Sunday, January 23, 2011

Signs of Allah : The Holy Qur'an – 4

    Creation of the Sky and the Earth
    We have in Surah Baqrah 2:164 :
Behold ! In the creation of the heavens (the sky) and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships across the ocean for the benefit of mankind; in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the life that He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that he scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they treat like their slaves between the sky and the earth – (here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise.
    This is a long list of Signs. It is an overwhelming list except for those whose hearts have been locked. The parting shot makes it clear that to ignore Signs of Allah is an unwise thing to do. A very pertinent observation in present times where to be religious is considered a naive thing. May Lord Most High provide protection from such things.
    The Verse begins with an exclamation Behold! What does it mean? Our attention is demanded by every verse but here it is clear that something extremely important is being said. Something that might be missed if we do not pay proper attention. In short we are being prepared to take those things seriously that we take for granted.
    After that is the following list of signs:
  1. Creation of sky and the earth.
  2. Alternation of the night and the day.
  3. Sailing of the ships across the ocean for the benefit of mankind.
  4. Rain sent by Allah from sky – rain that gives life to earth that was dead.
  5. Beasts of all kind scattered by Allah across the earth.
  6. Changing winds kicking clouds like slaves.
There are six different Signs here. Now the question arises as to how to understand and recognize the Signs of Allah in all these cases. This isotopic of different post and Lord willing we shall take them one at a time later on.