lives of all other living forms.

Qualities of Water #2:

Another feature that makes water such a viable material in our realm is that it can exist in three different forms within the temperature range of our climate earth. In the liquid form, water molecules are in constant motion forming and breaking hydrogen bonds. This gives the water molecules the property of sliding, so to speak, over each other which imparts the liquidity property to water or its cohesiveness that makes it a perfect carrier of molecules and ions that are necessary for the existence of life forms.

Qualities of Water #3:

Water also exists at moderate temperatures as vapor. This is possible since the water molecules inside liquid water are in constant motion and some of them can escape from the bulk of the liquid and stay in the air as vapor where it rises and gathers to form clouds which precedes the condensation into rain to complete the water cycle and keep the amount of water constant. Because of the polarity of the water molecules and the resulting hydrogen bonds, water requires more heat energy to free the liquid water molecules and to escape into the atmosphere to the vapor phase. This heat of vaporization is essential to keep living species maintain lower body temperatures when the outside temperature becomes too hot.  The Quran: 55:7-8 says:

“And the heavens He has raised high and established dynamic equilibrium therein, so that you do not violate the equilibrium.”

Qualities of Water #4:

Pointing towards a Creator who has set the system of breathing to apply to all living forms on this plant.  Fish, other marine animals as well as plants and animals that are earth bound all use the same principle. When breathing all living forms take in oxygen and throw out carbon dioxide. Plants breath, just like us humans, by taking oxygen and giving out carbon dioxide. The plants, to stay alive, keep breathing day and night. To maintain a healthy environment and keep up THE BALANCE of oxygen in the environment, plants carry out, during daylight, a very important and essential function which is photosynthesis. This is a process whereby light energy from the sun combines with carbon dioxide and water to produce food, and at the same time oxygen is produced as a byproduct.   The Quran 15:19-20 says: “And the earth we have spread it out wide and placed on it mountains firm and caused life of every kind to grow on it in a sustainable manner. And provided thereon means of livelihood for you O’ men as well as for all living beings whose sustenance does not depend on you.”

Although God’s grace is manifest at all times and under all circumstances, it is particularly apt when the temperature gets colder and water starts freezing. Due to the polarity of the water molecules, liquid water has the unique property that ice floats to the surface of the liquid mass as the water freezes allowing fish and other live forms to survive the cold seasons. 

It is very clear, and in keeping with the Quranic verse: “We made out of water every living thing,” that water is where all life began. As scientific evidence has shown that water appeared on our planet many years before the appearance of some primitive life form.

 

It is amazing how water manifests itself all over the globe in so many ways. Its presence in all life forms has been made essential for their survival and without which life as we know it cannot exist.

 

Water is a simple molecule, yet it plays a major role in the structuring of all critical parts of the body of the life form in addition to being the carrier of the essential nutrients which the life forms need to get to the various body parts so that it can function properly.

 

In addition, water carrys out many other vital functions throughout the body of the life form. In the human body, It is involved in carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide, it helps regulate our system and maintain body temperature.

 

Water takes part in the milliard of chemical reactions needed for the body to function properly and for us stay vigilant and alive. It is clear from all of the above evidence, that water is the precursor of all living forms on our planet which is in complete agreement with the Quranic verses mentioned above. Water is truly the backbone of Life on earth.