Coincidence & Complexity. Can They Meet?
By: Sara Abbasy
Studying medicine has opened the doors to think deeply about topics I previously sealed and considered unanswered. I liked to share them here.
7 years… I thought… 7 years to complete med school.
I pushed a pile of my medical books away with a sigh, uncertain of the path I chose for myself.
Long journey, huh?
Leaning against the wall and staring into nothingness, sick of the countless details I’ve got to shovel into my drained out brain, I wondered “How can I be terribly worn out after studying about acreaturewho happens to exist by a mere accident? Think, think… Can the complexity of the human body be justified by coincidence? Can coincidence even create something so incredibly precise taking us 7 years, even more, to study and perfect?
I gazed into the moonlit sky searching for an answer.
I saw Darwin’s theory waving its hand in the horizon, but no, it can’t be true. According to Darwin’s theorysomething cannot exist unless it can be seen heard or felt.
Does the big bang theory fill in the missing puzzle of our existence?”
Well, I know that our rationality exists, but the question here is, can we see it? I can see that everything on earth is held by gravity, in other words, we can see its effect on earth, but can we see gravity itself?
So I would modify the theory I mentioned above and would say: some things which are not seen do exist, if we can’t see them, then we can see their effects somewhere.
Materialism is the entitled motto of this century and if I were to give this era a title, I’d call it “the era of evidence and proof”.
One of people’s major pursuit nowadays is directed towards looking for and debating over the truth of a divine power’s existence, a power greater than that of humans, a power beyond human perception, therefore, believing in an unseen is becoming increasingly difficult. Well, after ruminating over the complexity of our creation which has become undoubtedly apparent after joining medical school, I came to realize that the proof has always existed, but some are still unable to see it.
A verse which I read lately flashed across my mind, it says, “And within yourselves. Do you not see?” Surah Ad-Dariyat, verse 21. One doesn’t need to be a philosopher or a scholar to tackle issues like this, it’s with simple logic that you can unravel questions that seem to have no answer to.
I realised that the strongest evidence of His existence is us, all these years required for medical students to complete their studies simply indicates greatness of creation which can only be justified by the presence of a great designer. Let’s think about it this way: a book can never exist without an author, a cake can never exist without a baker and a building can never exist without an engineer.
Following the same pattern, why can’t we say the same about humans? Tracing our existence back through our parents, grandparents and great grandparents, then who is the founder of the first ever human being to walk on earth? Shouldn’t it be a power much greater than humans?
Divinity and limitless ability: Are they related?
By: Sara Abbasy
“Human body has a self-healing power, imbalance drives a negative feedback mechanism correcting any flaw,” the professor paused, shifting his gaze from one student to another in an attempt to examine our puzzled faces.
I was on the brink of having existential questions: Why was medical school even found? Why are we sitting in this very hall listening to a two-hour lecture about the physiology of the human body? Why have I been admitted to this college when the human body is perfectly designed to heal itself? Saving more questions from filling up my head, the professor continued, “however, this imbalance might get out of control, and under these
circumstances, medical interference becomes crucial.”
It was clear that the statement intrigued a couple of students, including me, so for further
clarification a colleague asked, “Does this mean that the human body is dependent?”
“We cannot declare the human body as being completely dependent, I’d rather say that the
extent of the body’s independence is limited, in other words, it’s bound by its capability in
handling stress, inflammation or microorganisms.”
“Independence is limited.”
A phrase that rang in my ears.
Zoning out, fiddling with a pen that sat on top of my page-length written notes, I remembered
a talk with an old friend where she claimed that an idol like Krishna is God. I asked her,
“What characteristics, in your opinion, should define the identity of God?” She paused for a
moment to summon an answer, then she replied, “Well, God has to be all-knowing, the most powerful, and with limitless abilities to fulfill his servants’ prayers.”
“So based on your answer, do you think that a man-made statue has all these
characteristics?”
“Of course! Whenever I pray to them they answer my prayers!”
“That’s only a fulfillment to the third characteristic! What about God being the most powerful?
Let’s imagine, for the sake of argument, that this statue is to be thrown from the top of a
skyscraper, will it remain intact? Or will it shatter into a million pieces?”
I don’t remember that I received an answer, I could only recall a bewildered expression.
Idols can’t protect themselves, they’re vulnerable to burning, breakage and damage which would make “independence is limited” phrase fall into place. They would become dependent on someone or something else for protection making their divine identity questionable. Does it sound logical to say that God, The Almighty, whom humans rely on for protection, is subjected to being overpowered by something like fire, gravity, force or even death?
Speaking of death, Jesus, according to the bible, was crucified to save humanity from the sin
of Adam. God, being the most powerful, can easily forgive humans for their sins and
wouldn’t need anyone to die on the cross. Besides, if Jesus is God, the question here would become: Is death a power greater than Jesus, who in this case, is God?
Throughout history, human beings often mixed between two terminologies: creator and
creation, therefore, It’s quite crucial to make a clear distinction between the two to prevent
any misconceptions. The Creator never declared himself like any of his creation, so claiming
that a human, animal, planet or idol could be God is a violation and a humiliation to The
Creator of the universe.
Prodding my shoulder, a friend woke me up from my reverie to the professor calling me,
“Sara, do you have any questions?”
Who is Sara:
Sara Abbasy was born in 2005 to Egyptian parents. She currently studies medicine at Ain Shams University in Cairo after completing her IGCSEs and A Levels.
She is involved in various activities, and volunteer work, and endeavors to dispel widespread misconceptions about the religion of Islam.