From The Glimpses of The Miraculous Nature of The Unseen
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (62)
The Quranic reference to Allah Almighty teaching our father Adam, peace be upon him, all the names—meaning the names of all things with their designations—remains a glimpse of the miraculous prophetic information that, had our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, not informed us of it, humanity would have had no way to reach such knowledge. Non-Muslim opinions on the origin of language have varied significantly, as exemplified by the previously mentioned book by Michael Corballis, among many others.
Allah created our parents, Adam and Eve, peace be upon them, with a tongue in each of their mouths, and He provided each of them with a larynx, a number of vocal cords, lips, two rows of teeth, and lungs. These are the essential components for speech, which are activated by the brain and the nervous system, coordinating their movements during conversation so that letters and words are articulated clearly and distinctly. Rational reasoning dictates that Allah Almighty would not have equipped our parents, Adam and Eve, with such a sophisticated apparatus for speech only to leave them mute, without a language to communicate, relying solely on gestures as a means of understanding one another.
It is also noteworthy that the human tongue consists of seventeen branching muscles throughout its entirety—eight of which are paired muscles, one being singular. These muscles are interspersed and surrounded by various specialized cells and tissues, including fatty and lymphatic tissues, as well as numerous salivary glands that keep the tongue constantly moist. All of this is covered by a thin mucous membrane. Based on this highly flexible structure, a person can move their tongue in all directions with great agility. Furthermore, the muscles and tissues of the tongue are connected to the lower jaw via a bilobed bone that governs its movement without hindrance.
As for the lips, which complete the beauty, sensation, and ability to articulate speech in the human face, they are rich in blood vessels that branch densely within the mucous membranes forming them, giving them a reddish color. There is a concentrated bundle of muscles surrounding the lips, which constitutes one of the complex muscle groups aiding in speech and defining facial expressions. The lips play an important role in human articulation; when speaking, the vocal cords come together, vibrating due to the flow of air during exhalation. Additionally, both the tongue and the lips, along with the teeth, move to enable clear speech.
Similarly, the divine creative power has designed both the nose and the mouth in humans to provide all the specifications necessary for producing sound. As words begin to flow smoothly from the mouth, the tongue adjusts its position, moving closer to and farther from the roof of the mouth at specific distances. The lips either constrict or expand, and many muscles engage rapidly during these processes to achieve articulation. Without this intricate design of the speech apparatus, humans would be incapable of speaking at all. It is from this understanding that the Creator, The Evolver, The Flawless Shaper bestows His favor upon humanity, as stated in His words: {Have We not made for him two eyes? (8) And a tongue and two lips? (9) And have shown him the two ways? (10)} [Al-Balad: 8-10].
Is it conceivable for a rational person to imagine the creation of the complex speech apparatus in humans without the will and design of Allah?
Is it possible that Allah Almighty would endow humans with all of this and not teach them a language to recognize the names of things?
And from here comes the Quranic verse: {And He taught Adam the names - all of them.} [Al-Baqarah: 31].
A true scientific miracle, as well as a prophetic revelation, testifies that the Quran cannot be a product of human fabrication; rather, it is the word of Allah, The Creator, which He revealed with His knowledge to the last of His prophets and messengers. He has preserved it by His covenant, maintaining it in the very language of its revelation—the Arabic language—without a single addition or omission over the course of fourteen centuries or more. Allah Almighty has committed to this preservation absolutely until He wills otherwise, ensuring that the Holy Quran remains Allah's definitive proof to all of creation until the Day of Judgment.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 470-473.
- From the verses of prophetic and historical miracles, Al-Najjar, 1/95.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
