Random Thought: Nations & Tribes
// July 3rd, 2008 // 11 Comments » // Blog
Hearing the news that one could cut the risk of cancer by 12%, just by adopting a couple of elements of the Mediterranean diet, immediately brought to mind a Qur'anic verse that many Muslims are familiar with, in which God promotes the benefits of human diversity:
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allāh is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allāh has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). [Quran Al-Hujraat, Chapter #49, Verse #13]
The comparison of different cultures and environments is a key part of clinical study into the cause of disease – it's not all about the genes y'know. Imagine, if we didn't have Greeks, Japanese, and Scots, we wouldn't know that olive oil consumption may reduce your risk of cancer, eating small, light meals may increase your longevity, and devouring deep-fried Mars bars (as well as consuming copious amounts of alcohol and smoking your weight in cigarettes) contributes to heart disease and the general break down of your vital organs.
Truly, there is hikmah (wisdom) in all of God's creation.
