Introduction: A Colourful World

Have you ever thought what it would be like to live in a world without colour? Free yourself for a moment from your experience, forget all that you've learned and start using your imagination. Try to visualise your body, the people around you, the seas, the sky, trees, flowers, in short everything in black. Imagine that there is no colour around you. Try to think how you would feel if people, cats, dogs, birds, butterflies, and fruits had no colour at all. You would never want to live in such a world, would you?

Most people may never have thought about what a colourful world they are living in or wondered how such a diversity of colour has come to exist on earth. They may never have given a thought to how a world without colour would be. This is because everyone who sees was born into a world full of colour. However, a model of a black and white, colourless world is not impossible. On the contrary, the really amazing thing is our living in a bright, colourful world. (In the following chapters, we will discuss in detail why the existence of a colourful world is so amazing)

We always see a world full of colour.

When the pictures above and below are compared, it will be better understood how nice it is to see a world full of colour. Colours are one of the greatest blessings that Allah has bestowed upon people in the world.

A colourless world would normally be thought of as having only black, white and shades of grey. However, black, white and shades of grey are also colours. In this respect, it is difficult to imagine colourlessness. To describe colourlessness, one always feels the need to mention a colour. With statements such as "it was colourless, completely dark", "there was no colour in her face; it was completely white" people try to describe colourlessness. In fact, these are not the descriptions of colourlessness, but of a world of black and white.

Try, just for a second, to imagine that all of a sudden, everything loses its colour. In such a situation, everything would mix with everything else and it would become impossible to distinguish one object from another. It would become impossible to see, for example, an orange, red strawberries or colourful flowers on a brown wooden table, for neither would the colour of the orange be orange, nor that of the table brown, nor that of the strawberries red. For a person, it would be quite annoying to live, even for a short time, in such a colourless world, which is even difficult to describe. Colour has a crucial role in man's communication with the outside world, in the proper functioning of his memory, and in his brain's fulfilment of its learning functions. This is because humans can develop appropriate connections between events and places, people and objects only through their external appearances and colours. Neither hearing nor touch alone suffice to define objects. For humans, the external world only means something when it is seen as a whole with its colours.

Identifying objects and our surroundings are not the only benefits from the diversity of colours. The perfect harmony of colour in nature gives the human soul great pleasure. In order to see this harmony and derive pleasure from every detail of it, man has been equipped with a pair of eyes, which have a very special design. In the world of animate beings, human eyes are the most functional and can perceive colours in their smallest details, so much so that the human eye is sensitive to millions of colours.1 Evidently, the visual apparatus in humans that works so perfectly has been specially designed to see a world full of colour. The only being on earth that can understand the existence of such an order in the universe is man because he has the power to reflect and reason. Hence, in the light of all the foregoing, we conclude the following:

Every detail, pattern and colour in the heavens and the earth have been created for humans to acknowledge and so to appreciate this order and reflect on it. The colours in nature have been arranged in such a manner as to appeal to the human soul. Perfect symmetry and harmony prevail within colour, both in the worlds of animate and inanimate beings. This situation will certainly evoke some questions in the mind of someone who reflects, such as:

What makes the earth colourful? How do the colours, which make our world so extraordinarily beautiful, come into being? To whom belong the design of the diverse colours and the harmony between them? Is it possible to say that whatever exists might have come into existence by purposeless changes brought about by a chain of coincidence? Certainly, no one would claim such an absurdity. Uncontrolled coincidences cannot create anything, let alone billions of colours. Just observe the wings of a butterfly or colourful flowers of any kind, each of which looks like a wonder of art. It is surely impossible for sound reason to attribute all these to unconscious processes.

We can have a better understanding of this fact if we take an example. When one sees a painting depicting trees and flowers in nature, one would not claim nor even think that the harmony of colour, the organised patterns and the conscious design in this painting could have come into existence by coincidence. If someone came along and said, "the paint boxes were overturned by the wind, mixed, and with the effect of rain etc., and after a long period of time this beautiful painting was formed", it is certain that nobody would take him seriously. There is a very interesting situation here. Although nobody would attempt to put forward such an unreasonable claim, some people can nevertheless claim that the perfect colouring and symmetry of nature came about by such an unconscious process. Nevertheless, evolutionists produce theses that it is the workings of coincidence to explain this subject and they produce various researches. They do not hesitate to put forward baseless claims on the issue.

This is obvious blindness, with which it is difficult to come to terms. Still, someone who escapes from this blindness through exercising his faculty of thought will understand that he actually lives in an extremely miraculous environment on the earth. He would also fully acknowledge that such an environment furnished with the most appropriate conditions for the survival of humankind could not have come into existence by chance. Just as a man who reflects, acknowledges the moment he looks at a painting that it has a painter, so will he understand that the multi-coloured, harmonious and extremely picturesque environment around him also has a Creator. This Creator is Allah, Who has no partner in creation, Who creates everything in full harmony, and Who placed us in this world overflowing with numerous beautiful things embellished with millions of colours. All the things Allah creates are in perfect harmony with each other. Allah describes the uniqueness of His artistry in creation in the Qur'an as follows:

He Who created the seven heavens in layers. You will not find any flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look again-do you see any gaps? Then look again and again. Your sight will return to you dazzled and exhausted!  (Surat al-Mulk: 3-4)

Intelligent Design - in Other Words, Creation

In Order to Create, Allah Has No Need to Plan .It's important to properly understand the word "design." If Allah has created a flawless design that does not mean that He first conceived a plan and then followed it. Allah, the Lord of the Earth and the heavens, needs no "designs" in order to bring anything into existence. Allah is exalted above all such deficiencies. Both His planning and His creation take place at the same instant. Whenever Allah wills a thing to come about, it is enough for Him just to say, "Be!" As verses of the Qur'an tell us: His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, "Be!" and it is. (Surah Ya Sin: 82) [Allah is] the Originator of the heavens and Earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, "Be!" and it is. (Surat al-Baqara: 117)

Footnotes

1. Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi (Journal of Science and Technics), March 1985, p.23

What is Colour? How is it Made ?

Some details have an important place in the minds of humans and they never change. Let us begin with trees, which are very familiar to us. The colour of trees is most often either green or shades of green. It is well known that during autumn, leaves change colour. Similarly, the colour of sky is either blue, shades of grey when cloudy or yellows and reds at sunrise and sunset. The colours of fruit never alter; the rich and varied colours of the apricot and of the cherry are set, and are always familiar to us. Every living being and every object held under light has a colour. Have a careful look at the things around you. What do you see? The table, the chairs, the trees you see through your window, the sky, the walls of your house, the faces of the people around you, the fruit you eat, the book you are reading at this minute… Each one of them have distinct colours. Have you ever thought how it is that all these colours have been formed and arranged?

Let us examine in general what is required for the formation of colours that play significant roles for life. (These points will be discussed later on in detail). For the formation of a single colour, for example, red or green, each of the following processes has to take place and, importantly, in the following sequence.

The importance of colours in man's life is indisputable as every object acquires a meaning with its colours. Imagine that none of the colours you see in this photograph on the left (including black and white) exist at all. Certainly, you would not be able see any of the objects in the photograph. For the formation of even a single one of these numerous colours present on these objects, quite a few factors must be fulfilled, all at the same time. Allah has made the formation of colours dependent on the existence of a very detailed system.

1-The first condition required for the formation of colour is the existence of light. In this respect, it will be useful to start with examining the properties of the light coming from the sun. For the formation of colours, the light coming from the sun to the earth must have a certain wavelength to produce colours. The proportions of this light, called "visible light", to all other light rays emitted by the sun is one in 10²⁵. This hardly believable, tiny proportion of the light rays that are necessary for the formation of colour reach the earth from the sun.

2-In fact, most of the sunrays diffused by the sun across space bear some characteristics harmful to the eye. For this reason, the light arriving on earth must take such a form that it can be easily perceived by the eye and not harm it. For this, the rays must pass through a filter. This giant filter is the "atmosphere" which surrounds the earth.

3-The light passing through the atmosphere is spread over the earth, and on hitting the objects it encounters, it is reflected. The objects on which light falls must not be of a type that do not absorb light but reflect it. In other words, the structural quality of the objects must also be in harmony with the light reaching the earth so that colour can form. This condition is also fulfilled and a new light wave is reflected from the objects on which the light coming from the sun strikes.

4-Another essential step in the process of colour formation is the need for a perceiver to perceive the light waves, which is the eye. It is essential that the light waves be in harmony also with the organs of sight.

5-The rays coming from the sun must pass through the lens and the layers of the eye and be converted into nerve impulses in the retina. Then these signals must be conveyed to the vision centre of the brain, which is responsible for making sense of sight.

6-There is a last step that has to be fulfilled for us to "see" any colour. The last stage in the formation of colours is the interpretation of the electric signals, which arrive at the vision centre of brain, as "colour" by very special nerve cells located there.

Have they not looked at the sky above them: how We structured it and made it beautiful and how there are no fissures in it? (Kaf Suresi, 6)

Through its special layers, the atmosphere absorbs most of the harmful rays arriving from the sun or space. Allah has designed each one of these layers for the sake of life on earth.

As seen, for the formation of a single colour, a very detailed and interdependent sequence of processes is required.

All the information we have about colour indicates that every process that takes place during the formation of colour is set on very delicate balances. Without these balances, we would inevitably be left in a fuzzy dark world instead of a clear colourful one, and would even lose our ability to see. Let us suppose that of the above-mentioned items, only one – the nerve cells that perceive the electric signals generated by the retina – does not exist. Neither the sunlight being within the visible spectrum, nor the other parts of the eye being completely functional, nor the existence of the atmosphere would be adequate and compensate for this lack.

The Role of Retina in Seeing

Let us examine the retina closer and in more detail. Let us suppose that the pigmentary substance called "rhodopsin", operating in the retina, is absent. Rhodopsin is a substance that ceases functioning under heavy light but is regenerated in darkness. The eye cannot see clearly in dim light unless sufficient rhodopsin is produced in the eye. The function of rhodopsin is to increase the efficiency with which the eye generates a nerve impulse from dim light. This substance is produced as much as required exactly when it is needed. When the rhodopsin balance is maintained, images become clear. What would happen if rhodopsin, which is very significant for the process of sight, did not exist? In that case, man would be capable of seeing only in bright light.2 It is therefore evident that there is a perfect system within the eye, which has been designed down to the smallest detail.

Then, whose work of art is this system, which saves us from darkness and presents us a world full of colour?

General structure of the retina layer and the rhodopsin substance.
1. rod 2. bipolar cell 3. ganglion cell 4. cone 5. the surface of the retina 6. iris	7. frontal cavity 8. cornea 9. first focusing at the cornea 10. pupil 11. lens 12. vitreous chamber	13. centre regulated by lens 14. image centred on macula 15. optic nerve 16. blind spot 17. Retina 18. Sclera

Every stage mentioned thus far includes a series of processes, which require the existence of wisdom, will and power in their being brought into being. It is plain that there is no chance of such a chain of processes existing in such harmony having been formed by chance. It is also impossible for such a system to have been formed over time. The result would not change at all even if millions and even billions of years were allowed to pass. The systems to comprising a colourful world would never emerge by coincidence. Such perfect systems can come into being only as a result of special design, which is to mean that they are created. Allah possesses eternal power and wisdom that cover the whole universe. Examples of Allah's matchless artistry in creation stretch across the entire order of the universe. The unique design evident in the formation of colour is also an outcome of the peerless creation of Allah. Allah has power over all things.

(He is) the Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, 'Be!' and it is.  (Surat al-Baqara: 117)

Footnotes

2. Jillyn Smith, Sense and Sensebilities, Willey Science Edition, p.60-61

Design in Colours

Colour is a concept that helps us to identify the properties of objects and define them more precisely. Thinking about the colours of the objects around us, we simply come to notice what a variety of detailed colours we are surrounded by. Everything, animate or inanimate, has a colour. Living creatures of the same species have the same particular colours everywhere in the world. No matter where you go, the colour of the flesh of the water-melon is always red, kiwis are always green, seas are always shades of blue and green, snow is white, lemons are yellow, the colour of elephants is the same in any part of the world as also the colours of trees. They never change. This goes for artificially produced colours as well. Wherever you go on the earth, if you mix red with yellow, you will get orange or if you mix black and white you will get grey. The result is always the same. At this point, it may be useful to think somewhat differently. First, let us think by asking the question of how the colours of objects are made. We can explain this by an example. Imagine that you walk into a store and see fabric of different designs and models, the colours of which are extremely harmonious with each other. Surely, those fabrics did not come there by chance; conscious people drafted their designs, determined their colours, subjected them to a number of dying processes, and after putting them through many other intermediate stages, they displayed them in that store. In short, the existence of these fabrics depends on the people who designed and manufactured them. When you see them, you do not say that they came there by chance, or that their designs were formed by coincidence as a result of paints spilt over the fabrics. In fact, no man of reason would make such a claim.

Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him.
(Surat al-Baqara: 255)

Indeed, there is a conscious Will that presents us the views we see in nature all the time, the butterflies, flowers, multi-coloured places under the sea, trees, and clouds etc., just in the way these fabrics are presented to us. The diversity in the universe is the consequence of a special design. This design is manifested in every stage from the formation of light to its becoming a colourful image in our brain. This is one of the greatest evidences of the existence of an Owner, that is, a Designer of the design in colours. Surely, Allah, Who possesses an infinitely superior wisdom and power of creation, creates all the colours and designs in the universe that man admires.

The stages of colour formation were briefly listed earlier. In this chapter, the superior design evident in colour will be examined under separate headings in accordance with the progression from light to eye and brain.

No one would claim that the fabric seen in the picture came there by coincidence, and has no designer. Similarly, it cannot be claimed that rainbows, butterflies, flowers, sea creatures, and clouds, in short, everything on earth has no designer. The designs of the colours and forms of all these things belong to Allah, Who creates without any preceding example.

1- Light, Life and Colour

The sun is only one of the billions of medium size stars in the universe. What makes the sun the most important star of the universe for us is its size, its relationship to the planets moving around it and the particular rays it emits. If just one of these characteristics of the sun were different from current values, there would be no life on earth. Indeed, the sun has the ideal values for life to originate and be maintained on earth.3 This is why scientists describe the sun as the "source of life" on earth.

Sunlight is the only source of heat, heating the earth in the most appropriate way, and light, helping plants with their photosynthesis. It is well known that heat and photosynthesis are essential for life. In addition, the existence of daylight and a colourful world depend on the rays emitted from the sun. In this case, the question of how these rays, the ultimate energy source for the earth, come into existence comes to mind. Surely, that these rays, which are the key to life on earth, serve such important purposes and, at the same time, have all the necessary characteristics for this, cannot be attributed to coincidence. The reason for this will be better understood when the structure of light is examined.

The wavelengths of the rays coming from space may be of very different types, ranging from radio waves, which have the longest wavelengths, to gamma rays, which have extremely short wavelengths.
A. gamma rays B. x rays C. ultraviolet	D. infrared rays E. radio waves

The energy emitted by the stars moves in waves through the void of space. Similarly, both light and heat are emitted by the sun, which is a star, as energy in the form of waves. The movement of this energy the stars emit can be compared to that of the waves caused by a stone thrown into a lake. Just as the waves in the lake have different lengths, so do heat and light have different wavelengths as they diffuse.

All the conditions essential for the existence of life on earth, directly or indirectly, depend on light coming from the sun. In the structure of sunrays, on the other hand, there is a design dependent on very delicate balances.

At this point, it would be useful to give some information about the different wavelengths of light in the universe. The stars and other light sources in the universe do not emit the same kinds of light. These different rays are classified according to their wavelengths and frequencies. These different wavelengths are spread over vast areas. For example, the shortest wavelength is 10²⁵ 1025 times smaller than the longest wavelength (10²⁵ is a very big number consisting of number 1 followed by 25 zeros)4

The arrangement within light astonishes scientists. Although too many rays come from space, sunrays, as seen in the schema above, are restricted to a very narrow interval. This is precisely the interval that is needed for life.
A.Gamma rays B. X rays C. Ultraviolet rays	D. Visible light E. Infrared rays F. Micro waves	G. Radio waves H. Sunlight a. Blue, b. Red

In the whole spectrum, the total rays emitted by the sun are squeezed into a very short interval. 70% of the different wavelengths the sun emits lie within a narrow interval ranging from 0.3 micron to 1.50 micron. (A micron is 10^-6m) Examining why sunrays are restricted to such a narrow interval, we come to an interesting conclusion: the rays that make life, and colour, possible on earth are only those present in this interval.

British physicist Ian Campbell, who defines this superior design as "incredibly astonishing" in his book "The Energy and the Atmosphere", draws attention to this point:

That the radiation from the sun (and from many sequence stars) should be concentrated into a minuscule band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which provides precisely the radiation required to maintain life on earth, is very coincidence. 5

The greater part of this small range of radiation emitted by the sun from the electromagnetic spectrum, a spectrum having a width where the longest wavelength is 10²⁵ times large than the shortest, is named "visible light". The rays that lie below and above this interval, on the other hand, reach the earth as infrared and ultraviolet rays. Let us now briefly examine the properties of these two kinds of rays.

Infrared rays reach the earth in the form of heat waves. Ultraviolet rays that contain higher energy, on the other hand, may have a damaging effect on living beings. Infrared rays pass through the atmosphere, and provide heat, which makes the earth a place suitable for life. Ultraviolet rays, on the other hand, can reach the earth only at a certain rate. If this rate were a little higher than its current level, it would harm the tissues of living beings and cause mass deaths, while if it were a little lower, then the energy needed for living beings would not be provided.

These points are details crucial for life. As understood from the functions and uses of the rays emitted by the sun, there is order and control in every existing system in the world. Surely, it is impossible for such a system, the delicate balances of which we briefly dwelled upon, to have been formed by coincidence. Examining another element of this flawless system, we once again see the impossibility of its coming into existence as a consequence of coincidence.

2- The shield protecting the earth: The Atmosphere

The layers of the atmosphere

1. 250 km 2. F2 Layer 3. F1 Layer 4. The Thermosphere 5. E Layer 6. The Mesosphere 7. The Mesospause 8. D Layer 9. The Stratopause 10. The Stratosphere 11. The Tropopause 12. The Troposphere

In previous pages, we mentioned that some of the sunrays are harmful for life on earth. In order to avert this harmful effect, a solution is needed.

Let us put our heads together and find a solution to this problem by developing an efficient system to filter sunrays. We should also take cognisance of the fact that this system should be a multifunctional one, which will protect the world from the harmful effects of the sun, ensuring that this is maintained permanently, not requiring maintenance, and also capable of preventing some other possible threats to the earth. Certainly, in such a situation, several alternative solutions will surface. Yet, nothing put forward will be as efficient and versatile as the present filter that now covers the earth: the atmosphere. The atmosphere of the earth is one hundred percent successful at filtering harmful rays and Allah specially designed it in order to protect the world.

By means of specific layers of the atmosphere, sunrays reach earth only in required amounts because the atmosphere processes the sunrays specifically according to their wavelengths. Our atmosphere is like a giant refining plant designed for filtering these rays. This gigantic refining system that has no equal on the earth has been carrying out these processes because of its special design. Allah draws attention to the creation of the skies as follows, (the Arabic word for 'heaven – sama' is also the word for 'sky'):

The creation of the heavens and earth is far greater than the creation of mankind. But most of mankind do not know it. (Surah Ghafir: 57)

The rays coming from the sun are quite specific. It is necessary for them to possess properties enabling them to pass through the atmosphere and reach the earth. Similarly, the atmosphere, too, has to have a special structure to allow these rays to pass through. Otherwise, neither the existence of the atmosphere nor the structural appropriateness of the rays will be of any use. Because of the ray-permeable nature of the atmosphere, the rays coming from the sun easily reach the earth.

1. White light	2. Prism
The material densities, that is, the densities of atoms in space and of the atmosphere are different from each other. For this reason, when light enters the atmosphere, it spreads out more and becomes diffuse because it hits more atoms. The eyes of living beings can see a colourful world only by perceiving these rays that come after being diffused, or in other words, weakened by the atmosphere. In outer space environment where there is no atmosphere, light is so strong as would harm the eyes. Apart from this, near infrared rays also spread out in the atmosphere and warm the earth.

There is another important point that needs mention. Whilst letting only visible light and the near infrared rays required for life pass through, the atmosphere prevents all other destructive rays from reaching earth. The atmosphere of the earth serves as a very important "filter" for the destructive rays coming from the sun or from non-sun sources, that is, from other zones in space.6 Michael Denton, a renowned astronomer, states this as follows:

Even the atmospheric gases themselves absorb electromagnetic radiation very strongly in those regions of the spectrum immediately on either side of the visible and near infrared. Note that the only region of the spectrum allowed to pass through the atmosphere over the entire range of electromagnetic radiation from radio to gamma rays is the exceedingly narrow band including the visible and near infrared. Virtually no gamma, X, ultraviolet, far-infrared, and microwave radiation reaches the surface of the earth.7

It is apparent that there is a highly developed design in the structure of the atmosphere. Out of a spectrum whose width is hinted at by this figure of 10²⁵, the sun emits only those rays that are useful to us and necessary for a colourful world, and the atmosphere mainly allows harmless and indeed useful rays to reach the earth. In addition, due to the properties of the gases present in the atmosphere, the eyes of living beings, which are directly exposed to sunlight, are protected against any harmful effects. All these are evidence that Allah has created everything in due proportion.

He to Whom the kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs. He does not have a son and He has no partner in the Kingdom. He created everything and determined it most exactly. (Surat al-Furqan: 2)

1.The Sun 2. Atmosphere	A. UVA short wave rays (Almost all of them pass through the atmosphere) B. UVB medium wave length rays (The atmosphere absorbs 70% of these rays) C. UVC short wave rays (The atmosphere keeps 100% of these rays)
The atmosphere lets only necessary rays reach the earth while reflecting other harmful rays back into space.

3- Light Striking Matter

Light coming from the sun reaches the earth at a speed of 300,000 km per second. Owing to the speed of light, we always see a world full of colour. How, then, is this uninterrupted image made?

Passing through the atmosphere at enormous speed, light reaches the earth and strikes objects. When light strikes an object at this speed, it interacts with the atoms of the object and reflects at different wavelengths corresponding to different colours. In this way, the book you are now holding, its lines, pictures, the view you see when you look outside, trees, buildings, cars, the sky, birds, cats, in short everything your eyes see, reflect their colours.

The molecules enabling these colours to be reflected are pigment molecules. That is, the colour reflected by an object depends on the pigment molecules present in that object. Every pigment molecule has different atomic structures. The atomic numbers as well as the types and the sequences of atoms in these molecules are different. Light hitting such diverse pigments is reflected in different shades of colour. However, this is not enough for the formation of colour. For reflected light possessing a certain colour quality to be perceived and seen, it has to reach a visual apparatus capable of perceiving it.

The rays coming from the sun consist of particles called "photons", which move in waves. When photons hit the electrons of the atoms making up physical objects on earth, the electrons emit light rays of particular wavelengths, which "correspond to certain colours". When sunlight falls on a leaf, for example, this means that the photons of light have hit the atoms of the pigment molecules existing on the surface of the leaf. On impact, the electrons of the leaf's atoms are activated. As a reaction, the atoms of the leaf emit photons. Thus, the photons representing "the colour" of the leaf begin to travel towards our eyes.

4- Light Coming to the Eye

For rays reflected by objects to be perceived as colour, it is necessary for them to reach the eye. The existence of the eye alone is not sufficient. After reaching the eye, the rays ought to be converted into nerve signals that reach a brain working in harmony with the eyes.

Let us think about our own eyes and brains as the closest example. The human eye is a very complex structure that consists of many different organelles and parts. As a result of the simultaneous and harmonious operation of all these parts, we see and perceive colours. The eye, with its tissues and organelles such as lachrymal glands, cornea, conjunctiva, iris and pupil, lens, retina, choroid, eye muscles and lids, is a matchless system. In addition, with its extraordinary nerve web that establishes its connection to the brain, and extremely complex vision area, the eye, as a whole, has a very special structure, the existence of which cannot be attributed to coincidence.

1. Retina 2. Choroid, Sclera 3. Eye 4. Retina 5.Fluid that fills Ganglion Cell the anterior chamber behind the cornea 6. Epithel Layer 7. Rod cavities	8. Rod cell 9. Cone cells 10. Flat Cell 11. Bipolar cell 12. Amacrine cell 13. Optic Nerve fibres 14. Ganglion Cell 15. Light rays
On the left, we see the connections between the nerve cells in the retina. The complex interconnections between the different layers of cells help the nerve cells to move together and interact with each other. On the right is a close-up of cone cells. While short cone cells help us to see the world as coloured, long rod cells help us to see shapes and movements.

After a short introduction to the eye, let us also look at how the event of seeing takes place. Light rays coming to the eye first pass through the cornea, then the pupil and lens, and finally reach the retina.

The perception of colour begins at the cone cells in the retina. There are three main cone cell groups that strongly react to certain colours of light. These are classified as blue, green and red cone cells. The colours red, blue and green, to which cone cells react, are the three primary colours existing in nature. With the stimulation of cone cells, which are sensitive to these three colours, at different degrees, millions of different colours appear.

The cone cells convert this information pertaining to colour into nerve impulses through the pigments they contain.8 Next, nerve cells connected to these cone cells transmit these nerve impulses to a specific area in the brain. The place where the multi-coloured world that we view throughout our lives is formed is this area in the brain measuring a few centimetre squares.

5- A Colourful World in Our Dark Brain

The final stage in the formation of colour takes place in the brain. As mentioned in the previous chapter, nerve cells in the eye convey the images converted into nerve impulses to the brain and everything we see in the outer world is perceived in the vision centre of the brain. At this point, we are confronted with an amazing fact: the brain is a piece of meat that is completely dark inside. Nerve impulses coming from images created on the retina by objects are deciphered in the brain, which is completely dark inside. Images of the objects, with their colours and all other properties, are formed as perceptions in this visual centre. How does this process of perception take place in such a piece of soft meat?

A lot of question marks remain as to how colours are perceived. Chromatists are still unable to answer those questions such as how nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain via optic nerves and what kind of physiological effects this creates in the brain.9 All they know is that the perception of colours as realities takes place within us, that is, in the centre of vision in our brain.10 (For detailed information, see the chapter The Secret Beyond Matter)

Everything we see in the outside world is perceived in the brain. Colourful flowers, birds, the sky, mountains, the people around us, in short, every single detail in the world is projected to us inside our brain. In fact, the brain is an entirely dark place. He Who enables us, in this dark place, to see, to feel, to touch, to hear, that is, to perceive all the details of the outside world, in short, makes us watch everything, is Allah, Who has created the whole universe. Allah has power over all things.

In fact, most of the processes carried out by the brain have not yet been elucidated. The explanations of the subject are largely based on theories. However, the brain has been fulfilling all its functions perfectly since the moment man came into existence, just as it does today. People's experiencing a three dimensional world, along with all its colours, designs, sounds, smells and tastes, in a piece of meat weighing nearly one kilogram is made possible only by the perfect creation of Allah. Everyone finds this matchless miracle of creation ready at birth. Man has no control whatsoever, neither in the formation of its functions, nor in their continuity, nor at any other stage.

Kuran’da Rabbimiz şöyle buyurmaktadır:

De ki: "Siz, Allah'ın dışında taptığınız ortaklarınızı gördünüz mü? Bana haber verin; yerden neyi yaratmışlardır? Ya da onların göklerde bir ortaklığı mı var? Yoksa Biz onlara bir kitap vermişiz de onlar bundan (dolayı) apaçık bir belge üzerinde midirler?" Hayır, zulmedenler, birbirlerine aldatmadan başkasını vadetmiyorlar.

Şüphesiz Allah, gökleri ve yeri zeval bulurlar diye (her an kudreti altında) tutuyor. Andolsun, eğer zeval bulacak olurlarsa, Kendisi'nden sonra artık kimse onları tutamaz. Doğrusu O, Halim’dir, bağışlayandır. (Fatır Suresi, 40-41)

Footnotes

3 F.Press, R. Siever, Earth, New York:W.H.Freeman, 1986, p.4

4 Ian M.Camplell, Energy and Atmosphere, London: Wiley, 1977, p.1-2

5 Enyclopedia Britannica, 1994, 15th ed. Cilt.18, p.203

6 Michael Denton, Nature's Destiny, p.55

7 Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, Sayı: 366, p.81

8 Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, Ekim 1986, p.6

9 Bilim Teknik Dergisi, Ekim 1986, p.6-9

Molecules that Produce Colour : Pigments

In previous chapters, we mentioned that because of the different atomic properties of the pigmentary molecules, objects reflect light rays differently; hence, different shades of colour are produced. Have another look around you. The different colours in your range of vision indicate the existence of a similar number of pigments, because the colour of everything we see in our surroundings depends on the pigments present in the composition of that matter. The green colour of plants, the colour of skin, the colours of animals, in short all colours stem from the structural characteristics of the pigments contained in those objects or living things.

What is Pigment?

Pigments, existing both in our eyes and in the outer surface of objects, are special molecules that bring about colour. A certain energy is needed for pigment molecules to be activated. Certainly, just as in all other stages in the formation of colour, there is again perfect harmony between pigments and light. "The invisible light" reaching the earth has been specially designed for the "pigment" molecules, which are known as colour molecules, in living things.

Moreover, human eyes also have a structure compatible to this purpose. The reason why the cone cells that lie in the retina of our eye perceive three main colours – red, green, and blue – is because of the special pigment molecules they contain. The most crucial task these pigments perform so that we see a coloured world is convert the energy of "colour" in light into nerve impulses. This means that everything we know as colour is an end-result of these pigments transmitting the wavelength of light reaching to them to the brain as nerve impulses.11

The reason for colour diversity in the leaves of flowers is the reaction to light of pigment molecules present in their structure.

The energy levels of visible light correspond to some of the energy levels needed for activating pigment molecules that are found in the skins of living beings, or in the scales, feathers, or furs covering their skins, and thus their colours are formed.

As seen, pigments, which are present both in the vision centres and in the bodies of living beings, are in perfect harmony with other bodily systems. Absence of a particular kind of pigment molecule or its presence in an amount less than required in the vision centre of a living being causes it to be unable to distinguish colours in its environment.

The question is: how do these special molecules develop in the skins of living beings? We can give an answer to this question by asking some further questions. Have living beings come to possess these colours by acknowledging the properties of a special light spectrum reaching the earth and choosing special pigment molecules accordingly? Certainly the possibility of the occurrence of such a coincidence is zero. These specific molecules have been placed in the skin of living beings by conscious design. It is obvious that neither could living beings carry out such a process, nor could random coincidence bring about such a formation. The harmony in question is one, which could only come about because of One Who Wills creating it, One Who keeps everything under control. Allah has created each living being with very sophisticated characteristics peculiar to it. Everything, animate or inanimate, has pigments suitable to it. Pigments absorb light selectively according to their molecular structure. Every pigment does not react to light in the same way. For this reason, it cannot set off the same chemical reaction and form the same colour.

We can give chlorophyll, the pigment molecule that causes plants to look green, as an example. These pigments absorb certain wavelengths coming from the sun and reflect light having the wavelength that corresponds to green colour. Chlorophylls, the pigment molecules in plants, reflect the photons that look green due to their wavelengths. At the same time, the energy they receive from sunlight enables the plants to produce carbohydrates, one of the prime food sources of all living beings.12 Different pigment molecules reflect particular colours at certain wavelengths according to their own molecular properties and hence cause different chemical reactions.

There are many kinds of pigments in nature. A few examples are sufficient to show that pigment molecules have been specially designed for life.

Examples of Pigment Types /Protective Colour Source: Melanin

The pigment chlorophyll existing in plants is dominant over other pigments. Therefore, plants look green.

The eyes of living beings are quite sensitive to light and are easily affected adversely. Still, we can safely look towards the sun and see our surroundings, thanks to the support systems Allah specially created. One of these support systems is a group of pigment molecules present in the eye.

As is well known, the colours of living beings' eyes vary. What give an eye its colours are, again, pigments. Melanin is one of these pigmentary substances present in the eye that gives the eye its colour. The same pigment also gives your skin and hair their colours. However, melanin provides more than colour. Researchers believe that melanin, which exists in the eye, offers both protection against the deleterious effects of sunrays, and vision enhancement. The substance melanin, nature's solution to the problem of hazardous light rays, absorbs higher energy light more strongly than lower energy light. So, it absorbs ultraviolet more strongly than blue, and blue more strongly than green.13 In this way, melanin provides protection to the lens of the eye against ultraviolet. It provides near optimum protection to the retina by filtering different colours in proportion to their ability to damage the tissue of the retina – thereby reducing the risks of macular degeneration. People with more eye-melanin have less occurrence of macular degeneration; people with less eye-melanin have greater occurrence of macular degeneration. About 15% of our original supply of melanin is lost from the eye by the age of forty and about 25% is lost by the age of fifty. The role melanin plays in eye protection is critical: ophthalmologists report that melanin in the eye reduces the risk of age-related macular degeneration.14

1. Blue reflected by pigment
Left: The light rays coming from the sun activate the pigments in the objects and therefore colours form. We may compare pigment molecules to sieves whose selectivity depends on the size of their pores. Just as in a sieve, the wavelengths which pigments select according to their structures – that means colours – vary.	Right: Blood contains colourful pigments carrying oxygen in the body. These colours vary among living beings. For instance, while the colour of the blood of cuttlefish is light blue or colourless, the blood pigments of other animals and human beings are red. The redness of the hen's crest and the redness of most shrimps are caused by blood pigments.

As understood, each one of the functions of the substance melanin demonstrates to us the special design of this substance. The answer to the question of how such a perfect substance has come about is that it is impossible for such a multifunctional substance with such a perfect structure to have come into being by coincidence. Allah has created the substance melanin, like all other things in the universe, in a special way as to serve a beneficial purpose for people.

The big red eyes of the frog send warning signals to its predators. The reptile's eyes seen above have a colour that does not offset the camouflaging of the reptile. The eye of the owl on the right has a colour exclusive to its kind.

The Source of Lively Colours

The sources of the lively colours present in the beaks of toucans are also pigmentary molecules.

Carotenoids (and lipochromes) are pigmentary molecules, which are synthesised by plants and which reflect the colours yellow, red and orange. Animals can obtain these pigments only by feeding on plants.

Poisonous sponges, crinoidea, toxic sea-cucumbers and some molluscs are either partly or completely yellow, red or orange in colour as a result of carotenoids, which are also present in the yellow parts of butterflies' wings and in the beaks of birds. In certain insects, these are emitted by special glands, which are yellow or red in colour. Curiously, these compounds are usually pale green or even colourless and only take on a bright yellow colour in the blood of poisonous insects. The carotenoids are not only useful as warning coloration; in some insects they are themselves transformed into poisonous compounds, in which case they serve a twofold purpose of being both a weapon and a signal.15 By means of this very special system that Allah has created, many living beings continue to thrive.

Thus far, we have briefly examined only a few types of pigment existing in nature. The conclusion we have reached in light of this review is the presence of the perfect design that reveals itself in pigments, in the atoms forming these pigments and in all the resulting colours. Allah, the ultimate Owner of this exceptional design, Lord of the worlds, introduces Himself to us by the unique artistry in the colours He creates in nature.

Have they not travelled about the earth and do they not have hearts to understand with or ears to hear with? It is not their eyes which are blind but the hearts in their breasts which are blind (Surat al-Hajj: 46)

Footnotes

10. Franklyn Branley, Color, From Rainbows to Lasers, Thomas Y. Crowell Comp., New York, p.23-28

11. Solomon, Berg, Martin, Villie, Biology, Saunders College Publishing, 1993, p.192-193

12. Temel Britannica Ansiklopedisi, Cilt 7, p.16

13. http://www.netxpress.com/~ppt/story.htm

14. http://www.netxpress.com/~ppt/story.htm

15. Marco Ferrari, Colors for Survival, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1992, p.110