İKİNCİ FEN · DÖRDÜNCÜ BAB · BİRİNCİ FASIL · İkinci Madde
Second Article
It describes the reciprocal nerves (pairs of cranial nerves) emanating from the brain.
O esteemed one! Know that anatomists have said: All the nerves emerging from the brain are known to be seven pairs. The first pair is located within the ventricle at the front of the brain, near the protuberances resembling nipples which are the center of the sense of smell. This ventricle is a small cavity. The nerve coming from the left side goes to the right, and the one coming from the right goes to the left, meeting and intersecting like a cross. Then they bend, with the nerve coming from the right going to the right eye, and the nerve coming from the left going to the left eye. Their openings have been created wide in order to encompass the lens of the eye, called Zucâciya. This reciprocal intersection (cross-optic) has three benefits. The first is that whatever object flows towards one eye should also flow towards the other. Should harm befall one eye, the other may take its place. Therefore, when one eye closes, the sight of the other strengthens, because the light from the closed eye flows to it. The second benefit is that the two eyes grasp together, and their vision becomes a form of seeing within the intersection. Thus, whatever is seen should be shaped as a single object in a common boundary. Therefore, a person who is cross-eyed sees an object twice, because one eye has shifted upwards and the other downwards, losing the property of penetrating towards the intersection of what is looked at with the eyes. A second boundary has been created from the severance of the nerve on the front side of the common boundary. The third benefit is that the aforementioned two nerves support and strengthen each other, and through this approach their points of origin become close to the eye.
The second pair of cranial nerves emerges from behind the location where the first pair described above exits, and comes out through the opening of the cavity surrounding the eye, dividing into the muscles of the pupil. [581] This pair of nerves is quite thick, so that its thickness may assist in softness near the starting point, allowing it to gain strength and be capable of moving the cranial pairs.
Since explaining the ten layers of cranial nerves in detail would take a long time, and even this brief explanation we have given is sufficient to demonstrate the perfection of Allah’s power, there is no need to elaborate on the muscles.
We praise Him – the Creator (Hâlik) who brings things from nothingness, the Maker (Bârî) who creates limbs in harmony with each other, suitable and related to the general order and purposes of the universe, the Shaper (Musavvir) who gives beauty and form to everything, and He alone possesses all power and strength (Kâdir) – may He be glorified, free from all imperfection. Nothing resembles Him. He is the truly Hearing and Seeing. What a beautiful Master and what a beautiful Helper He is. O Lord! We hope that You will forgive us, for our return is to You alone. All power and strength belong to Allah, the Exalted.