“Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, there are messages indeed for people who use their reason.” (Qur’an 30: 190-191)
“By pondering on the divine signs in nature, our spiritual wisdom grows and flourishes.
“More than seven hundred verses of the Qur’an extol these natural signs. Several chapters start with the name of animals or natural phenomena; some invoke mysterious oaths, such as: 'I swear by the fig and the olive,' or 'I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn.' (Qur’an 95:1 and 113) Nature teaches us everything we need to learn about life.
“Consider how nature illuminates our understanding of unconditional love. In a modern translation, the 14th century Hafiz exclaims that the earth would die if the sun stopped kissing her. But, even after all this time, the sun never tells the earth, 'Hey, you owe me.' What happens with a love like that? It lights up the entire sky!” Just like unconditional love! On the same theme of unconditional love, Rumi says that grass agrees to die and rise up again so that it can receive a little of the animal’s enthusiasm!
“Nature also helps us understand, honor, and celebrate our diversity. The Qur’an reveals, 'God has created in the earth varied hues; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who are mindful.' (Qur’an 16:13) To expound unity in diversity, sages use the metaphor of trees which appears 26 times in the Qur’an. The branches of the tree sway differently in the wind, but they are all connected at the roots. In our essence, we are all one.”
