The message of Salih entered the park. It was strikingly beautiful. There were birds, mountains, trees, wildflowers, and a lake. It’s beauty was enjoyed by many. The wardens of the park however, were neglecting their duty. Although stunning, the park was hotter and drier than it ought to be. After decades of exploitation, temperatures began to rise and it rained less and less. Although the park wardens were fully aware of the problem, they did nothing to save the park. Driven by greed and profits, they turned a blind eye to it all.
The message declared to the leaders overseeing the park.
“Don’t you see the beauty here? Respect it. Let it be as God created it. The earth belongs to Him. Follow the order that He set and live in harmony. Remember that it is creation, just as you are creation. Stop what you’re doing, return to Him now”
Enraged, they responded,
“How dare you! We do as we please. It’s how we have always done things. We buy things we don’t need, consume endlessly, produce plastics that don’t degrade, throw things away thoughtlessly, burn fossil fuels although renewable alternatives are available, and cut down millions of acres of forest. All of this is just matter. It has no meaning. It is for us to enjoy as we please. We answer to no one. We want more and more. It makes us feel better. Don’t make us think. It’s not a big deal. Everyone is doing it.”
The message reminded them, stating the obvious.
“All of the beauty of this park was created for you by a conscious Being. Not a bird flies without His permission, not a leaf falls without His will. This earth, and everything in it belongs to Him, not you. Enjoy it in His name. Do not abuse it! Why do you punish yourself, cutting yourself off from your Creator?”
They did not realize that by abusing the earth, disavowing it from its Owner, they were also hurting themselves.
But they continued in their ways. The temperatures rose. The seas rose. There were wildfires, storms, and droughts. Some went hungry. Animals began to disappear. The leaders of the town were adamant, set in their ways. For them, it was all just meaningless matter. The purpose of the park was to serve them for whatever material benefit they immediately saw in it. They did as they pleased, exploiting what the park had to offer without questioning the true purpose of the park. Just as they misused the park, they also misused themselves, distracting themselves with worldly material gains and entertainment, without understanding their purpose in life.
The message now issued a warning.
“Enjoy yourselves for now. When the time comes, neither your homes, nor your technology will protect you. God is all powerful and has full control over all His creation.”
The followers of Salih’s message felt secure. They acknowledged that the Source of their existence and the existence of the entire universe was God. Everything they saw and experienced was meaningful. So their lives were meaningful. They understood that nothing in this world and nothing of the nature of the world possessed divine power. Everything was created and pointed to God, its Owner. When they saw beauty in the world, they remembered their Creator, and felt joy. By connecting their spirits to an absolute and merciful Being, they experienced God’s mercy in their daily lives, seeing it in everything around them. Secure in this belief, they lived in peace.
As for the others, the promise came true. It was one loud blast, and they were annihilated, inside the very homes they thought would keep them safe. They squandered their lives. By deeming creation meaningless, they rendered themselves meaningless.
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Secular Materialists misuse creation for their material and egotistical benefits. They aggressively treat creation as meaningless matter, looking for immediate benefit with no thought to consequences. But what of those who take a humanistic approach, those who respect the environment but without acknowledging its Creator? Humanists attribute their innate feeling to take good care of the earth to themselves, and not to the One that created the earth. While they may preserve the physical material world, by denying its Owner, they are in fact abusing creation, also rendering it meaningless. How? By denying the Owner of the created world, humanists deny the purpose of creation; to know your Creator. What does this mean? How does creation help me know my Creator? We learned from Abraham’s spiritual journey how he utilized creation to learn the Source of Existence. By observing creation, I can also learn about the qualities of my Creator.
The Quranic world view goes far beyond an environmental message. Let us journey through the verses of the Quran to better understand Saleh’s message. How can we properly utilize creation to know our Creator, connect to Him, and worship Him?
11:61 And to the people of Thamud, we sent their brother Salih. He said, “O my people! Worship Allah. You have no other god than Him. He [is the one who] produced you from the earth and settled you on it. So seek His forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Surely my Lord is Ever-near, All-responsive [to prayers].” 1
Like the other narratives, prophets are sent to their own people, their own tribes. They are known and trusted in their respective communities. Salih presents the idea of belief to the people of Thamud declaring, “You have no other god than Him”. What does this mean? When I look at the world around me, I do not witness anything that possesses divine power yet all parts of the universe appear to be functioning in an automatic and seamless way.
Everything is subject to an order, although I cannot see who or what issues the orders. The sun always rises in the east, the seasons come in the same order, the plants grow in the same orderly way as they always do. Everything is perfectly integrated. How is this possible? All of creation must have a unique and all-powerful source. Nothing else makes sense as the things themselves cannot be the source of existence of the order they’re subject to. To worship, then, is simply to know and to acknowledge the Absolute Creator, God.
Human beings who possess the conscious ability to worship, could only have been created by a Being who is also conscious. This conscious Creator describes His deliberate design. He produced human beings from the earth and settled them onto it. While worship comes from my non-physical spirit side, I have been designed with a physical body or “earth” side as well. I am settled on the earth with other creatures and created matter. The earth, all people, all beings, and all creation have the same Owner. This is a reminder to avoid arrogance in thinking that we are better than any of the creatures that we share this earth with.
With this observation of my world and with the help of the Quran’s guidance, I repent from any worldview or idea that I previously had, that attributed the source of existence to anything other than God. I feel confident that an Absolute God, who must be ever present and fully responsive, will hear me and accept this prayer.
11:62 They argued, “O Ṣâliḥ! We truly had high hopes in you before this. How dare you forbid us to worship what our forefathers had worshipped? We are certainly in alarming doubt about what you are inviting us to.” 2
Salih was held in high regard by the people of Thamud. They are disappointed that he is abandoning the established practices of this time and place. Without actually considering the ideas that Salih presents, he is immediately dismissed with the words, “How dare you.” The religion of Thamud represents any established, indoctrinated idea. Critical thinking and objection to the idea is met with “how dare you.” Why is belief in God dismissed, here and now in the 21st century? Am I, like the people of Thamud, simply resistant to change, feeling doubtful and alarmed by other ideas, even if the ideas presented make sense? Or am I too distracted or too busy to even think about belief and existence? Or do I have a willful ego that is resistant to submit to God? Am I unwilling to be held accountable to a higher authority? Do I feel pressure by my family, friends, and community to conform? Am I afraid to take a stand and go against the mainstream worldview?
11:63 He responded, “O my people! Consider if I stand on a clear proof from my Lord and He has blessed me with a mercy from Him. Who could help me against Allah if I were to disobey Him? You would only contribute to my doom.3
What is the clear proof that Salih is referring to? When I see a bird in the spring, I think “How beautiful it is.” If I am conscious of this thought, whatever made me must also be a conscious Being. How did the bird come to exist? Does the bird exist spontaneously? No, there is no evidence for this. Like myself, the creation of the bird must also be the result of conscious will. Is it the result of evolution? Can I attribute the change of particles to the particles themselves or does the constant orderly change of particles necessitate a conscious will at every moment of existence? The evolutionary process is also created by the same One that created consciousness and my perception of beauty. Evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic mutation are also part of created divine order. When I see a bird, I experience beauty. Its Source must be the Owner of all beauty. When I see a mountain, I experience its majesty. Its Source must be the Absolute Source of majesty. When it rains, I experience mercy. Its Source must be the Ultimate Source of all mercy. I can experience all attributes of God, such as beauty, mercy, and majesty, and so on by observing creation. Creation itself is a clear proof for the existence of God. Its purpose is to teach and remind me of God’s infinite qualities and attributes.
Salih feels blessed to have this clear understanding and attributes this not to himself, but to God. Salih, a prophet, teaches believers to regard their belief with humility, never arrogance. Believers should feel grateful and understand that it is only through the mercy of God, that they arrive at belief. Scripture, teachers (in the form of prophets), our intellect, consciousness, feelings, and the entire universe are all provided as a mercy to guide us to belief.
11:64 And O my people! This she-camel of Allah is a sign for you. So leave her to graze [freely] on Allah’s earth and do her no harm, or a swift punishment will overtake you!” 4
How is a camel or any creature a “sign” for me? What is a sign? A sign is something that points to something else beyond itself, ie. the source. Through the lens of belief, when I see the bird, I no longer think, “How beautiful it is”. I think, “Glory be to the One that created such beauty.” This way, a bird, a camel, or any creation becomes a sign for me. My physical body, just like the bird, is from the earth. Indeed the earth itself belongs to God. Because all are from the same Source, I must respect all creation as I, too, am a created being. I am settled on this earth by permission of my Creator and must interact with my fellow creation in a harmonious manner, without causing harm. By acknowledging that the beauty of the bird is created, I am in a state of worship to the Creator. This way, my non-physical body, or spirit connects to God.
11:65 But they killed her, so he warned [them], “You have [only] three [more] days to enjoy life in your homes—this is an unfailing promise!”
11:66 When Our command came, We saved Ṣâliḥ and those who believed with him by a mercy from Us and spared them the disgrace of that Day. Surely your Lord [alone] is the All-Powerful, Almighty.
11: 67 And the [mighty] blast overtook the wrongdoers, so they fell lifeless in their homes,
11:68 as if they had never lived there. Surely Thamûd denied their Lord, so away with Thamûd! 5
By being in a state of disbelief, I insult creation by cutting it off from its Owner. If the bird has no owner, it has no meaning. I abuse it simply by denying it has a Creator. I kill the meaning it carries, the beauty it conveys. It becomes easy for me to abuse it physically, maim, and kill it. This abuse also extends to all other creations because I apply the same approach to the tree, flower, bug, plant as well. Similarly, If I disobey the message by cutting myself off from my Owner, denying His existence, I am doomed. There is nothing and no one to take refuge in. I immediately cut myself off from His infinite grace and mercy. My life has no meaning. I become a physical body only. I live an existence worse than an animal existence. I become an animal with an ego, one that consumes endlessly and is never satisfied. I am given time on this earth for a short while. It feels as if it were only a few days long. But death is guaranteed. This is the unfailing promise. I squander my life by living in a state of disbelief. It is as if I never was really there. I didn’t benefit from creation to learn about my reality and my Creator. I doomed myself to utter annihilation with the choice that I have made.
Only through acknowledging and confirming belief in the necessary existence of one’s Absolute Owner as well as the Creator of the entirety of the universe, can one feel truly secure. In this way, I don’t abuse creation, rather I use it as it was intended—to learn about the qualities of my Creator. I experience the security and comfort that comes with attachment to a Being that is infinitely merciful, beautiful, and majestic. To worship is to know and acknowledge God. By being in a state of belief, I am saved from a disgraceful, meaningless life. I pray by verbalizing this acknowledgment. I feel confident that an all powerful, all merciful God hears me and accepts this prayer.
Evidence Based Belief 