Ramaḍān - Day 29

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for the people of wisdom.
[Qur’ān, Sūrah Āl-ʿImrān, verse 190]

In the creation of the heavens and the earth are great signs of Allāh ﷻ. All those divinely created beings and things in the heavens and the earth are included. ‘The heavens’ is inclusive of all heights and ‘the earth’ covers all lows.

Ḥaḍrat ʿĀishah رضي الله عنها narrates that the Nabī ﷺ said to her, ‘Allow me to worship my Lord’. Nabī ﷺ rose from his bed, made ablution and stood up for Ṣalāh. Whilst in qiyām, Nabī ﷺ wept so much that his tears trickled down his ﷺ blessed chest. Nabī ﷺ went into rukūʿ and there too wept and in sajdah Nabī ﷺ wept also. Nabī ﷺ raised his head and continued weeping till it was morning.

Ḥaḍrat Bilāl رضي الله عنه came to inform Nabī ﷺ that it’s time for Fajr. Ḥaḍrat Bilāl asked Nabī ﷺ, ‘My Master ﷺ, why do you weep like that? Isn’t it that Allāh ﷻ has forgiven all your past and future sins?’ Nabī ﷺ replied, ‘Should I not continue to be a grateful servant of Allāh? And in offering this gratitude of mine, why should I not shed tears, especially tonight when Allāh has revealed this verse to me, ‘Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for the people of wisdom.’ – After that Nabī ﷺ said, ‘Ruined is the person who recites these verses but fails to deliberate therein.’

Thinking about the creation inevitably leads one to realise the presence of the Creator. Look at the enormous expanse of the sky above us with the sun, the moon, the planets and stars bound with the solar and lunar system working so well for thousands of years without being serviced or refurbished.Then, on this earth, the mountains, rivers, trees, animals, the air that circulates and the rain that falls. This act of knowing and realising that there is a superior being in control of all this and more is a great act of worship.

For this reason, Imām Ḥasan al-Baṣrī رحمه الله said, ‘An hour spent in thinking about the signs of Allāh is better and far more useful than a whole night standing in worship.’

[Maʿāriful Qur’ān, Volume 2]

Moulana Huzaifa Saleh