al-Jāthiyah

وَفِي خَلْقِكُمْ وَمَا يَبُثُّ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ

4. And in your creation, and what He scattered [in the world of existence] of moving [living] creatures are signs [of Divine Omnipotence] for people who have faith with certainty.

All existence is the book of knowing God. In this vein, the heaven, mankind, and the animal world may render us assistance towards achieving one single goal. The creation of heavens, the earth, and living creatures lies on one scale and that of man on the other. Making mention of man independently and prior to other living creatures is worthy of note.

The existence of heavens and the earth are referred to in the preceding Verse, but the Verse in question regards the creation of mankind and all living creatures of the world as signs for believers who have attained to certitude, since the level of the latter stands above that of faith; knowledge of certitude (‘ilm al-yaqin) is inferior to essence of certitude (‘ayn al-yaqin) and the latter is in turn inferior to realization of certitude (haqq al-yaqin).

Besides signs upon the horizons, the Verse in question treats of signs upon the soul saying:

“And in your creation and what He scattered [in the world of existence] of moving [living] creatures are signs [of Divine Omnipotence] for people who have faith with certainty.”

According to a well known narration attributed to the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Ali (as), man is the microcosm embracing the macrocosm. His qualities constitute an admixture of the qualities shared by all living creatures and the diversity of his creation is an extract of all the accidents of the world. The structure of a human cell is as enigmatic as that of an industrial metropolitan city and the creation of one single hair whose various characteristics have been discovered by science may serve as a great Divine Sign.

Thousands of kilometers of veins and vessels some of which are extraordinarily delicate and thousands of kilometers of commissural fibers of the nervous system and the manner of their interrelation with the highly complicated, enigmatic, and powerful brain system and the functions of each and every internal bodily organ and their strange harmony at the time of emergencies and the strong immune system against external bodies demonstrate the greatness of Divine Signs.

Besides mankind, hundreds of thousands of living creatures from microscopic living beings to huge animals with totally diverse characteristics and structures, one of which may be the subject of lifelong research for many a scientist, bear testimony to Divine Signs. In spite of the fact that thousands of books have been authored on the mysteries surrounding their creation, human knowledge is still quite limited. Each of these creatures serves as a sign of the Creator’s Infinite Knowledge, Wisdom, and Omnipotence.

What is the reason lying behind the fact that many individuals witness such signs for decades but they are totally unaware of them? The Holy Qur’an provides an answer to the question: these signs are for seekers of faith and certitude and those who think. They are for those who have opened their hearts and are thirsty for certitude and knowledge. Such people do not fail to notice the slightest movement and the tiniest being, rather ponder about them for long hours, thus transcend towards God and the Book of knowing the Creator, spending their time in devotions and supplication, brimming the goblets of their hearts with the wine of love for God.