Beauty Care and Being Loved - Surah Ar-Rahman

Last time in this Surah Ar-Rahman series... It's not just you're going to have interesting facts. It's not just you're going to have a lot of obscure knowledge. Or you're going to be able to drop some Arabic quotes to somebody and they're going to be like, Mashallah, oh my God, you know so much Arabic.

That's not the goal. What is the Qur'an teaching us? What is the goal? You're going to develop a real sense of balance. So when somebody is saying something out of balance, you can catch it and say, no, no, no, no, no.

Can't do that. And when you're doing something out of balance, you can catch yourself. So you don't violate your own scale.

You don't mess up your own scale on Judgment Day.

To help you follow along and reflect more deeply, we've created a companion workbook for this series. Download it at bayyina.com forward slash rahman

Once again everyone, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

The highest way, the greatest way of getting to know Allah through our bayan is getting to know Allah, speaking Himself, introducing Himself, and really getting to know who الرَّحْمَٰن is.

The second greatest way to get to know Allah is to observe the balance and the scale of the universe and to try to live a life of balance. Then the third is what we're getting into now in ayahs 10, 11, and 12.

The Earth Laid Down for All Creatures

وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ - And the earth, He laid it down for all creatures.

So the word أَنَام, instead of going through the exhaustive commentary, I'll summarize what the Mufassirun have said here. The first thing they've talked about here is He talked about the sky being raised, and now He's talking about the earth being laid down. So rising and bringing down.

There's a contrast between the earth and the sky in the language that's being used. The other thing is وَضَعَ is the second usage. The first one was وَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ, right? He laid down the scale.

Now He's saying وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ, a very different meaning now. وَضَعَ this time means to humble, to put to service. خَفَضَ لَهُمْ، جَعَلَ تَحْتَ أَقْدَامِهِمْ.

And so Allah put this earth, laid it down, humbled it, lowered it, surrendered it for the benefit of أَنَام. So what in the world is أَنَام? أَنَام includes human beings. أَنَام includes all living animals.

All species can be counted as part of الْأَنَام. That's actually, and it comes from, it's related to the word نُمُوّ in Arabic, and نَمَّ in Arabic, which means growth. Anything that grows, anything that actually nurtures and moves can be part of الْأَنَام.

So Allah is now saying that the earth was made a place where all manner of species can find a habitat. There are animals that exist under sub-freezing temperatures, Allah created a habitat for them. There are animals that need dry climate, Allah created a habitat for them.

There are animals that we don't even know exist that are at the bottom of the ocean, they're part of أَنَام, right? Where we've never even been able to reach. Our submarines can't go that low because they can't handle that kind of weight, right? And yet Allah created in this earth all kinds of creatures and laid out a rizq for all of them. But why talk about that when the subject was human beings? This is the point of contemplation here.

The Comparison That Changes Everything

The seed of this ayah is very easy. He laid this earth down for all creatures to have a place to exist, to have nurturing, to have shelter, to have a habitat, right? But why do I need to know that? I need to know that because I'm gonna compare myself to all of them. I'm gonna compare myself to all of them.

Did He give me what I need to survive on this planet? And did He give them? Yes. But He didn't just give... He gave them a means to survive. But He gave me much more than a means to survive.

Like Allah did not just provide me with protein and carbohydrates and essential sugars and fats and I can just survive, right? Because I could have survived without an orange or a strawberry and I could have survived without chicken. Or there could have been... You know, if you've ever been in a hospital, if you've ever been given hospital food, right? Because you're about to go through some kind of surgery or after surgery, they're providing you these nutrients with these shakes or whatever they give you and it tastes like basically what your car tastes when it gets an oil change, right? But you're surviving. You're surviving because you're drinking that stuff, but it's disgusting.

It's absolutely horrifying that you have to drink and consume that stuff, right? But actually, you didn't need good taste to survive. You didn't need to see something look good. Like, okay, we need protein, right? Well, cockroaches have protein.

Spiders have protein. Ants have protein. You know, grasshoppers have protein.

We could just crush all of them and put them in a blender and get our protein intake. I mean, as disgusting as that sounds, at the end of the day, nutrients is what the body needs to survive. By the way, are there other animals that eat bugs, that eat gunk and eat whatever to survive? Are there other animals that eat dead to survive? They do.

And that's a system Allah created for them, right? The animals, like fish for example, breathe and live in the same water that feces is in. This is how Allah made them. But then He made me and He made you.

And we got standards. You know, the horse, when you put hay in front of the horse, it doesn't say a little salt at least. You know, it just eats it.

And how does it eat it? It eats it off the ground. Would you and I ever accept eating something off the ground? No. By the way, if we did, we probably would still survive.

But it's beneath us to eat off the ground. In fact, if you saw a fruit on the street and it was peeled, like a banana that's already been peeled, would you touch it? No, you wouldn't touch it. It needs to be packaged properly for me to eat it.

When you compare what Allah created for the rest of the species on this planet, and then you compare it to what we enjoy on this planet, then you realize something. Allah didn't have to do that for me. Because He didn't do it for the rest of them, and He could have done me the same way He did for all of them.

Isn't that possible for Allah to do?

And أَنَام includes human beings. So there's a necessary comparison that happens inside of this ayah. But then when He says, وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ He then adds...

If the sun was always there, then you would just take it for granted. You wouldn't even know what darkness is. You just wouldn't know. You don't know that it exists. You know what? Allah, as it is, is always there.

It never sets. It's always there. And you know, the fact that it's always there, makes it the most invisible.

You know, winter isn't always here. Or summer is not always here. And so it makes you appreciate it.

But if summer was always there, you'd never appreciate it. It's just human behavior. Human nature.

Allah's rahmah is constantly there. So what happens to us? Well, it's always there, so you start taking it for granted. This is the nature of the human being.

Fruits That Make You Smile

So, وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ Okay, now the subject is changing. Everything was about all the other species.

Now he says, in it, there is فَاكِهَة. What is فَاكِهَة? اسْمٌ لِمَا يُؤْكَلُ تَفَكُّهًا Something that is eaten for joy. Something that's eaten... فَاكِهَة in Arabic actually means to smile.

To be happy. There are some things you eat, that is, the moment you eat them, what happens? Ah. You could be like a really grouchy, nasty person.

But even you, when you have the right kind of strawberry, or the right kind of orange, or the right, you know, you just have the right kind of fruit, you're just like, Ah. That was good. Just one bite of... فَاكِهَة is delicious fruit that makes you smile when you eat it.

It just makes you smile. فَاكِهَة. And all kinds of... فَاكِهَة means all kinds of fruit.

This is why, إِذَا طَابَتْ نَفْسُهُ بِالْحَدِيثِ وَالضَّحِكِ Actually, when you feel good with laughter, like you eat and you're like, Oh, it's so good. Like that kind of thing. You know.

That's actually فَاكِهَة. And by the way, did Allah have to create food that's, a fruit that that's delicious? To that extent? No. He didn't.

You're like, I don't even like fruit. Okay. But you eat fruit-flavored ice cream.

You eat fruit-flavored yogurts. And you don't like fruit? There's fruit in everything you eat. Everything you enjoy eating.

And when you eat that stuff, there's just this joy that comes on your face. Like, my father-in-law, he's so sweet. He, he just, he knows I have a weakness for certain kinds of yogurt.

And, he'll just, I'll just be sitting, he'll just randomly bring me the yogurt. And then he just waits to watch me take the first bite, because he knows what happens to my face. Like, You know.

That's فَاكِهَة.

The Beauty of Palm Trees

And then he says, Okay, this is where things get really interesting. And he says, وَالنَّخْلُ, and palm trees.

All kinds of fruit, not to mention palm trees. By the way, are we now only talking about survival, but, are we adding joy to this now? So, فَاكِهَة is about taste. نَخْل, palm tree, or date palm, is actually not just about taste, it's also about beauty.

And palm trees weren't just beautiful to the ancient Arabs, they're beautiful to Floridians, and Californians, and Hawaiians, and, you know, they're beautiful in the Khaleej, they're beautiful by coastal areas. Palm trees are actually a symbol of relaxation, joy, comfort, you know, anywhere you go. You know, and people that live in areas where you don't get palm trees, pay extra to get a palm tree on their front porch, just so everybody will say, Oh, you got a palm tree? You know.

Allah says, it's a symbol of beauty. But of course, it's also very particular to the Arab, isn't it? So this is something you're gonna have to note now. Surah Ar-Rahman, will mention things that are very particular to Arab taste.

Like, of course, Allah could have mentioned mango steams here from Malaysia. You know, He could have mentioned mangoes from Pakistan. But He doesn't.

He mentions palm trees. Date palms. Why date palms? Because it's particular to who? The Arabs.

And we're gonna have to, Quran is for all of humanity, so why is it particular to the Arabs? That question will get, that mystery will start getting unresolved, and getting opened up as we go through this surah. Because we're gonna see a bunch of things that are very, very Arab-specific inside this surah. So, وَالنَّخْلُ ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ

By the way, فَاكِهَةٌ is open-ended, it's نَكِرَة. There's no ال on it.

It's not الْفَاكِهَة It's فَاكِهَةٌ All kinds of fruits. Many, many fruits. But نَخْل is very particular.

So He specifically highlighted the palm tree. So there's something very particular being called out here.

ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ He said, وَالنَّخْلُ ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ means possessing covers, and bunches. The date, the date is not just, Allah created it in a way that the packaging of it is hanging, and it's inside of a cover, and you peel the cover, and then you eat the date.

So Allah is highlighting in this ayah, He could have just said, He made fruits for you to eat. But He said, delicious fruit that makes you smile. Then He said, He could have just said, He made palm trees.

He said, no, palm trees that get filled with these bunches with covers on them. Referring to the peel of the fruit, like the peel of the banana, the peel of the orange, the peel of the watermelon, right? Now what do you know about those peels? Beautiful color, incredible smell, nutritional value for the earth, if not for you. You can put them, you can throw the orange peel into the ground, and it will feed the earth.

If you, you know, human beings make food too. We make like chocolate and wrappers, and you know, if you eat a Snickers, and you take the wrapper and throw it into the earth, what's it gonna do? It's gonna poison the earth. It's gonna poison the ocean.

You take an orange peel, that Allah made, Allah has given candy, and you take the orange peel and you throw it on the earth, what's it gonna do? It's gonna feed and nourish the earth. You know, not to mention, it has medicinal qualities, other usages, even the peel has usages. And the idea of the peel, it's protected from bugs, it's protected from disease, you don't have to wash it, because it's already been secured by Allah as a washed thing, right? الْأَكْمَام.

Like, he didn't have to do that. He could have fed me like he feeds the horse. But he put it in such a beautiful way on a tree, and he hung it like a gift for me to unwrap.

You know, as it ripens.

All of this, now if you count what he just said, animals have all kinds of food, and however they survive. Human beings get to get fruit that they enjoy the taste of, and unravel.

They get to take it off of trees that themselves are beautiful. The packaging is beautiful, the colors are stunning and beautiful. I don't know if you guys do this, but it used to be a thing when I was younger, like 1830s.

Like, I don't know, this is a Pakistani thing, maybe it's just a Pakistani thing. Our mothers, they love decorating their dinner table with plastic fruits. Like, God knows how many times I've bitten into a plastic green apple.

Right? Plastic fruits, plastic plants, right? And of course to top it all off, remote controls that are inside the plastic wrapping like it's protecting a crime scene. Like... But why do they do that? Because fruits themselves look what? They look beautiful. They look beautiful.

Okay, if that wasn't enough, and by the way, I'll just read this commentary. وَوَصَّفَ النَّخْلَ بِذَاتِ الْأَكْمَامِ Allah described the palm tree with possessing these bunches and these covers. وَصْفٌ لِلتَّحْسِينِ A description to add beauty.

وَامْتِنَانٍ And to show how much of a favor He's done to us. بِجَمَالِهِ وَحُسْنِهِ With its beauty.

And in it, there is beauty for you when you relax and when you go about.

فَامْتَنَّ بِمَنَافِعِهَا وَبِحُسْنِ مَنْظَرِهَا So Allah is actually now reminding us of what out of His way He went to give us benefit, not just nutritional benefit, but also to look at something beautiful. Because human beings, they don't just want to eat food. The food's gotta look good.

The food's gotta smell good. The food's gotta taste good. We need all three.

Nutrition is not even a concern. It's gotta look good. It's gotta smell good.

It's gotta taste good. So far we've covered looks good. We've covered tastes good.

فَاكِهَة Is there still something missing? What's missing?

The Complete Sensory Experience

الرَّيْحَانِ is beautiful, delicious, amazing smell by the way. الرَّيْحَانِ But we'll get to that. وَالْحَبُّ grain...

By the way, grain is the fundamental need of human civilization.

But he didn't mention grain first. He mentioned delicious fruit first. Then he mentioned the favorite Arab fruit first.

The second. And now he gets to the need. But even when he gets to the need, he could've just said, وَالْحَبُّ Grain is corn.

Grain is wheat. Grain is barley. All of that is grain.

And all of our breads and rice. And all of that's coming from grain. So he could've just left it at that.

But he says, ذُو الْعَصْفِ عَصْف You see these covers that have to be peeled? But these covers, what's the purpose of these covers being peeled? مَتَاعٌ لَّكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَامِكُمْ You can peel these covers off of the barley, off of the corn. And when you make a pile of that, then your animals come and eat that. So you didn't have to actually even prepare food for your animals.

The hay, the leftovers collected from this, the dried up leaves, and the stalks that you clean up before you get your seeds, and you get your grain, all of that goes into feeding your animals. Allah took care of you and your animals. سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ.

وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ And then he adds وَالرَّيْحَانِ So not just, and by the way, الْعَصْفُ by the way, is قُشُورُ التَّبَنِ By the way, عَاصِفَة is a wind also. رِيحٌ عَاصِف Why is it called a wind? Because actually it carries small bits and pieces with it. And these small bits and pieces that peel off of the grain that the animals eat, Allah is referring to them and saying, I even packaged every grain for you to protect it from the elements.

And even when you throw this package down, it saves you tons of money and takes care of your animals. And then he adds وَالرَّيْحَانِ

Now رَيْحَان comes from رِيح. رَيْحَان is صِيغَةُ الْمُبَالَغَة from رِيح.

رِيح means wind or scent. رَيْحَان means things that have good scent. Things that have a pleasant scent are called رَيْحَان.

So now, we had covered before taste, it tastes good, it looks good, it's clean because it's been covered. And now, what else has he added? It smells good.

Okay, you're like, I don't smell potato. If I go to a potato farm, I'm not going to smell a potato. I don't want to smell a carrot. Yeah, but when you cook it, what are you going to do? Mom made aloo gosht.

Like, you're going to... It goes in your nose and all of a sudden, رَيْحَان And رَيْحَان includes flowers. You know that? Anything that has a pleasant smell that grows is captured inside the word of رَيْحَان. So roses and jasmines.

And then beyond that, from those things, we create entire industries of perfumes and scents and clothes. All of that is inside الرَّيْحَان. Allah could have created... And الرَّيْحَان, you notice the dammah الرَّيْحَانُ.

It's the O sound. It's not, وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ وَالرَّيْحَانِ That's another qira'ah of the ayah, by the way. If that was the case, then the smell of the crop.

The smell of the crop. But الرَّيْحَان is all things that possess a wonderful smell. All things that possess a wonderful smell.

Just the joy of smell that Allah created in this world.

Balance vs Beauty: The Sky and the Earth

As I leave you for today, I just want you to note something. When He talked about the sky, He was talking about balance.

When He talked about the earth, He was talking about beauty. You notice the difference? The sky was about what? Balance. And the earth is about? Beauty.

This is really important. And because from balance, you get a sense of responsibility. And from beauty, you just get appreciation.

You get appreciation. You realize someone loves you to do this for you. Someone really went out of their way to do this for you.

With the sky, you get to be in awe of Allah. Afraid of Allah. Mindful of Allah.

And with the earth, you become in love with Allah. Grateful to Allah. Appreciative of Allah.

There are two dimensions of our relationship with Allah. One of them is we have to fear Allah. We have to worry about the day of judgment.

The other one is we have to love Allah and appreciate Allah. You see what Allah did? The khutbah for fearing Allah is in the sky. And being mindful of Allah.

That khutbah is in the sky. And the khutbah of loving Allah and appreciating Allah and being grateful to Allah is where? On earth. And we live here in... سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ.

Everything you need to get to know Allah between the sky and the earth.

I mean how can you deny God now? Which is why you're gonna get the question next and tomorrow's discussion.

How are you gonna deny Allah now? سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ.

What an absolutely spectacular summary of the human being's journey to Allah in the opening of this surah. May Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ make us love Allah the way He deserves to be loved. And may Allah عَزَّ وَجَلَّ make us responsible the way He wants us to be responsible and bring a scale into all of our lives.

Coming up next time in this surah Ar-Rahman series. What becomes very clear is that Allah is actually extremely extremely angry with some people. You don't say these words.

تُكَذِّبَانِ is not a kind word. It's a very scathing criticism. And I'm reminding you in the previous surah nations were destroyed because they did this act.

Aad, Thamud, the nation of Lot, the nation of Nuh, before them and Firaun. تَكْذِيب was used for all of them. And in the beginning when they denied the Prophet ﷺ Allah says