[The following quotes have been taken from Nahjul Balagha(sermon 234) and here is what I think of them]
"In the very origin of human body lies the causes of these differences or similarities in dispositions and features. It is like the quality of soil in which trees take root".
This statement is not ordinary although 1400 years ago it was. As we ponder on the statement we will see that this statement confirms what modern genetics says about the differences of our features. According to modern genetics, physical traits are a part of genetic information we inherit from our ancestors and this information is stored in our genes inside the DNA - which is the main constituent and 'origin' of our body. Other personality traits such as aggressiveness, intelligence, shyness,etc. are also part of our inheritance as a result of the combination of the genes which we receive from our parents.
He a.s says: "Those who are offshoots of similar dispositions and physical characteristics bear similarity in features and habits".
Although, environment plays a great role in who we are and what we are, yet initially we receive these tendencies from our genes. And I believe that in the long-run, the effects of environment are also printed on the DNA and thus, the causes of our personality traits lie in the basic source of our physical existence which is called the 'DNA'.
Now, DNA comprises mainly of sugars, phosphates and nitrogenous bases which means hydrogen, carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen and oxygen are the crucial elements required to form DNA. All of these elements are also found in soil. The structural formation and minute differences in the order and presence of these chemicals inside the DNA is responsible for the differences in our physical traits, as well as other characteristics. This is the point Imam Ali a.s has explained through the example of soil, he says that it is the quality of soil which determines what grows in it.
He says:
"There is a saline soil, then there is the most fertile soil, there is the hard and rugged land and sandy regions and also very soft soil".
We know that all kinds of fruits and plants may not be grown in just one type of sand. Depending upon the differences in the constituents of soil, a soil is able or unable to produce a certain type of plant. Similar is the case with DNA, but its just a more complex process.
Just like it can be found out from which region a certain sample of soil belongs, it can also be found out from which region of the world someone's DNA belong.
In a DNA, information regarding the person is encoded in the form of a specific sequence of chemical bases, depending upon very minute differences in these sequences, a person has a distinguished set of characteristics from other people. DNA of Asian people will have something in common. DNA of Africans or Americans will have something in common too. This tells us that a certain kind of DNA yields a certain kind of person, just like a certain kind of soil yields a certain kind of plant.
The interesting thing to note here is that a plant does not completely depend upon the kind of soil for its growth, it also depends upon a particular climate and temperature. Similarly, a person is not totally dependent upon his genes for who he is, environment plays a vital role in shaping the habits and dispositions of a human.
He says:
"There is a saline soil, then there is the most fertile soil, there is the hard and rugged land and sandy regions and also very soft soil".
We know that all kinds of fruits and plants may not be grown in just one type of sand. Depending upon the differences in the constituents of soil, a soil is able or unable to produce a certain type of plant. Similar is the case with DNA, but its just a more complex process.
Just like it can be found out from which region a certain sample of soil belongs, it can also be found out from which region of the world someone's DNA belong.
In a DNA, information regarding the person is encoded in the form of a specific sequence of chemical bases, depending upon very minute differences in these sequences, a person has a distinguished set of characteristics from other people. DNA of Asian people will have something in common. DNA of Africans or Americans will have something in common too. This tells us that a certain kind of DNA yields a certain kind of person, just like a certain kind of soil yields a certain kind of plant.
The interesting thing to note here is that a plant does not completely depend upon the kind of soil for its growth, it also depends upon a particular climate and temperature. Similarly, a person is not totally dependent upon his genes for who he is, environment plays a vital role in shaping the habits and dispositions of a human.
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