The Qur’ān invites man to look at the objects of nature and ponder over their beauty and grandeur, their movements and functions, their power to enthral him and all the more so their power to entice him into realising the Truth. This is the unique approach of the divinely revealed Book to address the human mind and heart. Thus, it tends to heighten man’s feelings and emotions and make him behold and contemplate the awe-inspiring wonders of the universe.
In one single āyah (2:164), the Qur’ān presents many wonders of the universe, one after another, as Signs. The first Sign is ‘the creation of the heavens and the earth’.The heavens and the earth include the planets, the stars, and the galaxies that are all floating along their decreed orbits with incredible harmony. Today science has made it easier for us to brood over the movements of the heavens and the earth and reflect on the creation of this vast gallery of wonders.
The second Sign is ‘the alternation of night and day’. It is a daily marvel to think how the cycle of day and night has been going on and on, and how it causes the alternation of light and darkness, and dawn and dusk, and why it is necessary for day to come and night to go – and what if this alternation of night and day had not been there in the scheme of things divine. This is in fact a constant reminder of God’s magnificence and glory.
The third Sign mentioned in this āyah is ‘the vessels that sail through the sea with what is useful for mankind’.This points out to two very important indicators. One, that there are many useful things in the sea such as fish, small and large, corals and gems. And the other, God’s mercy – inasmuch as that in the middle of the ocean one isentirely at God’s mercy and that it is only with God’s will and command that one isbrought to the safety of the shore.
The fourth Sign is ‘the water God sends down from the sky giving life to the earth after it had been lifeless’. How does the water God sends down from the sky give life to the lifeless earth? How does it cause all kinds of living creatures to multiply on it? And we shudder to think what will happen if God does not send the water down from the sky?
The fifth and sixth Signs are ‘the movement of the winds, and the clouds that run their courses between sky and earth’. All these phenomena deserve our attention and reflection. They present sufficient signs to convince man that this gigantic system is absolutely subservient to the will of God, the Omnipotent and the Wise, Who alone wields all power and authority. Since this One True God is the Lord and Master of all creation and none else is in possession of any power or authority, none else is entitled to any share in His godhead or overlordship.It is no good brushing it aside or ignoring it.