Section Al-Furqan – Part 31

We will investigate the next few verses of Section Al-Furqan of the Qur’an. We last studied the verse which asked us to reflect on the creation of night and sleep that was likened to a sign of resurrection. How are we waking up after sleep? We must reflect on this to see that it is a beautiful deliberate arrangement along with the arrangement of the whole universe including the sun, moon, clouds, winds, etc. The following verse continues to mention the arrangement of things so that we may see as to what they signify for us in our living. 

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ بُشْرًۢا بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِۦ ۚ وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ طَهُورًۭا

25:48 And it is He who sends forth the winds, bringing the good news of His mercy. And We send down from the sky pure cleansing water.

The Qur’an has a principle of telling us events that are happening in the world that are known to us. We should ask ourselves: why is God telling me this which I already know from observation of the universe? For example, we see that on a windy day, the clouds move, the leaves rustle, based on the force of the wind, things scatter. With heavy clouds water comes down. The purpose of the Qur’an in mentioning all this is that although I am familiar with these events happening in front of me, do I ever think of how they are happening in a purposeful way? Have I ever contemplated on who is creating living beings from lifeless things on this dead earth together with dead water? How are they getting amazing qualities out of dead material? 

Although we may pray to God, fulfill our religious obligations and understand that things cannot exist accidentally, it is because of our familiarity with events that we may not think of the wisdom, mercy and purpose of their existence. For example, when it is windy, I should ask myself, “do I remember the message in it?” Have I ever thought of it as good news of His Mercy? We may call ourselves believers, but we don’t really reflect on the existence of these things, the wisdom in the way they come into existence, and the message in their existence. How are we going to expect to explain this to those who don’t believe in a Creator, saying that things exist in a natural way. 

The Qur’an is not expected to tell us things that are already known to us, things that we can discover and learn by studying the universe: “Oh, I did not know this, now I learnt about this after studying the universe.” What is the point of the Qur’an then? For many centuries we have been studying and uncovering many things that were not known before. Unbelievable things are happening that still need to be discovered from the way the universe is created. What am I going to do by only discovering the things happening in creation when I don’t get the meaning in their existence? In the verse above, the Qur’an is giving the example to look at the meaning in the creation of wind that we experience: “As the wind blows, we see the movement of the clouds bringing good news of His mercy.” The One who is creating this order of the universe is the One who sends the water down. The purpose of the Qur’an mentioning things I observe physically is to teach me their meaning and convey the message of the Creator, introducing Himself to me. 

As human beings, particularly as farmers, one would take rain as good news since with the rain the plants grow, and we will get plenty of produce. That is the demonstration of mercy for our bodily needs. We appreciate things first in terms of our bodily needs. In our practical life, we get excited about anything that brings comfort to our living. However, the Qur’an’s purpose is not only for bodily benefit but through the bodily benefit, I get connected with the Creator of the universe, the One who is Merciful. I must see the mercy in the creation of water so that I can see real Mercy reflecting on every being. Who is sending rain, consciously arranging it perfectly? All the events known as gravity, air pressure, temperature change, wind, evaporation of water, condensation, etc. are all perfectly created in an orderly manner, mercifully arranged with endless benefits.  Whoever creates the universe, does He have to create? Everything is freely created out of His Mercy.

The Qur’an mentions specific things to get our attention. For example, the verse where God swears by the Fig and the Olive. In a way, the Creator of the universe is telling me to please consider this evidence that is created for me. The fig has hundreds of seeds in it whereas each olive has one seed in it. Sometimes He creates an olive with one seed, sometimes He creates hundreds of seeds within His creation such as a fig. Each seed promises that it can be a tree to guarantee multiple figs and olives. We experience one Sun, but many stars as He creates. When I consider the creation of the Sun, I can understand the same qualities are manifested in the creation of innumerable stars. The Qur’an draws our attention to the sun, showing us that other stars are like it, inviting us to reflect on the magnificence of His creation. Similarly, the moon serves as a representative of all the planets in the sky. They all act as evidence of the Creator when I reflect on them. Humans swear by God about His creation whereas, God does the opposite of swearing by His creation as witness such as the fig, the sun, the star, the mountain, etc. Each being mentioned has a different aspect of the quality of God which we must reflect on. Unfortunately, when it comes to religious matters, we don’t pay attention to creation rather isolate the study of religion with the Qur’an and hadith narrations of the prophet (pbuh). We must combine the universe along with the Qur’an and hadith narrations to understand the beauty of the message of God. Although the Qur’an repeatedly refers to the beings in the universe, we often read it without connecting its message to the universe. All three elements must be equally admired as they are each wonderful. There is a parallel between the infinite side of the meaning in creation and in the infinite meaning in the message of the Revelation of the Qur’an. They support each other in an amazing way. 

Water has a special meaning in the Qur’an whose creation is unlike the sun and atmosphere which we always experience daily. Rain, snow, hail, and flurries are occasionally experienced. When water is created, life is also created. So, the coming down of the rain is important, the coming down of water from the sky is mentioned many times in the Qur’an. There is a verse in the Qur’an that mentions that God’s throne is on water (11:7) which means that all the qualities that He has is demonstrated in water. All those qualities together come down through water, i.e. they reflect on water to demonstrate to us the infinite qualities of my Creator. Millions of creatures are created, each perfectly functioning where each one is enough evidence to see the infinite qualities of its Creator.

Winds, clouds, temperature changes, gravity, pressure, and rain or snow are arranged to send not only water but pure distilled water. We dirty things up and water is used to clean things where God cleans with pure cleansing water, “مَآءًۭ طَهُورًۭا” out of His infinite wisdom. There is a “hadith” narration of the Prophet (pbuh) describing that each droplet of rain is carried by an angel, signifying the meaning that each droplet carries in their existence, in a way saying that “you are going to see the infinite qualities of your Creator through this water”. The prophet (pbuh) here speaks in a figurative way beautifully describing that the angelic side of creation proclaims the qualities of their Creator just like each droplet of water declares the qualities of their Creator.

Everything in the universe is so perfectly interconnected with each other and infinitely dependent on each other. What a wonderful demonstration of God’s Mercy that He introduces Himself to us. One can only fall into prostration to the manifestations witnessed in the universe. The Qur’an is calling us to pay attention to the creation of everything in the universe.

لِّنُحْـِۧىَ بِهِۦ بَلْدَةًۭ مَّيْتًۭا وَنُسْقِيَهُۥ مِمَّا خَلَقْنَآ أَنْعَـٰمًۭا وَأَنَاسِىَّ كَثِيرًۭا 

25:49 so that We can revive a dead land with it, and We give it as a drink to many animals and people We have created.

The evidence is provided within the universe for us to examine. I don’t have to study biology, chemistry or astronomy as this is experienced by everyone easily. For example, from lifeless land, lifeless water, lifeless sunlight, He creates living beings. I observe that things are created within an order. My question should be: How come out of lifeless things, living beings are created? I must think about this, realize that things are created for a purpose. This relates to the previous verses we studied before where the point was about confirming belief in Resurrection. The earlier verses started with belief in God and then moved to the belief in Resurrection.

The Qur’an mentions: “وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ” (16:18) translated as “If you tried to count God’s blessings, you could never take them all in.” The Qur’an is asking us to pay attention to events happening, anytime plants and animals as well as humans drink water, I must see them as the evidence to His blessings.

Why does the Qur’an not say, “to grow plants” but it uses the phrase “لِّنُحْـِۧىَ”, translated as “we revive a dead land”? The reviving of dead land is a significant experience to witness, which is also the sign of Resurrection once I question how it is arranged so perfectly.

The phrase “أَنَاسِىَّ” is the another plural form of “ٱلْإِنسَـا۟نِ-  أُنَاسٌ” but this kind of plural form has the meaning of closeness, sympathy and loving relationship. For example, a child would use “daddy, mommy” to address their parents in a loving way. The plural form of “أَنَاسِىَّ” is in a way saying, “my dear lovely human being, you are my ultimate aim in creating this universe as you are the one who can understand, comprehend all of the details of the universe, what they refer to. You can communicate with every layer of creation through endless layers of your feelings. That is the purpose of My creating the universe for each human being”.

Do we see any sign in this language of the Qur’an referring to its method of education to human beings for the purpose of their existence and the purpose of the Qur’an? The Qur’an invites us: “human beings, be careful. I have not created the universe only for your bodily needs but also for your spiritual needs.” Look at the universe, the sky, the clouds, the mountains, the trees, insects, etc. As a human being, I am connected and communicating with the whole universe. I can speak to the sun, the stars, the inanimate beings as well which are all created for me. There is a beautiful example in the teachings of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) educating the Bedouin, who did not attend any educational institution like us, in his saying: “We love the mount Uhud and the mount Uhud loves us”. The latter part of the phrase mentioning that the mountain loves us sounds very strange. For a materialist minded person, it is a crazy language whereas for a believer it has deep meaning. The angelic side of inanimate created beings also are carrying the message, communicating with humans, bringing them good news about their Creator. The mountain is perfectly arranged to provide many benefits to us which we don’t even realize. Scientists mention how they help stabilize the earth, keep the balance so that we are able to enjoy life on this earth. Everything created is employed by God for my service; they not only give me bodily satisfaction but spiritual satisfaction as well. They are all created in meaningful ways to introduce me to my Creator. This allows me to feel priceless security in my existence having no fear of death, no insecurities that I would lose everything. The beings in the universe display universal qualities of my Creator to me, and I can take them in my spirit to enjoy my now permanent existence in the Hereafter forever.