Part 1: The blessings, gifts, and favors of Allaah upon His creation

Man lives in the shade of Allaah’s numerous and perfect blessings as he wallows in His expansive favor.

          These blessings are too abundant to be counted. To demonstrate the abundance of His blessings, He revealed Surat “An-Nahl” [The Bees], which is also called “an-Ni‘am” [The Blessings]. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

. He also Says (what means):

          What then are the most manifest of these divine gifts which Allaah bestowed upon His slaves, thereby favoring them, and which none are able to do or give except Allaah?

The blessing of an upright creation

Allaah The Almighty Created the father of mankind, Adam, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, , with His hands to honor him, and He created him in the best of stature.

          Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

and He infused life into him with His spirit. He commanded the angels to prostrate in his honor and with esteem for his offspring, as He The Almighty also Says (what means):

          Then to complete the blessing upon man, He created his spouse with whom he could share his solitude. Allaah The Almighty Says about this (what means):

. Al-Qurtubi, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, , the exegete, said in his Tafseer:

The meaning of ‘upright’ is that he will be a complete child without any deformities.

          Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

, i.e. He made you proportionate with a complete form.

The blessing of provision and the universe and all it contains being subject to the service of man 

          Allaah The Almighty put man at the center of worldly authority, having made the world swift to serve him beneficially and continuously throughout his life.

          Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

          He also affirmed that whatever is in existence works to serve man. Allaah Says (what means):

He also Says (what means):

          Allaah then detailed some of these blessings. He Says (what means):

          Allaah then Says (what means):

He also Says (what means):

          Look then, my dear brother and sister, at the blessings outlined in these passages from the book of Allaah. Look how these blessings expressed in the first passage started with the creation of the universe and everything that is in it for the sake of mankind. You can thus see the extent of the Creator’s concern for all people. The purpose of creating animals was then explained; that they were created for the benefit of man: for consumption, clothing, warmth, riding, carrying loads, and as beauty to behold. Then the discussion turned to the descent of rain, that man may drink thereof, and then its benefit to the growth of trees upon which animals graze and from which various fruits are borne. All of that is for the sake of mankind. Then came the creation of seas and rivers, which ships course through to transport Allaah’s blessings of goods and provision to mankind, and in which are fish with tender meat and pearls to adorn. The passage ended by speaking about a great honor that Allaah conferred upon man, that He gives him all that he asks Him of. The exegete Jamaal Ad-Din Al-Qaasimi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in Mahaasin at-Ta’weel:

{He has given you all that you asked of Him}: i.e. all that you need in order to amend your conditions and livelihoods, as you asked or requested of Him implicitly without naming them.

The blessing of guidance by embedding (necessary) precedents and uncontested facts in the mind:

Ever since he was created, man has not ceased to wonder: Where do I come from and where am I going?

          Many are the answers given by different schools and philosophies, being just as Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

The minds were confused as they wondered: who has absolute, self-evident, and necessary knowledge which man is unable to do without? The truth is one, not many. Allaah Says (what means):

          The principle of non-contradiction (negation and affirmation cannot coincide) is one of these necessary innate axioms which Allaah embedded in the human mind to guide it to the truth.

          Nations, old and new, have agreed that man's existence came from Allaah, The Living Maker who Manages the universe, mankind and life. One group, however, alleged that nature produced man by chance. Their first contradiction is seen by Arabic speakers, as the word for nature, tabee‘ah, is a passive participle meaning something “created”, thus requiring an active participle, i.e. a “creator”. [Translator’s note: The same could be said in English for “nature”, from Latin natura, “birth”, from natus, “born”, which requires a “bearer”.] The word itself confirms the existence of The Creator The Almighty. As such, their claim that nature is the active source of everything is baseless. Allaah Says in refutation of some pre-Islamic Arabs who held this opinion (what means): {They say, “There is not but our present life. We die, we live, and nothing causes us to perish except the passage of time.” They have no knowledge of that. They are only guessing.} [Quran 45:24], i.e. their opinion is delusional and baseless. He The Almighty Says (what means):

That is because the fundamentals of beliefs can only be built upon certitude, not on mere possibility and illusion.

          Moreover, mankind is more advanced and has more freedom than nature. We go into space and dive into the depths of the seas, while nature is subdued, restricted, and bound to its own laws.

          May Allah have mercy upon the poet of Islam, Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938), who addressed the atheist advocate of his time, Karl Marx (d. 1883), by saying:

How far the orbits are from you, for you  are free,

while they are but compelled as they return and flee.

          Allaah The Almighty Indicates this truth, Saying (what means):

          Furthermore, nature is deaf and dumb, careless whether man is guided toward the truth or away from it. Thus, the opinion that nature haphazardly created the living world is to give credence to the idea that if ink was spilled on the ground, it would eventually produce a grammatically correct and eloquently written book free of error (referring to the Mus-haf), while the ink itself has no knowledgeable writer behind it.

          The renowned Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, May Allaah have mercy upon him, said in Dar’ Ta‘aarudh al-‘Aql wan-Naql:

It is unacceptable that man's desposition and formation be the result of a “nature” that lacks intelligence and will, as mankind was made with far more order and wisdom than those seen in the construction of homes and the production of spectacular crowns worn by kings.

He also said:

It is known that the transformation of semen into a human or a beast is a greater wonder than silver transforming into a ring, or wood into a bed or a door, or yarn into a woven garment.

An intelligent poet realized this and said:

          Could you reckon the articulate mind

an invention of nature dumbfounded?

          We see the magnificence of a blossom’s symmetry, the beauty of an eye's artistry, the harmony in the arrangement of teeth, the delicate system of blood vessels and nerves, the extraordinary design of the human cell, and so forth of what we see in the world of human anatomy.

          The Yemeni prominent scholar Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Wazeer (d. 840 A.H) said in Īthaar Al-Haqq ‘Alal-Khalq (1/48):

"If it was possible that such as this could exist without a maker, it should be that there are constructed homes, written books, knitted garments, and fashioned jewelry without builders, writers, weavers or jewelers."

          The Noble Quran explained this particular naturalist fallacy. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

          Mansoor As-Sam‘aani (d. 489 A.H), an exegete of the noble Quran, said in his Tafseer:

In this verse there is a refutation against the advocates of “nature”, as the same water, soil and heat produce fruits that are different in color and taste … and it is impossible that a single nature produces two different things.

          This line of reasoning was also reflected by the most renowned exegete of the Quran Al-Qurtubi, who said in his Tafseer:

The Saying of Allaah The Almighty (which means): {watered with one water} … is the greatest proof for the invalidity of naturalism. If nature was the doer in making such things with water and soil, there would be no variation.

          Rather, variation is a certain indication that the Maker and Creator is the one administrating and managing these varieties united by a single essence, yet varying quite differently in color, taste and benefit. Such wisdom shows that behind the scene is one Wise and Intent, Cognizant and Acquainted: Allaah, The Living and Sustaining—not nature inanimate.

          Botanists have demonstrated this, explaining how plants are nourished through capillary action. The plant takes the specific nutrients it needs and leaves what it does not. This has been explained by what is called the process of natural selection. It can thus be said to a naturalist: Natural “selection” means there is a choice, and a choice requires an intent and decisive intellect, so does the plant have intellect or does “nature” perceive what it does?

          Nature is a dumb, deaf and blind idol which has been deified by this materialistic culture since the day religion was put aside. So, faith in nature and faith in idols are much the same, as both are faith in something inanimate, unable to reward for good or to punish for evil. This is a veil over reality and denial of the Hereafter, when reckoning and retribution will take place. The oppressor is thus now in a better and more fortunate state than the oppressed.

          Is this the right way to seek the truth, O human mind!? If you did justice, you would say: I was unable to restrain my desire, so I covered the truth while believing in my heart, or due to some doubt I had about the truth, and my ignorance prevented me from knowing how to dismiss it.

          Allaah The Almighty Tells us about idols, Saying (what means):

          They wanted to make of this deaf and dumb “nature” a god with an action , while it is merely an idol that collapsed under the gavel of clear-cut, certain, and intuitive proof brought by Islam. We shall present this proof for the people of this age, which is plagued by this superficial idea for which there is no evidence save mere illusiion.