causing them to exclaim: “Glory be to God! How wonderfully they bear witness to Him!”
Yes, the glorification of plants at the time their flowers open, and the moment they produce new shoots, and when they offer their smiling words is as beautiful and clear as themselves. For through the beautiful mouth of each flower and the tongues of its orderly shoots and the words of its well-measured seeds, the order demonstrates wisdom and is observedly within a balance which demonstrates knowledge. And the balance is within an embroidery of art which demonstrates skill and craft. And the embroidery of art is within an adornment which demonstrates favour and munificence. And the adornment is within subtle scents which demonstrate mercy and bestowal. And these meaningful qualities one within the other form such a tongue of testimony that it both describes the All-Beauteous Maker through His Names, and portrays Him through His attributes, and expounds the manifestation of His Names, and expresses His making Himself loved and known.
If you hear such testimony from a single flower, will your doubts and suspicions and heedlessness persist when you listen to all the flowers in the dominical gardens on the face of the earth and hear with what elevated strength they proclaim the necessary existence and unity of the All-Glorious Maker? If they do persist, can it be said of you that you are a conscious human being?
Come, now look carefully at a tree! See its delicate mouth within the orderly emergence of the leaves in spring, and the blossoms opening in a measured manner, and the fruits swelling with wisdom and mercy and dancing at the blowing of the breeze in the hands of the branches like innocent children. See the just balance within the wise order expressed through the tongue of the leaves becoming green at a generous hand, through that of the flowers smiling with the joy of a favour received, and through the words of the fruits laughing through a manifestation of mercy. See the careful arts and embroideries within the balance demonstrating justice; and the mercy within the skilful embroideries and adornment; and the various sweet tastes and delightful scents, which indicate mercy and bestowal; and the seeds, each of which is a miracle of power within the agreeable tastes: all these point in most clear fashion to the necessary existence and unity of an All-Wise, Generous, Compassionate, Beneficent, Bountiful Maker, a Bestower of Beauty and Favours, to the beauty of His mercy and perfection of His dominicality. Thus, if you can listen at the same time to the tongues of disposition of all the trees on the earth, you will see and understand what exquisite jewels are to be found in the treasury of the verse:
All that is in the heavens and on the earth extols God’s limitless glory.1
Qur’an, 62:1; 64:1.