The Great Question

I learned something interesting.

The odds of you reading this post today is something around 1 in 300 million. But you can, for the ‘simple’ reason that you are alive today.

You might have heard this before but it doesn’t hurt to hear it again. In a single ejaculation, a man can release up to 300 million sperm cells in a single ejaculation. When you include the odds of the timing, the fertility of the woman, e.t.c, there are so many thousand million odds that it is almost improbable that you been born.

But here you are, reading this.

To the womb, asides from the fact that a foetus is covered in darkness till the day he is born, I learned something interesting.

The word for womb in Arabic is “Raham”. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Raham is derived from two attributes of God which describe his mercy, Ar-Rahman, and Ar-Rahim.

Abu Huraira, a noble companion, reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The womb is derived from the Merciful…” (Sahih Bukhari 5642)

Now a baby is there in the womb, unable to fully comprehend what life feels like outside the womb, except the few senses they have, like sound. But regularly the foetus gets sustenance.

I think all of mankind’s existence can be explained in the phenomenon that is pregnancy.

Take a moment to think about all the ‘odds’ that made you here today, as you are. Really, think.

Think about the sustenance you get every moment that goes unnoticed. Like how your eyes don’t shut down as you read this, or how your fingers don’t get paralysed as you scroll.

Put one hand to your chest as you read this. Feel your heart beat. Realise that for every heartbeat, someone’s heart is beating for an agonising last time.

Like the baby who doesn’t realise the amount of work the womb puts into making him see light, we fail to see the amount of work that keeps us.

This brings us to the Great Question; “So which of the favours of you Lord would you deny?” (Surah Rahman)

Make gratitude a habit.

The mistakes are mine and Allah knows best.