إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا سَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًا كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُمْ بَدَّلْنَاهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
(As for) those who disbelieve in Our communications, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise. [4-56]
M Shakir’s Quran Translation
Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.
Yusuf Ali’s Quran Translation
Lo! Those who disbelieve Our revelations, We shall expose them to the Fire. As often as their skins are consumed We shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment. Lo! Allah is ever Mighty, Wise
Pickthall’s Quran Translation
Surely those who disbelieve in Our signs — We shall certainly roast them at a Fire; as often as their skins are wholly burned, We shall give them in exchange other skins, that they may taste the chastisement. Surely God is All-mighty, All-wise.
Arberry’s Quran Translation
Pain receptors in skin
This verse indicates that there is something in the skin which makes us feel pain. This is exactly what modern science tells us i.e. pain receptors are responsible for feeling pain. It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was dependent only on the brain. Recent discoveries however prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin, without which a person would not be able to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand, if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed.
Prof. Tegatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, has spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Qur’an mentioned this scientific fact 1,400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Qur’anic verse. Prof. Tegatat Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Quranic verse, that at the 8th Saudi Medical Conference held in Riyadh on the Scientific Signs of Qur’an and Sunnah, he proudly proclaimed in public: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) is His Messenger.”
The sensation of pain results from communication between nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, and elsewhere in the body. When a person experiences an injury, such as a stubbed toe, specialized cells called nociceptors (another name for pain receptors) sense potential tissue damage (1) and send an electric signal, called an impulse, to the spinal cord via a sensory nerve (2). A specialized region of the spinal cord known as the dorsal horn (3) processes the pain signal, immediately sending another impulse back down the leg via a motor nerve (4). This causes the muscles in the leg to contract and pull the toe away from the source of injury (6). At the same time, the dorsal horn sends another impulse up the spinal cord to the brain. During this trip, the impulse travels between nerve cells. When the impulse reaches a nerve ending (7), the nerve releases chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, which carry the message to the adjacent nerve. When the impulse reaches the brain (8), it is analyzed and processed as an unpleasant physical and emotional sensation.
Types of burns
The Ayat under discussion mentions the burning of the skin. The severity of a burn depends on its depth, its extent, and the age of the victim. Burns are classified by depth as first, second, and third degree. First-degree burns cause redness and pain (e.g., sunburn). Second-degree burns are marked by blisters (e.g., scald by hot liquid). In third-degree burns, both the epidermis and dermis (external and internal parts of the skin) are destroyed, and underlying tissue may also be damaged. Further burn in the skin would damage the pain receptors and hence the person would not feel pain.
Word Analysis:
Quran rightly mentions this ‘extreme’ stage for the change of skin. The Arabic word used is نضجت which indicates the burning to the extreme stage. Ibn e Faris says that its basic meaning includes burning something to the last stage.
Hence, not only the Quran told humans that sensation is due to the pain receptors of the skin, Quran also describes accurately the type of burn that kills the pain receptors.
See the complete list of Scientific Miracles in Surah An Nisa here
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