Nature Subjected to Mankind
One of God’s blessings to man is the subjecting of nature to him. There are two verses in the Quran which say: “It is God who has subjected the sea to you so that you may sail thereon by His command, and so that you may seek His bounty, and so that you may be grateful. He has subjected whatever is in Heaven and on the earth to you; it is all from Him. In that are signs for those who ponder.” (45:12-13)
‘Subjecting’ something means harnessing something to make it usable. God, who is the Creator of the entire universe, has subjected all things in nature. Everything is governed by the laws of nature and by determining them one can tap into the potential of the world around. As such it has become possible for man to make use of God’s creation to fulfill his own needs. Had natural phenomena not been conquered or subjected by divine laws, it would not have been possible for man to make use of them.
One example is that of the sea. The natural water reservoirs in the form of seas, are spread over about 71% of the earth’s surface. Modern scientific research has revealed that there is a great law of nature which maintains these reservoirs of water on the earth, a spherical planet, which is continually in motion.
On the one hand, the extraordinary gravity of the earth is pulling these reservoirs of water towards it, and on the other hand, there is about a five-mile thick cover of air over the seas, which maintains pressure over the seas. For these two reasons the water remains continuously in the seas, otherwise all the water would have flown up into space. The same is true of ships floating on the seas. Here also the law of nature laid down by God is in force.
According to this law whenever anything is put into water, the upward pressure by the fluid on the body, partly or wholly immersed therein, is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. This, in terms of the discipline of hydrostatics, is known as buoyancy.
Another matter of subjection relates to outer sphere. The vast space all around the earth is filled with huge hot stars, hence the expression, starry universe. All these stars are situated at a fixed distance from the earth. If this fixed distance were not maintained, the entire earth would be burnt to ashes.
When we look at the open sky at night from the earth, we see many stars of an apparently diminutive size. These stars are actually huge, but they appear small because of their remoteness. When we observe with the naked eye, about 10,000 stars are visible. These stars are part of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
In the vastness of space, there are innumerable very big stars which are always in motion. There are more than one hundred billion galaxies and in every galaxy there are about one hundred billion stars.
Man could not see this vast world of stars by the naked eye, so God placed such material resources in the world by discovering and developing which man was enabled to build powerful telescopes. That is how in modern times man has made use of these resources to develop space telescopes, and is now able to see countless stars in the galaxies.
The subjection of seas and animals meant that man was able to learn the laws of nature and by the help of these laws could use them for his needs. In the matter of celestial bodies, subjection does not mean making use of them for one’s needs, but rather that man may see the world of stars by using the equipment that he has developed, and ponder upon all these things. And by contemplation and pondering he may make the world of stars a means of attaining a high level of realization of God.
The subjection of the seas and animals was meant to serve man. And the subjection of the galaxies of stars was meant to enable man to discover the Majesty of the Creator after pondering upon these things, thus finding a high level of spiritual provision for God-realization. One scientist observed that “as a scientist and as a geographer, I have become much more grateful to the Creator.”
When a scientist studies nature, an unbounded feeling of the majesty of the powers of nature is engendered and his inner existence bows down before the Being who has created such a meaningful universe. It is a fact that in the present times it was not scientists who promoted such thinking as lead to the denial of God. It was in actual fact certain atheist philosophers who gave a wrong slant to scientific discoveries which lead to a self-styled interpretation of the denial of God. In reality, these scientific discoveries more rightly, encouraged and reinforced the acceptance of God.
