Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets)

7. “Do they not look at the earth - how many of every noble kind We have caused to grow in it?”

8. “Verily in that there is a sign, but most of them do not believe.”

9. “And verily, your Lord certainly is He the Mighty, the Merciful.”

Studying the creatures of the universe and its beauties is the best way of theology and knowing Allah. Consequently, the holy Qur’an reprimands those who do not closely look at the universe.

Thus, the previous holy verses talked about the pagans’ aversion to divine religious verses, that is fhe Qur’an, and the concerned verses talk about their aversion to genetic verses and Allah’s portents in the universe. Not only did they pay no attention to the words of the Prophet (S), but also they deprived themselves of watching signs of the Truth around them.

It first says:

“Do they not look at the earth - how many of every noble kind We have caused to grow in it?”

Here, it is worthy to pay attention to the Arabic word /zauj/ concerning to the plants, though most of commentators say that this word means ‘kind’ and ‘type’ and the word /’azwaj/ means ‘types’ and ‘kinds’, it is no matter that we consider here the famous meaning of the word /zauj/, which comes to mind before any other meanings, and that is mate. So it may refer to the conjugality of plants!

In the ancient times men had somehow found out that some plants have female and male kinds, and pollination has been used to fecundate plants.

This matter about palm tree was perfectly known to man. For the first time Karl Linne (1707-1778), the Swedish botanist, could discover that the issue of sex in the world of plants is rather a general rule and plants are fertilized like most animals, that is by joining male semen with female seed and then they produce fruit.

However, many centuries before these scientists the holy Qur’an has frequently mentioned the subject of conjugality in plants.¹ And this is one of the scientific miracles of the holy Qur’an.

The Arabic word /karim/ (noble) means every thing that is valuable. It is sometimes applied to man, sometimes to plants, and sometimes it is used even to qualify a letter, such as the words of the Queen of Sheba concerning the letter of Solomon she said:

“...there has been thrown unto me a noble letter.”2

The purpose of a plant that is ‘Karim’ is the plants which are beneficial and good and, of course, each plant has got some benefits and by the development of science this fact gets more and more clear.

The second verse of the above verses, in order to specify and emphasize more, the Qur’an says:

“Verily in that there is a sign, but most of them do not believe.”

Yes, paying attention to this fact that this apparently worthless soil, which has a certain and given structure, is the source of generation of various beautiful flowers, fruitful plants, colorful fruits with totally different properties, states the ultimate power of Allah, but these blind-hearted persons are so neglectful and unaware that they do not see the divine signs and are still uninformed, for paganism and stubbornness have penetrated into their hearts. Thus, in the end of the verse, it is said:

“...but most of them do not believe.”

This faithlessness has become such as a perpetual attribute of theirs, and it is not surprising that they do not achieve anything from the divine verses, for receptivity of person is of the main conditions of the effect, as we read about the holy Qur’an in Surah Al-Baqarah, No. 2, verse 2:

“...a guidance to the pious ones.”

In the last verse of the verses under discussion, through a phrase which is the sign of both threat and encouragement, and it is a dread and a hope both, it says:

“And verily, your Lord certainly is He the Mighty, the Merciful.”

The Qur’anic word /‘aziz/, means a powerful person who is not defeated. He has power both to present great verses and to beat those who deny verses, nevertheless, He is merciful and His encompassing mercy includes every creature and, a serious return to Him in a short moment is enough that He directs all His grace toward man and to forgive all his past sins.

It is likely that the attribute /’aziz/ which has preceded the attribute /rahim/ is for this matter that if the word ‘Rahim’ came before the word “Aziz’, it would create a feeling that He is weak, but the word “Aziz’ has come first to show that, in spite of being powerful, He is very merciful.