The Message of Nature

 

Man is a being whom God furnishes with the faculty of thought. Yet, most people do not use this very important faculty as they should. In fact, some people almost never think. In truth, each person possesses a capacity for thought of which even he himself is unaware.

Once man begins to use this capacity, facts he has not been able to realise until that very moment begin to be uncovered for him. The deeper he goes in reflection, the more his capacity to think improves and this is possible for everyone. One just has to realise that one needs to reflect and then to strive hard.

In the Qur’an, God informs us that in all circumstances the believers reflect and derive beneficial conclusions from their thinking. In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people with intelligence:

Those who remember God, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: “Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.”

(Qur’an, 3: 190-191)

God’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) also often reminded believers the importance of pondering and remembering God. It is reported that God’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) said:

“The house in which remembrance of God is made and the house in which God is not remembered are like the living and the dead.”

“Shall I not tell you the best of your deeds, and those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your King, and are better for you than giving gold and silver?” They said, “Of course.” He said, “Remembrance (dhikr) of God.”

[Sahih: Abu Dawud]

However, someone who does not think will remain totally distant from truths and lead his life in self-deception and error. As a result, he will not grasp the purpose of the creation of the world, and the reason for his existence on the earth. Yet, God has created everything with a purpose. This fact is stated in the Qur’an as follows:

We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything between them as a game. We did not create them except with truth but most of them do not know it.

(Qur’an, 44: 38-39)

It is He Who stretched out the earth and placed firmly embedded mountains and rivers in it and made two types of every kind of fruit. He covers over day with night. There are Signs in that for people who reflect.

(Qur’an, 13:3)

Those who are able to see God’s signs, the miraculous aspects of the beings and events He creates, and who, therefore, can understand, are people who reflect. Such people can derive conclusions from everything, big or small, they see around them. The Prophet Muhammad’s words make this very clear: “Arouse your heart to contemplation and be heedful towards your Lord.”. An example to this is nature that surrounds us. He who believes in God praises his Lord for the beauties he sees in nature. He is aware that God has created all existing beauty. He knows that all these beauties belong to God and they are manifestations of His attribute of jamal é beauty. He takes great pleasure from all these beauties and remembers God knowing that “The one who mentions or remembers God among those who forget Him is like a light inside a dark house” as God’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) says.

While walking in nature, one encounters more beauty. From a single straw to the yellow daisy, from birds to ants, everything is full of details, which need reflection. As people reflect upon these, they come to understand the power and might of God. Butterflies, for example, are very aesthetically pleasing creatures. With the symmetry and design of their lace-like wings éwhich are extremely precise as if drawn by hand é their harmonious, phosphorescent colours, butterflies are evidence of God’s unequalled art and superior power of creation. Similarly, innumerable plant and tree varieties on earth are among the beauties God creates. Flowers, all in different colours and trees of different forms, have been created and among their purposes is that they give great pleasure to people.

One who has faith thinks about how flowers such as the rose, violet, daisy, hyacinth, carnation, orchid and others have such smooth surfaces, and how they come out of their seed completely flat without any puckers as if ironed. Other wonders God creates are the fragrances of these flowers. A rose, for instance, has a strong and constant ever-changing smell. Even with the latest technology, scientists cannot develop an exact match of the smell of the rose. Laboratory research to imitate this smell has not yielded satisfactory results. Smells produced based on the scent of the rose are generally heavy and disturbing. However, the original scent of the rose does not disturb.

Someone who has faith knows that each one of these is created for him to praise God, to present him the art and knowledge of God in the beauty He creates. For this reason, when someone sees this beauty while strolling in the garden, he glorifies God, saying, “It is as God wills, there is no strength but in God” (Qur’an, 18: 39). He remembers that God has put all this beauty at the service of mankind and that He will give the believers i n c o m p a r a b l y excellent blessings in the hereafter. He takes more pleasure in he beauties he sees than everyone else, because as God’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said, “The circle of the remembrance of God is the garden of Paradise”. And because of all this, his love for God increases ever more.

Harun Yahya is a prominent Turkish intellectual.

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