ISLAM

PLACE : Mecca

DATE : 615

NAME : The Holy Quran, Surah Yasin, verse 80

NEWS : He who kindles for you a fire from the green tree, and you kindle from it.

SCIENCE

PLACE : England

DATE : 1774

NAME: Joseph Priestley

NEWS: Discovery of oxygen

Oxygen is a gaseous element necessary for the continuity of life. It has a vital importance for respiration and also has the property of being combustible for the burning of materials such as gas, coal, wood, etc. It is consumed by burning for the purpose of respiration of living beings and ignition of materials. The journey of the oxygen we take into our lungs begins with its continuous transport to all cells in the body via red blood cells. It also burns food to provide the heat necessary for the functioning of the human body. Therefore, no living thing can exist without oxygen. It combines with carbon found in food and is expelled through respiration, forming carbon dioxide.

After Joseph Priestley scientifically discovered oxygen in 1774, the importance of this gas took on a different dimension in 1781 when French chemist Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier^[210] discovered that oxygen is a substance that directly affects combustion. Even if a substance is combustible, it will not burn if there is no oxygen in the environment.

Therefore, if you cover a burning substance with something that does not allow air to enter, you will see that the fire inside will go out after a certain period of time. The fire will end and go out when the oxygen inside is burned up. The Quran informed us of this information 1,159 years ago with the verse, “He who kindles for you a fire from the green tree, and you kindle from it.” It informs us of the formation of fire from green trees and the source of the oxygen produced, which is green trees, thus informing us of the process of photosynthesis. This is because the source of oxygen is obtained from the process of photosynthesis, and photosynthesis is performed by plants, mostly trees. Plants produce their food through chlorophyll in their leaves in the presence of sunlight. The collected sunlight is converted into chemical energy, stored, and used as fuel for the plant’s growth and development. With this light energy it receives from the Sun, the plant uses carbon dioxide and water to obtain glucose^[211], a nutrient rich in content. This entire chemical process of obtaining nutrients is called photosynthesis. The most efficient time for plants to benefit from sunlight is in the early morning. The verse that draws attention to the existence of photosynthesis is as follows.

Allah (swt) says:

And when he begins to breathe in the morning.^[212]

[210] (b. 1743 – d.1794)

[211] Sugar

[212] Surah Al-Takwir, Verse 18