The Qur’ān invites man to turn to God, repeatedly and argumentatively. It makes assertions and draws his attentions towards the objects of Nature as well as towards the making of his body, and enjoins him to think over how God has created the various objects of Nature and how He has designed the structure of human body, making him the best of creatures. If he broods over these objects and his own self, it will open the door to guidance for him, and God eventually helps him march from darkness to light.
In ayah 26 of chapter 3 of the Qur’ān, God asks His Messenger ﷺ: “Say: Lord, Sovereign of all dominion, You grant dominion to whom You will and take dominion away from whom You will. You exalt whom You will and abase whom You will. In Your hand is all that is good. You are able to do all things.” This is a direct instruction from God to His Messenger and through him to all the believers to turn to God, stating the absolute truth of the Oneness of God. God says that He is the only One Who controls human life and the universe at large. This Divine quality is a demonstration of God’s Lordship of the whole universe in which He has no equals or partners. Touching the chord of our heart, it draws our attention to the universe as an open book.
In the next ayah, the expression of the Divine quality continues: “You cause the night to pass into the day, and You cause the day to pass into the night. You bring forth the living from the dead, and You bring forth the dead from that which is alive. You grant sustenance to whom You will, beyond all reckoning.” (The Qur’ān – 3:27) These attributes of God present how the objects of the universe have submitted to God. We can just imagine how each day the night passes into the day, and the day enters into the night. Likewise, how one season passes into another season, and thus the cycle of the universe continues in fulfilment of the commandments of God.
All these universal phenomena make us think that all the objects of the universe are working in submission to God, without going astray; we human beings, who have been declared as the Best of Creatures, and who have been given freedom to act either way but warned against going astray, must follow the commandments of God. Why? Because it is He Who controls, sustains, plans, owns and grants sustenance to all; and it is He Who exalts and abases, gives life and causes death, Who gives His grace to whom He wills and withdraws it from whom He wills. So, we must submit only to God, and thus win His pleasure here on earth and a blissful seat in the Hereafter.