Creation of Allah – The Trees

We are surrounded by the various creations of Allah. There are human beings, animals, trees, stones, the very earth we live in, the sun, the moon, wind, rain, and the list go on and on. The amazing thing is that all of the creations of Allah worship and glorify Allah. Allah said,
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا 
“The seven heavens and the Earth, and every being therein, celebrate His glory, and there is not a single thing but glorifies Him with His Praise, but you do not understand their glorification; verily He is Forbearing, Forgiving”. [17: 44] 

Allah is telling us that everything does tasbeeh of Allah, glorifies Allah. How? In whatever manner it befits them. But for sure they glorify and worship Allah, and it is this fact that should act as a strong reminder for us to worship Allah. Next time you walk down the road, look up at the sky and tell yourself that everything in the sky is worshipping Allah. Next time you are in a garden, look around and see the trees and tell yourself that trees and the leaves on them are all worshipping Allah. Next time you are free spending time outside, look at the birds and tell yourself that even the birds are praising Allah. During the day look at the sun and during the night look at the moon and tell yourself that these huge creations of Allah also worship Allah. Next time the wind or rain comes your way, remind yourself that even those things worship Allah. So if everything is worshipping Allah then why can you and I not worship the Creator of all things? Are we too busy to worship Allah even though He gave us the Sun which brightens the day, the moon which beautifies the night, the wind which helps us cool down during a hot day? Or are we too busy playing games and even revising and we just don’t care about the fact that everything is worshipping Allah apart from us?  

Through these signs, Allah helps us to remember Him and reminds us of the reward that is awaiting us in Jannah. What do I mean? The beautiful trees should remind us of Jannah. The Prophet ﷺ said,“The trees in Paradise are so big and huge that a rider could travel in its shade for 100 years”. [Muslim]  

Imagine how big the trees will be in Paradise. If you go to a nearby tree and you try to move from one side to another, it will take you a maximum of five seconds. But the trees (as well as other things) in Jannah are huge. The Prophet ﷺ went further and said that the trees have branches that are made from gold. There are some trees that have silver branches. Then there are trees that will bear different types of fruits. In the tafsir it says that the believers will be reclining on their couches and the trees will bend themselves so then the fruits will directly enter your mouth. You would not even have to bend and reach for them, they will automatically enter your mouth.    

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said,“When I went to Sidratul Muntaha, I saw trees whose leaves were like the ears of elephants”. [Bukhari] 

Subhana’Allah, can you imagine trees made of gold, huge in structure, bearing fruits, which will move towards you by themselves and different shaped leaves that you have never seen before. Just from these descriptions of just the trees of Paradise should mesmerise you and me and encourage us to worship Allah. 

When Prophet Ibrahim met our Prophet ﷺ, he gave him a piece of advice, and this is the practical advice that I would like to share today. The Prophet Ibrahim said,“Oh Muhammad, give my Salam to your nation and tell them that Paradise is beautiful. Its water is pure, its soil is clean, there are vast huge pieces of land, and the trees of Jannah are ‘Subhanallahi walhamdulillah, wala ilaha illala, wallahu akbar”. [Tirmidhi] 

So Prophet Ibrahim is advising us to decorate our Paradise by doing good deeds, more specifically decorating our Paradise with trees by saying ‘Subhanallah walhamdulillah, wala ilaha illala, wallahu akbar’. Whenever we are free, just say ‘Subhanallah walhamdulillah, wala ilaha illala, wallahu akbar’ and you’ll be decorating your paradise.  

Allah also uses trees as a reminder of hellfire. We all know the famous story of how our Prophet Adam was tricked by Iblis, the cursed one. Allah said in the Qur’an, 
فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ قَالَ يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَىٰ شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَ 
 “Then Satan whispered to him; he said, "O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and possession that will not decline?". [20:120] 

So Iblis deceived Prophet Adam by saying that if he eats from a particular tree then he will live forever. We all know what happened, the fact that Iblis lied and deceived our great grandfather, Adam. Unfortunately, the same thing happens to us as well. Shaytan deceives us by making us think that our religion is very burdensome, that praying will take so much time, that having an illicit relationship is actually OK. That it is only one puff and you do not have to take the second. “Do not worry, it is fine to pray later. You don’t have to fast. Don’t worry, you’re too young to do good things, do all the bad things now and repent later”. All of these deceiving sentences echo in our head, but the truth is, all of these misleading promises are false, none of them are true. When Adam was tricked into eating from the tree, did Prophet Adam have an eternal life? Did Prophet Adam have everlasting power? No. Similarly, all those promises Shaytan makes to us are all false. So next time we walk pass a tree, remember the fact that Shaytan lies and is continuously trying to make us commit sins so then we can enter hellfire with him.  

In another passage, Allah describes the effects of eating from Zaqqoom, which is a tree of Jahannam. Allah says (45) كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِي فِي الْبُطُونِ  (44) طَعَامُ الْأَثِيمِ  (43) إِنَّ شَجَرَتَ الزَّقُّومِ 
“Indeed, the tree of Zaqqum (43). Is food for the sinful (44). Like murky oil, it boils within bellies (45)”. [44:43-45]  

Here Allah is saying that the food from the trees of Hellfire will boil the bellies of those who eat from it.  

The Prophet ﷺ said,“If one drop of Zaqqoom falls on the earth, it will corrupt the world and everything in it”. [Tirmidhi]  

This hadith just shows how toxic this tree is. Just the one drop of Zaqqoom is enough to destroy the world. Then what would happen to those who will be forced to eat from it?  

So my brothers and sisters, next time we pass a tree, let it remind us of the good that is waiting for us and the punishment that is waiting for sinners. As we said at the beginning, everything Allah has created worships Allah. We just need to be part of that majority that worships and glorifies Allah. Yes, life is a struggle. It can be hard to pray, use good language, not ingest toxic substances, help others and so on. You will struggle here and there, for a few years only, but once we are in Jannah, once we enter Paradise, all those days of struggle will be forgotten and life in Paradise will all be about chilling and having fun.    

May Allah give us the tawfeeq to worship Him and may our hearts, minds, eyes and everything else help us to appreciate the signs of Allah. Ameen.