Al-Ghāshiyah: (17) Do they not look at...

Know that when the Almighty decreed the coming of the Day of Resurrection, He divided the people of that Day into two groups: the wretched and the fortunate, and described the states of both parties. Since establishing this reality necessitates establishing the existence of the Wise Maker, He immediately followed this by mentioning this proof, saying: {Do they not look at the camels}?

The basis for using this as evidence for the truth of the Resurrection is that the camel points to the existence of the Wise Maker. Once that is established, the assertion of the Resurrection is proven.

As for the first point (proving the Maker): Since all bodies are equal in their corporeality, the specialization of each one with a description that distinguishes it from others must be due to a specific designator and the creation of an able being. When we see these bodies created with such perfection and precision, we know that this Maker is All-Knowing. When we know that this Maker must necessarily differ from His creation in attributes like need, contingency, and possibility, we know that He is Self-Sufficient (Rich). Thus, this indicates that the world has a Maker who is capable, knowing, and self-sufficient, and therefore must be the utmost in wisdom.

Furthermore, we observe that people are in need of one another. A single human being cannot manage all his own affairs. Rather, a town is necessary where each inhabitant is occupied with a different task, such that the benefit of each individual is organized from the sum of their efforts. This organization is only sound with divine legislation that includes promises and threats. This, in turn, can only occur through resurrection, the Day of Judgment, and the creation of Paradise and Hellfire. Therefore, establishing the proof of the Wise Maker necessitates affirming the truth of resurrection and the Day of Judgment. This is why God mentioned the proof of Monotheism at the end of this Surah.

If it is asked: What is the connection between the camels, the sky, the mountains, and the earth? And why did He begin by mentioning the camels?

We reply that there are two perspectives:

1. The first perspective: All created things share this same proof (of the Maker). Mentioning all of them is impossible due to their vast number. If any one thing were mentioned without the others, this same question would arise. Therefore, this question must be deemed invalid in all scenarios. Moreover, perhaps the wisdom in mentioning these disparate things is to indicate that this method of reasoning is not restricted to one type of creation over another, but is general to all, as He says: {And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] with praise, but you do not perceive their exaltation} (Al-Isrā’ 17:44). If other things were mentioned, this might not have been the case. Thus, God Almighty mentioned things that are disparate and even very distant, to indicate that all bodies—celestial and terrestrial, small and large, beautiful and ugly—are equal in testifying to the Wise Maker. This is a sound and rational perspective, and it is the one relied upon.

2. The second perspective: We explain the benefits and properties within each of these things that indicate the need for the Designer Maker, and then we explain how they relate to one another.

The camel possesses unique characteristics. God Almighty created various types of animals for acquisition: some for eating their meat, some for drinking their milk, some for carrying humans during travel, some for transporting human goods from one place to another, and some for adornment and beauty. All these benefits are found in the camel. God Almighty clarified this by saying: {Or have they not seen that We have created for them from what Our hands have made, as livestock, so they are their owners? * And We have subjected them for them, so some of them are for riding, and of them they eat} (Yā-Sīn 36:71-72). He also said: {And the grazing livestock He created for you; in them is warmth and [many] benefits, and of them you eat * And for you in them is beauty when you bring them in [for the evening], and when you send them out [for the pasture] * And they carry your loads to a land you would not have reached except with great trouble to yourselves} (An-Naḥl 16:5-7). None of the other animals possess all these qualities combined. The combination of these qualities in the camel is one of the wonders.

Secondly, in each of these capacities, the camel is superior to the animal that possesses only that single quality:

• If taken as a milk-giver, it quenches the thirst of many.
• If taken as food, it feeds and satisfies many.
• If taken for riding, it can cover vast distances that no other animal can cover, due to the strength it possesses for sustained travel, patience in thirst, and sufficiency with minimal fodder compared to other animals.
• If taken for burden, it can carry heavy loads that others cannot bear.

Thirdly, this animal held the greatest significance in the hearts of the Arabs. This is why they set the diyah (blood money) for killing a human being as camels, and when one of their kings wished to show extreme generosity to a poet who came from afar, he would give him one hundred camels, because the sight of camels is more impressive than the sight of anything else. This is why God Almighty said: {And for you in them is beauty when you bring them in [for the evening], and when you send them out [for the pasture]} (An-Naḥl 16:6).

Fourthly, I was once with a group in a desert where we lost our way. They brought a camel and followed it. This camel would turn from one hill to another and from one side to another, and they all followed it until it reached the road after a long time. We were amazed at the power of imagination in this animal—how the image of those turns was preserved in its mind in a single instance, even when a group of wise men failed to find the way, yet that animal succeeded.

Fifthly, despite its great strength for work, it differs from other animals in its obedience and submission, being as docile as a small child. It also differs in that it can be loaded while lying down and then rise up.

These numerous qualities present in the camel compel the intelligent person to reflect upon its creation and composition and deduce from that the existence of the Wise Maker, the Glorified. Since the Arabs were the most knowledgeable people regarding the camels' conditions—their health and sickness, their benefits and harms—it was fitting for the Wise God to command reflection upon their creation.

Then the Almighty said:

! 7 < { And to the heaven, how it has been raised? } > 7 !