Part 42

Ask the denier, then: What gave plants that power? Who guided them to it, and enabled them to do it? Could all human beings, if they were to converge from the first man on earth to the last, and combine all their powers and skills, cause a single fruit to develop through an artificially devised way, through instruction or training? Is there any other explanation for all this but that it is the doing of Him, for Whom every creation gives evidence, and every miracle attests His sovereignty? It is indeed as is expressed in some couplets:

“Tt beats one how a denier, disobeys the Lord or denies Him; When in every movement or rest there is a proof of Allah; And in everything there is a sign confirming that He is One.”

(14: pdt] 4h AK oh >

“and We caused to grow therein of every thing justly weighed,” (15: 19).

The transport of nutrients in plants is called translocation. Liquids move in vascular tissues, composed of xylem cells and phloem cells. Xylem cells transport water, with mineral salts dissolved in it , from roots to leaves: phloem cells transport nutrients from leaves to the various parts of the plant, each according to its need,

Evaporated water replaced from inner cells

Water absorbed upwards through the xylem tissue __

Figure ” 92” Roots absorb more water

Do you notice how when one puts up a tent or pavilion he fastens it with many pegs on every side, to keep it fast and to protect it from falling or leaning? In the same way, plants and trees have extensions spreading under the earth on every side, to steady them and hold them; and the more a tree’s upper parts spread, the more its lower extensions spread in various directions! How else could those high-rising palm trees and lofty trees of many species remain firm in spite of the violent storms. Observe how this Divine precedent has provided humans with models: by watching trees and plants, they learn the building of tents and pavilions. Trees’ subterranean extensions are like the pegs that stabilize tents; their branches and boughs are like a pavilion, and man has learnt to copy them.

Stalk pierces leaveu:remain cae germination

Germination of a seed into green leaves

Reflect on the deep wisdom of creating tree leaves. You see in the single leaf veins that criss-cross on the whole of its surface in a way that bewilders an observer! Some veins are thick and line the leaf longwise and _ sidewise; and some are fine, weaving in between the thick ones, in a very intricate pattern. If humans were to emulate the network of even a single leaf, they would not complete the veins in a whole year; they would also need tools, skills and treatment that beat their means. Observe, then, how the Almighty grows, in a few days, leaves that cover the trees and bushes all over the earth, on both planes and mountains, without the need for support or assistance, without tools or treatment. It is evidently His power, operative on everything in the universe, and His ability that no barrier can obstruct.

It is indeed as Allah says in the Qur’an:

[AY: J 4LEESS ASSIA SCG >

“But His command, when He intends a thing, is only that he says unto it: Be! and it is.” (36: 82)

Reflect, then, on the wisdom as_ revealed in those veins that spread all over the leaf, to provide it with water and nourishment, thus preserving its survival and bloom; in rather the same way as _ the veins in the human body deliver nutrients to each part of it! Observe how the thick veins give substance to the leaf, making it rigid and strong, protecting it from tearing and decaying! They perform the role performed by the nerves in the animal body; they are well-designed and carefully crafted and spread longwise and sidewise, giving it the required solidity, and protecting it from tearing.

The benefits of leaves

Think, also, of the wisdom of the Gentle, the All-knowing when He willed the leaves to be an adornment to trees, a covering and shelter to fruits, and a protection to them from any destruction that may interrupt their ripeness! It is for this reason that if a tree is stripped of its leaves, the fruit will decay and lose its appeal. Regard how the leaves protect a frail budding fruit from drying! After a tree is fruitless, the leaves still protect the weak twigs from heat. When it is cool, and sunlight is no longer harmful to boughs and twigs, the Lord strips the tree of its leaves, and leaves it bare, in preparation for clothing it again with a fresh, nicer apparel. So glory be to the Lord of the worlds Who knows the falling place and budding place of each and every leaf; no leaf grows, nor does it fall without His notice. If human beings realized, while watching those leaves in their variety and multiplicity, that they glorified the Lord, together with the fruit, twigs, branches and trees, they would discover aspects of their charm that they had not been aware of; they would perceive them with new senses, and would realize that they were created for a noble purpose, not in vain! Let’s recite in this context the following verse from the Qur’an:

[is ya pl) 9c abil ah >

“And the herbs and the trees both bow in adoration,” (55: 6).

In another place we read:

“and there is not a thing but hymns His praise; but you understand not their praise. Lo! He is ever forbearing, Forgiving,” (17: 44).

I hope you are not of those whose heart is littlecomprehending, who take ‘tasbeeh’ (in the Arabic text) to mean their pointing to their Creator and no more. Remember, then, that such understanding is refuted in more than thirty ways, as I showed at another place.’ Is there any language in which direction to the Maker is called ‘praise, adoration, prayer, turning unto the Lord, descending in fear’, the terms used by Allah in His Book referring to His creation? Allah uses in describing creations terms like ‘tasbeeh’, (glorification) prostration and prayer, as you see in the following verse:

4%. ee ee Va a

“And the birds with wing outspread (in flight). Each one knows its own mode of prayer and praise.” (24: 41)

Can it seem conceivable to your mind that the above verse means that Allah knew that the creatures mentioned pointed to Him, and that He called that pointing a prayer and ‘tasbeeh’, though He made a distinction between them, and joined them with the conjunction ‘and’?

In another place in the Qur’an, the Lord describes creatures as echoing the hymns of praise , as we see in the following verse:

[yell €.. Ato SIe >

“O you hills, echo his (David’s) psalms and praise!”

The reference is to an earlier place in the same book, not included in this book

In. still another place He mentions that they perform ‘tasbeeh, praise of the Lord at a particular time, at the break of the day, or at twilight. Is it conceivable here that they point to the Lord at that time and not at another? On the whole, the untenability of the above view is so manifest to people of vision that it is not in need of refutation. Praise be to Allah.

The creation of the stones of dates

Consider the wisdom involved in the stones and kernels placed inside the dates and other fruits! Have you thought of the many benefits and functions of the stones, which play a part similar to that of a skeleton to the animal’s body, giving solidity to the body of the fruit; otherwise it would be flabby and tender. Without the stone, a fruit would split and rot, and would be quick to decay. A stone to the fruit is, as we said, like the skeleton to animals, and the fruit itself is like flesh clothed over bones, in animals. Stones are also useful for the preservation and reproduction of the species. In case the tree loses substance or decays, the Lord provided the stone, to be a substitute from which, if sown in the ground, a new tree may grow. Stones and seeds are also used as fodder for animals. Many materials, ointments, drugs, dyes and other things are made from them as people learn more about them; but the potential uses are even more! You ought to reflect long on the wisdom of the Lord’s creation of the seeds and stones, which serve many functions; and He clothed them with the delicious pulp that man enjoys eating.

The skin of fruits

Think of the outstanding wisdom of the Lord when He provided the delicate, soft fruit, like the pomegranate, the chestnut and the hazel-nut with a skin that preserves it

from rotting if exposed to the sun and air. As for the fruit which does not go bad if exposed, itis provided with a thin membrane at the beginning of its development, which preserves it when it is tender and unresisting to heat. After it has toughened, the membrane breaks up, and the fruit is allowed to be exposed to the sun’s heat and to air, as is exemplified in dates and similar other fruits.

The creation of the pomegranate

Reflect also on the creation of the pomegranate, what wisdom and wonder it involves! You see inside the pomegranate a mass of fatty material lining it, surrounding the pulpy arils that are arranged in rows and organised layers, in a way that no human hand can emulate. The arils are divided into several compartments and smaller compartments; each enwrapped in a shell that envelopes it in the most exquisite, fascinating and appropriate way. They resemble nothing that men can accomplish, since they are the handiwork of Him Who said:

“ Be! and itis,” (36: 82) You see how this solid, air-tight vessel envelopes all that it is designed to envelope toa perfection. Reflect on the fatty material that separates the arils, barring them from overflowing to each other, since if they did, they would get mixed up, and they would be one chaotic mass. As it is, the fatty stuff has been caused to flow among arils to provide them with nutrients; you see that the pulp of each aril has no access to other arils, but all are embedded in that fatty stuff. This situation contrasts with the grapes, which in place of the above arrangement, have a canal that reaches each single berry, nourishing it individually; in a way that no berry needs to trespass on the noursihment of the berry next to it. In the

grape cluster, a main canal carries the sap along, then it branches into the many canulets of individual berries, so that sap is delivered to each and every berry. So glory be to the Best of Creators! See how He enwrapped all the arils in the pomegranate in strong wrappers to hold them together, so that they do not loosen or scatter, and then He covered those wrappers with a solid shell that shields the pomegranate and holds it firmly, fulfilling Allah’s will to protect it. This is only a glimpse of the wisdom manifested in only one fruit. It is beyond us, and beyond anybody else, to exhaust the full wisdom, no matter how long we try, or how clever the investigator is. It is, however, enough to awaken a curious reader to what lies beyond, since a hint would suffice for such a person. As for the heedless, we find it apt to quote the following verse to describe their state: