Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has created the human body in a perfect form and we all are witness to this fact. The nose is perfect where it is in the center of the face enhancing the beauty in the symmetrical two eyes artistically shaped. The cheek bones highlight the shape of each person’s face while the eyebrows just add the touch of color and art. SubhanAllah! When Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says in the Qur’an:
الَّذِي خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ
“Who created you, proportioned you, and balanced you?”
[Surah Al-Infitar:7]
And it is also mentioned in the Qur’an:
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
“We have certainly created man in the best of stature;”
[Surah At-Teen: 4]
Observing ourselves and our form including the complexed mind that Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has created for humans, we only come to one conclusion:
فَتَبٰرَكَ اللّٰهُ اَحْسَنُ الْخٰلِقِيْنَ
“So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.”
[Al-Muminun:14]
Hence, each bone and muscle that Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has placed within a human body has a function. Each body part, whether big or small has a role. And usually, we do not value the part until it begins to hurt or has been strained in some ways or the other.
Similarly, there is a tiny bone in our body, yet has one of the greatest roles. It is the coccyx bone widely knows as the Tailbone.
The Coccyx Bone (The Tailbone)
What is the tailbone/coccyx? Your coccyx is made up of three to five fused vertebrae (bones). It lies beneath the sacrum, a bone structure at the base of your spine. Several tendons, muscles and ligaments connect to it.
The coccyx is the triangular bony structure located at the bottom of the vertebral column. It is composed of three to five bony segments held in place by joints and ligaments. Despite its small size, the coccyx has several important functions. Along with being the insertion site for multiple muscles, ligaments, and tendons, it hat provides weight-bearing support to a person in the seated position. This is the sitting bone
My Reflection
Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) invites us to constantly reflect on the world around us. Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) invites us to reflect within ourselves:
أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ
“Do they not contemplate within themselves?”
[Ar-Rum: 8]
وَفِيْٓ اَنْفُسِكُمْ ۭ اَفَلَا تُبْصِرُوْنَ
And in yourselves. Then will you not see?
[Ad-Dariya:21]
What led me to thinking so much about the tailbone and reflecting was when mine suffered a strain from picking up a heavy water refill container. It was only a few days later the tiny bone and back froze up and I realized that there was a slight injury. The injury was slight and not even anything to have come on an x-ray, but the impact was great. I was unable to stand and nor walk as a result. I was in excruciating pain. I realized; It is this tiny bone that carries our weight and allows us the mobility. SubhanAllah!
But more than the walk, I was unable to sit down on the floor. My salah got affected and I thought to myself – it is this tiny piece of bone that Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has placed in our body that allows us to sit and do the sajdah. It is this that allows us the jalsa. It is this that allows us the ruku. Oh how I missed my salah! How I missed being closest to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) with the sajdah. In a hadith we learn:
أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ فَأَكْثِرُوا الدُّعَاءَ
Abu Huraira (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, him, said, “The servant is closest to his Lord during prostration, so increase your supplications therein.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 482)
My heart suddenly reached out in dua for all those who have lifelong back bone medical conditions that prevent them from doing the sajdah because they have to sit on a chair and pray or otherwise.
Then I reflected deeper and thought about how those who did not pray in the duniya would not be able to bow down in sajdah because their bones would not allow them to bend. I cried even more. Oh Allah, please do not make me amongst those who are unable to do sujud because they chose not to do it in the duniya. Aameen.
Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says in the Qur’an:
يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَخَاشِعَةً أَبْصَارُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ وَقَدْ كَانُوا يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَالِمُونَ
“The Day the shin will be uncovered and they are invited to prostration but the disbelievers will not be able, Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. And they used to be invited to prostration while they were sound.”
[Al-Qalam: 42-43]
This verse has been further explained by a hadith:
Narrated Abu Sa`id (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ):
I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying, “Our Lord Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) will lay bare His Shin, and then all the Believers, men and women, will prostrate themselves before Him, but there will remain those who used to prostrate in the world for showing off and for gaining good reputation. Such people will try to prostrate (on the Day of Judgment) but their back swill be as stiff as if it is one bone (a single vertebra).
(Sahih al-Bukhari 4919)
Coccyx has been mentioned in a hadith:
We learn in a hadith the importance of this tiny bone. It does not decay in the grave and it is this with which Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) has chosen to recreate us with on the Day of Judgement.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
‘What is between the two Trumpet-blasts will be forty.’ Somebody asked, ‘Forty days?’ But I could not answer. Then he asked, ‘Forty months?’ But I could not answer. Then he asked, ‘Forty years?’ But I could not answer.” Abu Hurayrah added, “Then (after this period) Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) will send water from the sky and then the dead bodies will grow like vegetation grows. There is nothing of the human body that does not decay except one bone; that is the little bone at the end of the coccyx from which the human body will be recreated on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4651; Muslim, 2955).
All of the above insight brought me even more closer to my Rabb. It made me even more grateful for the tiniest bone in my body as well as made me realize the importance of health as a blessing. May Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) heal all those who need healing so they are able to worship Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ). Aameen
