EARTH’S PROTECTIVE SHIELD
The Quran says:
“We have made the heaven a well-secured canopy.” (21:32)
From this, we learn that God has made the upper atmosphere with His mercy and power so that it becomes a means to protect man from harmful things. There are innumerable aspects of this Divine system. One part of it is the atmospheric gas called ‘ozone.’
The Sun provides us with light and heat; life on Earth would have been impossible without it. In the Sun’s rays, some things—for example, ultraviolet rays—can lead to various illnesses, and excess of them can even kill human beings and animals. Ultraviolet rays are continuously emitted from the sun and come towards the Earth. Despite this, how is it that human beings and animals are still alive on Earth?
The reason for this is that the Earth’s atmosphere, which stretches several hundred miles over the planet’s surface, has several layers, one of which consists of ozone gas. Due to its particular structure, when ultraviolet rays fall on it, it absorbs them, preventing them from reaching the Earth’s surface. This layer of ozone gas saves human beings from the harm of ultraviolet rays.
As mentioned in the above Quranic verse (21:32): “We have made the heaven a well-secured canopy,” God has established a protective shield above the Earth in the form of the atmosphere. The recent scientific research on the atmosphere is intellectual support in favour of this statement of the Quran. Research has revealed that a natural reaction occurs among the gases present in the atmosphere at a height of between 20-50 kilometres. A new sort of molecule emerges from this process, producing ozone gas. A thick layer of ozone gas is spread on all sides of the Earth. This atmospheric umbrella works as a protective shield for man. Without it, human beings would not have been able to remain alive on Earth.
Modern industrial civilization has produced new problems for man. One of these is that significant damage is being done to the ozone layer due to factories’ production of certain gases. As a result, ultraviolet rays reach the Earth’s surface, causing various unsolvable problems for man.
From a scientific point of view, the change in the atomic structure of oxygen molecules is the cause of the production of ozone, which possesses the quality of absorbing harmful rays from the sun and preventing them from falling on the Earth’s surface. However, there is no rational or scientific evidence to prove that the oxygen molecule possesses the unique and beneficial ability to cause this change in the number of atoms on its own. The one who saves man from the assault of harmful rays from the skies is God Almighty. At the external level, the change mentioned above (in the number of atoms) has been made to happen so that man sees it, and the discovery of this thrills him so much that he stops in his tracks. Witnessing this external phenomenon, he should reach the inner reality: It should make him realize the presence of God.
The two phenomena—the presence of ozone in the system of Nature, on the one hand, and the destruction of ozone gas by modern industry, on the other—hold valuable lessons for us. They contain great signs for those who think and ponder. The presence of a thick layer of ozone gas in the atmosphere shows that the Being that made the world system knew in advance what the needs of the human beings who would be settled on Earth would be. He had prior knowledge that the sun’s rays would contain harmful elements along with their beneficial aspects. He established the beneficial aspects and arranged for a system through which man could be protected from their harmful aspect when he was settled on Earth.
Now, see the other side of the story, which emerged in the second half of the 20th century. Some decades ago, man invented a technology called air conditioning. This invention has provided man with many items of extraordinary comfort. Air-conditioned houses, offices, and buildings are considered by many to be a necessary part of modern life. When air-conditioning was invented, it seemed wonderful, but current research has shown that both minus and plus are present.
Modern air-conditioning uses a CFC-based system. CFC technology has emerged as a significant danger for man today. CFC stands for ‘chlorofluorocarbons,’ a chemical used to manufacture air-conditioned products. Factories that manufacture this chemical produce a byproduct called ‘chlorine monoxide,’ which is causing the depletion of the ozone layer, so much so that it has generated an enormous hole in the atmosphere through which the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun have begun to fall on the Earth, posing a grave threat to humanity. Thus, research is being conducted on a large scale to discover an alternative material through which air-conditioners and other such products can be manufactured without producing this harmful chemical.
Now, there are two models to consider here: the model of Nature, on the one hand, and the model of human industry, on the other. In the model of Nature, provision was made beforehand, in the form of the protective ozone layer, to prevent the sun’s harmful rays from reaching the Earth’s surface so that humanity could be protected from them. On the other hand, the human beings who run big air-conditioning-related industrial empires could not know beforehand that their factories would seriously disturb the precious balance of Nature by damaging the ozone layer and that this would result in severe consequences for life on Earth.
This situation is evidence that behind the creation of the universe and its planned nature was a superior, Divine Mind—that is, the Creator, God —at work. Had no such Mind been active therein, the system of Nature would also be characterized by the same defects and harmful consequences that manifest themselves in man-made industries. This reality is reflected in the following words of the Quran:
“Blessed is He in whose hand is the Kingdom: He has power over all things; He created death and life so that He might test you and find out which of you is best in conduct. He is the Mighty, the Most Forgiving One. He created seven heavens, one above the other in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the Gracious One. Then look once again: can you see any flaw? Then look again and again. Your gaze will come back to you confused and exhausted.” (67:1-4)
As mentioned in the above verses of the Quran, the system of Nature created by God is flawless. This can be seen from the fact that God created and brought the sun into being before man was settled on Earth. God had prior knowledge that one part of the sun’s rays would be harmful to man. And so, beforehand, God arranged for a firm protective system in the atmosphere in the form of the ozone layer that could save man from these harmful rays. On the other hand, the flaws in the working of human engineers and scientists can be seen in how they established the air-conditioning industry on Earth which emits harmful gases in the atmosphere that damage the ozone layer that protects man from the sun’s harmful rays. However, human experts were not even aware of the detrimental effects that their industry was going to have until their effects became prevalent.
This comparative example, contrasting God’s management with human management, indicates that the creation of the universe could not have come about without a Supreme Mind. It also tells us that the intelligence of the sort that man possesses is insufficient for bringing about this creation. Without a Supreme Mind, the present meaningful universe could never have existed.
