In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
It is God who creates you all out of dust, then out of a gamete. He then makes you into two sexes. No female conceives or gives birth without His knowledge. No one attains to old age or has his life cut short unless it be thus laid down in (God’s) decree. All this is easy for God.
The two great bodies of water on earth are not alike: one is palatable, sweet and pleasant to drink, and the other is salty and bitter. Yet from each you eat fresh meat and extract ornaments to wear. You also see there ships that plow their course through them so that you may go in quest of some of His bounty and be grateful. (The Originator, Fatir, 35: 11-12)
We commented at length on the first of these two verses last week. However, we need to add a word on the usage of a certain word in the Qur’anic text. The Arabic verb nuammir, which is translated as “attain to old age”, also connotes blessing someone’s life so as to use one’s days and years in what is useful and beneficial, as well as filling it with feelings, actions and lasting benefits. Likewise, cutting one’s life short may mean giving that person a shorter number of years to live or making his life devoid of blessing so as to spend his days producing nothing of real value. A blessed hour that is full of useful action, ideas and feelings may be equal to a complete lifetime, while a whole year may be spent without recording anything of value either in human life’s measure or in God’s scales. Yet everything any human being thinks or does anywhere in the universe is recorded by God.
Nations and communities are the same as individuals: they may live long or have their lives cut short. Hence, the Qur’anic statement includes them, as indeed it includes inanimate objects, such as rocks, caves and rivers, which could have a long or short life span. Likewise, man-made things, such as buildings, machines and appliances, clothes, etc; may all live long or short lives. Every life duration, of every creature and everything, is recorded in God’s book. This belongs to His absolute and infinite knowledge.
When we look at things in this light, we feel we want to contemplate the universe in a new way. Anyone who feels that God’s hand and eye controls everything in such a meticulous manner will hardly ever forget or go astray. He will see God’s hand, power and care in everything around him. This is the effect the Qur’an has on people’s hearts and minds.
The surah moves on to focus on a different phenomenon we all see, which is water and its varieties. One type of water is sweet and palatable while the other is bitter and salty. They go their separate ways, or meet together, by God’s will, serving man’s needs: “The two great bodies of water on earth are not alike: one is palatable, sweet and pleasant to drink, and the other is salty and bitter. Yet from each you eat fresh meat and extract ornaments to wear. You also see there ships that plow their course through them so that you may go in quest of some of His bounty and be grateful.”
That God wanted water to be of different types is clear. That such variety serves a definite purpose is also something we should be clear about. We know some aspects of the wisdom behind providing sweet, palatable water, since we use it for different purposes. It is indeed essential for life. As for the other type of water, which is bitter and salty, filling seas and oceans, we may quote a few lines from a famous scientist explaining this immaculate design. In his book, Man Does Not Stand Alone, A. Cressy Morrison says: “In spite of all the gaseous emanations from the earth of all the ages, most of them poisonous, the atmosphere remains practically uncontaminated and unchanging in its balanced relationship necessary to man’s very existence. The great balance wheel is that vast mass of water, the sea, from which have come life, food, rain, temperate climate, plants, animals, and ultimately man himself. Let him who comprehends this stand in awe before its majesty and gratefully acknowledge his obligations.”
This is some of what we have been able to understand of the purpose behind the diversity of creation. It is clear that it is all done for a specific reason aiming to achieve harmony and balance, which allows the overall system of the universe to function. This can only be done by the Creator of the universe and everything that lives in it. Such a meticulously accurate system cannot come about by sheer coincidence. The reference to the difference in the two great bodies of water suggests that, like every other variation, it is done deliberately. Later on, the surah refers to some aspects of this variety in the realm of feelings, values and standards.
The two different bodies of water are shown as united in being subjected to man: “Yet from each you eat fresh meat and extract ornaments to wear. You also see there ships that plow their course through them.” The fresh meat refers to fish and the great variety of marine animals, while the ornaments refer to pearls and corals. Pearls are found in the body of certain bivalve mollusks. It is a hard smooth round iridescent mass, formed of layers of calcium carbonate deposited around a foreign body in the shell of these mollusks. After a while it solidifies in the form of a pearl, which is valued as a gem for its luster. Coral is a sort of plant made by marine polyps, which can become extensive reefs stretching over an area of several miles. It can also present a hazard to shipping and to any foreign creature that falls within it. It can be cut by special methods and is often used in jewelry and ornamentation.
Ships plow their way through rivers and seas, benefiting by what God has given every creature of characteristics and qualities. The density of the water and the substances used in shipbuilding is a factor in making ships float and move. Another factor is wind. Other forces may be used to achieve this useful condition, such as electric and steam power. All are subjected to man’s will by God.
“So that you may go in quest of some of His bounty and be grateful.” Thus you may use both bodies of water to travel and do business, as also find food and nourishment. It behoves you to be grateful to God for all this bounty, which is made available to you.