SERMON 185
Praise of Allah and His wonderful creatures
Praise be to Allah. He is such that senses cannot perceive Him, place
cannot contain Him, eyes cannot see Him and veils cannot cover Him. He
proves His eternity by the coming into existence of His creation, and
(also) by originating His creation (He proves) His existence, and by their
(mutual) similarity He proves that there is nothing similar to Him. He is
true in His promise. He is too high to be unjust to His creatures.
He
stands by equity among His creation and practices justice over them in His
commands. He provides evidence through the creation of things of His being
from ever, through their marks of incapability of His power, and through
their powerlessness against death of His eternity.
He is
One, but not by counting. He is everlasting without, any limit. He is
existent without any support. Minds admit of Him without (any activity of
the) senses. Things which can be seen stand witness to Him without
confronting Him. Imagination cannot encompass Him. He manifests Himself to
the imagination with his help for the imagination, and refuses to be
imagined by the imagination. He has made imagination the arbiter (in this
matter).
He is
not big in the sense that volume is vast and so His body is also big. Nor
is He great in the sense that His limits should extend to the utmost and
so His frame be extensive. But He is big in position and great in
authority.
About the Holy Prophet
I
stand witness that Muhammad is His slave, His chosen Prophet and His
responsible trustee -- may Allah bless him and his descendants. Allah sent
him with undeniable proofs, a clear success and open paths. So he conveyed
the message declaring the truth with it. He led the people on the
(correct) highway, established signs of guidance and minarets of light,
and made Islam's ropes strong and its knots firm.
A part of the same sermon
About the creation of animal species
Had
they pondered over the greatness of His power and the vastness of His
bounty they would have returned to the right path and feared the
punishment of the Fire; but hearts are sick and eyes are impure.
Do
they not see the small things He has created, how He strengthened their
system and opened for them hearing and sight and made for them bones and
skins? Look at the ant with its small body and delicate form. It can
hardly be seen in the corner of the eye, nor by the perception of the
imagination - how it moves on the earth and leaps at its livelihood. It
carries the grain to its hole and deposits it in its place of stay.
It
collects during the summer for its winter, and during strength for the
period of its weakness. Its livelihood is guaranteed, and it is fed
according to fitness. Allah, the Kind, does not forget it and (Allah the
Giver) does not deprive it, even though it may be in dry stone or fixed
rocks.
If
you have thought about its digestive tracts in its high and low parts, the
carapace of its belly, and its eyes and its ears in its head you would be
amazed at its creation and you would feel difficulty in describing it.
Exalted is He who made it stand on its legs and erected it on its pillars
(of limbs). No other originator took part with Him in its origination and
no one having power assisted Him in its creation.
If
you tread on the paths of your imagination and reach its extremity it will
not lead you anywhere except that the Originator of the ant is the same as
He who is the Originator of the date-palm, because everything has (the
same) delicacy and detail, and every living being has little difference.
The Creation of the Universe
In
His creation, the big, the delicate, the heavy, the light, the strong, the
weak are all equal.(1)
So is the sky, the air, the winds and the water. Therefore, you look at
the sun, moon, vegetation, plants, water, stone, the difference of this
night and day, the springing of the streams, the large number of the
mountains, the height of their peaks, the diversity of languages and the
variety of tongues. Then woe be to him who disbelieves in the Ordainer and
denies the Ruler. They believe that they are like grass for which there is
no cultivator nor any maker for their diverse shapes.
They
have not relied on any argument for what they assert, nor on any research
for what they have heard. Can there be any construction without a
Constructor, or any offence without an offender.
The wonderful creation of the locust
If
you wish you can tell about the locust (as well). Allah gave it two red
eves, lighted for them two moon -- like pupils, made for it small ears,
opened for it a suitable mouth and gave it keen sense, gave it two teeth
to cut with and two sickle-like feet to grip with. The farmers are afraid
of it in the matter of crops since they cannot drive it away even though
they may join together. The locust attacks the fields and satisfies its
desires (of hunger) from them although its body is not equal to a thin
finger.
About the Glory of Allah
Glorified is Allah before Whom every one in the skies or the earth bows in
prostration willingly or unwillingly, submits to Him by placing his cheeks
and face (in the dust), drops before Him (in obedience) peacefully and
humbly, and hands over to Him full control in fear and apprehension.
The
birds are bound by His commands. He knows the number of their feathers and
their breaths. He has made their feet to stand on water and on land. He
has ordained their livelihoods. He knows their species: this is the crow,
this is the eagle, this is the pigeon and this is the ostrich. He called
out every bird with its name (while creating it) and provided it with its
livelihood.
He
created heavy clouds and produced from them heavy rain and spread it on
various lands. He drenched the earth after its dryness and grew vegetation
from it after its barrenness.
(1). The meaning is that if the smallest thing
in creation is examined it will be found to contain all that which is
found in the biggest creatures, and each will exhibit the same reflection
of natures, workmanship and performance, and the ratio of each to Allah's
might and power will be the same, whether it be as small as an ant or as
big as a date palm. Is it not that making a small thing is easy for Him
while the making of a big thing is difficult for Him, because the
diversity of colour, volume and quantity is just based on the dictates of
His sagacity and expediency, but as regards creation itself there is no
difference among them. Therefore, this uniformity of creation is a proof
of the oneness and unity of the Creator.
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