Part 38

“Verily, Sakhr was a pilot for guides, whom they followed;

Similar to a mountain with a bonfire on its peak.”

A mountain is called a landmark or a banner since it sticks out like a sign.

8. Medical plants and herbs grow on them; what grows on mountains does not grow on planes and deserts, while what grows in planes and deserts does not grow in mountains. In each, there are benefits and uses that no one but the Omniscient Creator can count.

9. Mountains can be used as a fortress to take refuge in against enemies, where the soldiers of Allah can feel safe from the aggression of the foes, in the same way as they hide in castles - they are often safer and more impregnable than many castles and walls.

10. One benefit is the one mentioned by the Almighty Allah in His Book, that He had made them as pegs of the earth, stabilizing it, and anchors, like the ships’. This is an extremely valuable benefit and they serve a precious function in that connection. If you regard them,

and reflect on their amazing creation from that aspect, you find that they perfectly serve the purpose they were created for. If they had been higher and more perpendicular like a wall, they would have been hard to climb and much of their benefit would have been missed. They would have blocked the way of the sun’s light and air, which is harmful to humans. If, on the other hand, they had been spread out more on land, they would have occupied a wider area than is necessary for farms and dwelling; they would have filled the planes, and would not have provided shelters, caves and forts; they would not have softened the violence of winds, nor broken the rush of floods. If they were spherical, men would not have been able to climb them, and that would have wasted much of their benefit. From this, it is clear that the most useful and beneficial shape of mountains, the most adapted to serve the needs of humans, is the shape willed by Allah.

We find in the Qur’an verses which exhort us to contemplate the mountains and reflect upon their creation. Says the Almighty Allah:

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“will they not regard the camels, how they are created? And the heaven, how it is raised? And the mountains, how they are set up?” (88: 17-19)

Their creation and benefits are a compelling proof of the power of their Maker and Originator, His Omniscience, Wisdom and Oneness. In addition, mountains glorify their Lord, hymn His praise, show humility to Him, split asunder and fall down for fear of Him.’ It is they that

In reference to the Qur’anic verse:

feared their Lord and Maker, despite their firmness and great bulk, when He offered them the trust. There is the mountain on which Allah spoke to Moses, His addressee and confidant; the mountain to which the Lord revealed His glory, and it sank and crashed down; the mountain that had a liking for the Messenger of Allah # and his Companions, and the Prophet # and his Companions loved it’; the two hills, Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, appointed by Allah to be a reminder of His Prophet Abraham, and ordained that believers hasten between them as part of their pilgrimage rituals; the hill of Al-Rahmah (Mercy) rising on the hills of Arafah, where only Allah knows how many sins are forgiven, misdeeds overlooked, trespasses disregarded, requests realized, distresses removed, crises solved, favours renewed, happiness won, and wretchedness dispelled. Why not, when it is the hill privileged with receiving the grand congregation and noble delegation, coming from the farthest corners of the earth, standing in humility before their Lord’s majesty, humble before His glory; in undistinguished, simple apparel, bareheaded, supplicating to Him to redress their trespasses, beseeching Him to render their requests. And He draws near to them, and speaks proudly of them to His angels. O Allah! What hill and what mercy descends on it, what

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“For indeed there are rocks out of which rivers gush, and indeed there are rocks which split asunder so that water flows from them. And indeed there are rocks which fall down for the fear of Allah. Allah is not unaware of what you do.” (2:, 74)

*'Le. The mountain of Uhud, as stated by the Messenger of Allah # with Uhud

“That is a mountain that loves us and that we love.” Reported by Al-Bukharee, Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhee.

great sins are forgiven upon it! There is also the mountain of the Cave of Hiraa, where the Messenger of Allah 4% used to seclude himself to pray, until the day Allah honoured him with the Message while he was in the cave. It is from that mountain that light shone to the whole of earth. It rises above all mountains in prestige, and for good reason. So glory be to Him Who privileged whatever He chose from among men as from among mountains. Some mountains have been designated to be like magnets to hearts, as if hearts have a relation to them. Those hearts are moved whenever the particular mountain is mentioned, and long to visit it; in the same way, certain men are privileged with Allah’s grace, and favoured with His blessing, honoured with His love, in a way that He loves them, and so do His angels and His believing servants, and they are generally gladly received wherever they go. It is as expressed by a certain poet:

“If you consider territories you will find That they, like men, can be miserable or happy.”

Therefore, you would be well-advised not to extol a certain mountain or another because it is associated with a certain people. You do well to act upon the advice of a poet who said:

“Take what you see; disregarding that which you have heard about;

When the sun shines, you no longer need the light of Saturn.”

Mountains realize that they will meet a day when they will explode resoundingly, turning to cotton wool with the ferocity of the blast, smashed in response to the majesty and glory of the Lord. They are the same mountains that their Creator and Lord described as subdued and submissive with the fear of Allah. How

strange, then, that some people’s hearts are harder than those mountains, hearts which hear the verses of Allah recited to them, and the Lord, glorified be His Name, mentioned to them, yet do not soften, nor submit, nor repent. It is no wonder, then, nor is it incompatible with His wisdom, that the Almighty Allah should expose those hearts to a fire that melts them, since they do not yield to His Words, the mention of His Name, or to admonitions and warnings. Let those whose hearts do not soften to Allah in this world, who do not repent to Him, do not melt with the love of Allah and fear of Him, let them find some enjoyment for a while, until the day they face the Great Melter, when they reckon to the Knower of the Unseen and the Seen — then they will see and know.

With His Might, Allah causes enormous iron ships to float on water

The interior of the earth

Since the wisdom of the Lord Almighty willed that the earth, its planes, rugged lands, mountains and deserts, are all destined to give benefits of all sorts, to be the substance for creating diverse creatures, the earth is bound to have affinity with a mother that bears in her belly babies of every sort. It gives birth, for the benefit of men and

animals, known or unknown to them, ejecting from inside it whatever its Lord allowed it to bring out; and at a later time to reclaim all that it had brought out. He willed that it be a provider for living things as long as they live on its surface, and then, once they die, to reclaim them and to fold them in its belly. It takes responsibility in this way of the living things while they live and after they die. And then, when the appointed day (ie. Resurrection) has arrived, and the earth is heavy with conception, delivery is imminent, and the labour is due, its Lord and Creator commands it to bring out what is in its belly, to be unloaded of its burden; and so it puts out humans from its belly to its surface; then it says: “Here is what You entrusted to me, my Lord.” It puts out, by the will of the Almighty, it’s treasures, reveals its mysteries, and gives witness about its children, of the good deeds and bad deeds they had done.

The earthquake of 1755, which destroyed the city of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. 60,000 people were killed, buildings were leveled and fires spread everywhere in the City.

The earthquake areas of the world according to the studies of Geographers. However, earthquakes only occur by the permission of the Lord, Allah.

Because winds blow around the earth, penetrate into its cavities, cause steams to be trapped in it and blow into it, without outlets, the Almighty willed that the earth occasionally ‘breathe’, resulting in violent earthquakes, which inspire His servants with fear and awe, driving them to repent and give up wrongdoing, supplicating to Him and penitent of their misdeeds. It is as an eminent believer of the earlier generations, sensing an earthquake, said: “Your Lord is reprimanding you.” In the tenure of Umar bin Al-Khattab, there was an earthquake in AlMadinah. So he gave a sermon exhorting people to be penitent; then he said: “If this happens again, I will not live with you in this town.”

Air and the benefits of winds

Observe now air* and the benefits it has for living things. It is the essence of life; it sustains living things internally since they breathe it, and externally by protecting their bodies; it carries sound and delivers it to near and far places, acting as a messenger or herald whose job is to convey information and messages. Air is the bearer of odours in their diversity, conveying them from place to place, so that a human receives an odour realizing its source by noting the wind’s direction, in the same way as air conveys sounds. It is the bearer of cold and heat which are essential for the survival of animals and plants. Observe also the functions of winds as they blow over land and sea, and the mercy or torture they foretell.