Question 39: Why do toenails grow? Would it not have been better if they had not grown?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Answer: Nothing remains constant in our environment. Everything undergoes change all the time. Spring comes. Then, it is replaced by summer. After that, fall and winter come. One of the many reasons of it is the fact that Allah shows and reminds people of His activities and deeds in the universe. Allah replaces the winter structure of the tree with a spring dress. Thus, we are asked to know the hand of Allah behind this event.

While attention is drawn to changes in the environment in every season, people are asked to see the changes in their own bodies too. Growth of the nails should be one of those signs. What we can say about the growth of the nails here are perhaps some of the reasons Allah aims to show us. For, if there is one aspect related to humans in the creation of things, there are thousands of aspects related to Allah.

The first thing that comes to mind about the growing of the nails is that man feels the change in his own body and is reminded that his organs are renewed all the time and that he is always under the control of a creator who has power over everything. It is possible for the elements that make up the nail to form nail-like structures in the heart, eye, stomach, intestines, or inside the blood vessels. We must look at this and thank Allah that He does not create nails inside the blood vessels, or make these nails grow backwards, that is, into the foot.

If the human body was not under the control of Allah, but in the hands of coincidences as the atheist evolutionists claim, everything would be chaotic; nails could grow in the mouth and teeth could emerge in the place of nails. In this respect, we cannot thank and praise Allah enough. The most comprehensive thanking is prayer (salah).

Thus, Allah wants us to see the changes in our bodies, to know that all that is done in our bodies is necessary for the continuation of our lives and that Allah loves us very much and thinks about us more than we do.

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