Part 41

, Commenting on this tradition, Ibn Abdul-Barr says: Apart from Al-Muatta’ , I

have not seen this tradition except in Al-Shafi‘ee’s ‘Al-Umm’.

running on the face of earth, the required watering would not have been realized without a lot of ruining of lands, and this watering would have not been comprehensive enough, not reaching the higher parts. Therefore, the Lord, in His infinite mercy, caused water to evaporate into the air, then, the Gentle and Powerful caused it to fall softly on the ground, in a way that overwhelms the minds of all the wise people.

Regard, too, the compelling wisdom of the rain’s falling in the right amount. Once the ground has taken its need, and an excess of water would be harmful, it stops, and a clear sky follows. These two states, cloudy and clear sky, come to the world in succession of each other for its good. If one were to prevail, it would be to the ruining of life on earth; if rain fell continuously, it would cause the perishing of what is on earth; if it fell in excess of need, it would spoil grains and fruits, rot plants and vegetables, exhaust our bodies, and over-humidify air. Various diseases and ailments would spread, most foods would go bad, ways would be blocked. If, on the other hand, cloudlessness_ prevailed, bodies would dry; water would be scarce; springs, wells, and rivers would be without supply. Great damage would ensue, the air would be stifling; living things on the earth would dry, aridity would prevail. All this would cause various hard-to-cure diseases. It has been a blessing from the Gentle, the Wise, that He alternated clear sky with water in this world. In this way, balance is maintained, the air is healthy, rain and clear sky eliminate the adverse effects of each other, and, on the whole, this arrangement works for a better life on earth.

We read in the Noble Qur’an:

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“Have they not considered the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and what things Allah has created,” (7: 185) And we read:

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“Lo! Allah it is who splits the grain of corn and the date-stone for sprouting. He brings forth the living from the dead, and is the bringer-forth of the dead from the living. Such is Allah. How then are you deluded away from the truth?

He is the cleaver of the Daybreak, and He has appointed the night for stillness, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the All-Knowing.

And He it is Who has set for you the stars that you may guide your course by them amid the darkness of the land and the sea. We have detailed our revelations for a people who have knowledge.

And He it is Who has produced you from a single being, and has given youa habitation and a reposity. We

have detailed Our revelations for a people who have understanding.

He it is Who sends down water from the sky, and therewith We bring forth buds of every kind. We bring forth the green blade from which We bring forth the thickclustered grain; and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereof, spring pendant bunches, and We bring forth gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate, alike and unlike. Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit, and upon the ripening, ...” (6: 95-99) !

In the above verses the Almighty is commanding us to watch plants at the time of the appearance and ripeness

' Mankind were for long ages ignorant of the formation of grains, fruits and vegetables; of even the structures of different parts of plants. Modern scientists, however, have striven to understand the way plants develop their seeds and fruits, in hope of emulating them, and producing food the way plants do! They endeavored long in that direction, aiming to disclose the hidden secrets of plants. In the end, they revealed what is now called photosynthesis: they discovered in the plants green micro-factories (green plastids), parts of the plant that give it its green colour. These micro-factories manufacture the nutrients that shape grains, fruits and vegetables, in fact all parts of the plant.

These green factories come into being at an early stage of the plant’s development. The Plant, in turn, grows, supplied with water, from its seeds and roots. This growth is described effectively in a Qur’anic verse:

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“He it is Who sends down water from the sky, and threrewith We bring forth buds of every kind. We bring forth the green blade from which We bring forth the thick-clustered grain; and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereof, spring pendant bunches, and We bring forth gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate, alike and unlike. Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit, and upon the ripening, Lo! herein verily are portents for people who believe.” (6: 99)

of fruits. The reference here is to the overwhelming marvel and extraordinary feat of bringing out fruits from among wood and leaves; and then the transformation of fruit from acridity, bitterness and sourness to the bright appealing colour and the sweet delicious taste; in this is a sign indeed for believers. It is in this spirit that one of our classic scholars said: It is the duty of people to go out to fields at the time of the ripeness and mellowness of fruit and vegetables to watch them. He recited, in support of his exhortation, the following verse from the Qur’an:

“Look upon the fruit thereof, when they bear fruit, and upon the ripening, ...” (6: 99)

Indeed, it is beyond us, beyond all past and all future generations, to try to exhaust the significance of Allah’s glaring signs in the universe that point to Allah, the only true God, who has no partner, and no one like Him, no one as great, perfect, appreciating, or gentle like Him; it is beyond us to just give justice to the tiniest fraction of all that. It does not follow, however, if such target is unattainable, that we should desist from pointing out some samples that alert man to what lies beyond. It is in that spirit that we embark on writing the following sections.

Leaf margin _ Leaf tip

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The distribution of provisions and fruits

Reflect on the Divine mercy as revealed in the growing of provisions, vegetables, grains and fruit, gradually emerging in a slow succession! It is a blessing that they do not grow all at the same time, for if they were to grow like this on land, or if they did not grow on branches and stalks, much harm would take place, and many benefits that accrue from their emerging gradually would be missed. For each season and period requires fruits and plants that are not required in other seasons and periods; some period are hot, some cold, and some moderate; each season is so for the benefits of plants that are preciscly adapted to it.

Benefits of crops and trees

Besides the above benefits, the Lord also invested crops with extra benefits, as noted in grains’ husks, timber and wood, leaves, blossoms, palm leaves, palm branches, and other parts of crops; to say nothing of fodder and forage, supplies for building, ship building, saddles, utensils and so forth. Observe the benefits of blossoms and the picturesque sight that is ecstatic to watch; regard the spectacular form of trees, their magnificent shapes that are a strong reminder of the their Originator and Maker Whose handiwork reveals His utmost compassion and wisdom! The blossoms are a wonderful thing when you think of their budding on wood, and when you observe on the same wood the green leaves! They are followed by many fruits of all colours, types, forms, sizes, tastes, scents and benefits and functions! Reflect on all these being stored in that wood, the trunk and the twigs and branches before their emergence! The tree is like a mother to them, but where is the poor father who could bring forth the amazing forms, the perfect symmetry, the marvelous colours, the luscious tastes, the fragrant scents and the spectacular sight? You may well ask the denier: Who undertook to determine all that, to give it shape, to articulate it, and to develop it bit by bit? Who caused provision to come within reach, along delicate paths and subtle ways, hardly visible with the naked eye? Who, then, has control of all that? Who caused the sun to shine over all the living things, subdued the wind to their service, caused rain to fall on them, and protected them from ruin and harms?

The nourishment of plants *

‘For a long time all mankind did not know the factors behind the variation of plants, until modern sciences revealed that all plants consist of the same basic elements: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur or phosphorus, and some trace elements. Their variation is caused by the variation in the amount each of the above elements contributes to the structure of the plant. It was further found that the root only absorbs from the ground exact and accurate amounts. We éan find a support of this in the Divine Book, the Quran:

Consider the calculation of the Gentle, the All-knowing! Like people and animals, trees are in constant need of nourishment; unlike animals, however, they have no will and mouths, nor can they move to seek food. Therefore, their roots have been inserted in the earth, so that they absorb nutrients from the soil, and then pass them to their branches and boughs, which distribute the nutrients in their turn to leaves and fruit, each absorbing its allotted amount, never exceeding it. Nutritious matter and water are delivered to the various parts along paths and ways that are most precisely made, picking that matter from below, and transmitting it to branches, which take it in the way an animal takes its food with its mouth; then they distribute to each part what it needs; no part is denied anything of its due, nor does it exceed it.