They say variety is the spice of life. Nay, let’s say variety is one of the blessings of God. If we cast a glance at our own existence, at our home, at our society and the universe created by God, we do not find uniformity or homogeneity anywhere. There is variety everywhere. Even two siblings of human beings and animals of the same parents are not the same. Even if they look alike, they are different in many variables, say habits and traits, temperaments, dispositions and mentalities. From the same soil and water, we get different kinds of plants and trees. Even the two pieces of fruit of the same tree are not the same in colour, size, taste and value of nutrients. Mountains look alike but in the same mountain one can see a variety of colours and a great difference in the material composition of its different parts.
We shudder to imagine a world where there is uniformity and homogeneity everywhere. Therefore, let’s think about why there is variety everywhere.
The Qur’ān (35:27) says: “Are you not aware that God sends down water from the skies, with which We bring forth fruits of different colours? In the mountains there are streaks of white and red of various shades, as well as others jet-black.” The āyah says that it is God Who sends down water from the skies, and it is He Who brings forth fruits of different colours and hues. The next āyah confirms the same variety for human beings and animals: “Similarly, human beings, beasts and cattle have various colours.” (The Qur’ān, 35:28)
Generally, people hardly think of this variety; the most they do is to satisfy their aesthetic sensibility, which lacks realisation of the power of the Lord Creator. There is no doubt that the aesthetic element is added into the design of the universe. Its beauty, however, is raised to perfection by the fact that different things discharge their functions through that very beauty. The splendid colours of flowers in the meadows, along with their scents, attract bees and butterflies. Thus, the flower completes its own function through its very beauty and variety. The Qur’ān (35:28)further says that “it is those who are endowed with knowledge that stand truly in awe of God. Indeed God is Almighty, Much-Forgiving.”
The more a person is aware of the powers of God, His knowledge, His wisdom, His vengeance and His omnipotence and His other attributes, the more he will fear His disobedience. Thus, knowledge in this āyah implies the knowledge of divine attributes, and not the knowledge of academic subjects like history and philosophy, physics and chemistry.
The presence of this variety and difference, in fact, points to the fact that this universe has been created by a Wise Being with great wisdom; its Maker is a Unique Creator and a Matchless Fashioner, Who does not have the same model of everything before Him, but has a variety of countless and limitless designs of everything. There is no end to His Fashioning in creation. This knowledge leads us to the realisation of the powers of God and its importance in our life. So, the ultimate success lies in the realisation of God and His Attributes. Let’s stand in awe of God at all times.