Ayah of The Day 1 >> Quran 2:164

The first favorite ayah that caught my attention last Ramadan was the 164th verse in the 2nd chapter of the Quran, the name of the chapter (surah) is "The Cow" or "Albaqara".

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مِن مَّاء فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الأرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخِّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاء وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ


"Surely, in the creation of heavens and earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ships that sail in the sea, carrying that which benefits men, and in the water Allah sent down from the sky, then revived with it the earth after it was dead, and in every creature He has scattered on it, and in turning of winds, and in the clouds employed to serve between heaven and earth, there are signs for those who have sense."

I believe that the meaning of the ayah is very clear; Allah is stating that those who use their sense and logic will find signs as they observe the creation. The reason why I liked this ayah is because it explicitly shows how highly required it is by our creator that we pay attention to the details around us and not just take this world for granted. We need to observe and reflect on every little being because no matter how little it may seem, just like us, it was meant to be a part of this universe. We need to study the laws by which this universe is governed, we need to explore and make sense of them in stead of just sleeping at night knowing that the sun will rise again in the morning only because it always does.

This ayah reminds me of the importance of meditating and observing and I can relate to it whenever I study something new in science. No matter how busy life gets and how horrible the worldly events may seem, there's always this beautiful shivering feeling and amazement that visits me whenever I realize the brilliance and perfection of the balance that God has offered to us with his creation and laws.  I always end up saying "Sobhan Allah" - Praise be to Allah for this perfectly created universe. This state of mind I reach when I meditate or study science strengthens my faith and trust in Allah for I become purified by يقين certainty and thoughts that reminds me of a quote by Ralph Waldo that goes like this: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I haven't seen".

It's just sad how many Muslims nowadays forget such teachings of the Quran where we are asked to study the universe and not just take it for granted. How come it is the case that we now only "receive" knowledge that was observed by others? how come we stopped exploring God's creation and waiting for others to make sense of it and make our lives easier? how come we have the truth in our hands and others are working hard enough to prove it? How come many people who claim to be "religious" rarely speak of anything that has to do with "thinking","reflecting" and "reasoning" even though they were mentioned hundreds of times in the Quran!?

Anyway, I advise you all to take a 10 mins break every day and dedicate it to meditation; observing the world around you, appreciating the brilliance of all that exists and understanding the signs of the Creator... and  say: Sobhan Allah.