The Earth & Nature
The earth, mountains, seas, rain, animals, plants, and the creation of man.
- Are there seven earths in Islam? Yes. The Quran says Allah created seven heavens "and of the earth, the like of them", and authentic hadith mention "seven earths" explicitly. What exactly they are is not detailed in the texts. Most scholars affirm seven real earths, many understanding them as lying one beneath another, and Ibn Kathir rejected explaining them as the seven continents.
- What does the Quran mean when it says the earth was made subservient and a bed for us? The Quran describes the earth as a bed, a resting place, a stable ground and "tame" for us: stable enough to live on, rich with water, plants and roads, and full of provision. These blessings are signs that point to Allah and call us to gratitude, and a reminder that we will return to Him.
- Is the earth flat according to Islam? No. The Quran describes the earth as "spread out" like a bed or carpet for us, which is how it is experienced by the people living on it. Classical and modern scholars explained that this does not contradict the earth being round, and some well-known classical scholars stated that the earth is round.
- What does Islam say about protecting the environment? Islam treats the earth as a trust. Humans were placed on it as successors who will be tested on how they use it, and the Quran forbids spreading corruption on the earth after it has been set right. The Prophet ﷺ said that whenever a creature eats from what a Muslim plants, it is charity for him, and he warned against fouling water sources, roads and shaded places.
- Does the Quran say mountains move like clouds? Surah an-Naml 27:88 says: "you see the mountains, thinking them rigid, while they will pass as the passing of clouds." The classical commentators, reading it with the verse before it, explained it as describing the Day of Judgment, when mountains are uprooted and blown away. Some modern writers apply it to the present motion of the earth, but that is not the mainstream reading.
- Do mountains glorify Allah and have feelings? Yes, in a way Allah knows. The Quran says the mountains glorified Allah with Dawud (AS) and refused to carry the Trust out of fear. The Prophet ﷺ said of Uhud, "This is a mountain that loves us and is loved by us." We affirm this as revealed, even though we do not understand how it happens.
- What does the Quran say about mountains? The Quran calls mountains "stakes" (awtad) and "firmly set" (rawasi), placed by Allah on the earth "lest it shift with you". They are among His signs, provide roads and water, and point to His power, and on the Last Day even they will be blown away and the earth left a level plain.
- What is the barrier between the two seas in the Quran? The Quran says Allah released two bodies of water, one fresh and sweet and one salty and bitter, and placed between them a barrier (barzakh) so that neither overwhelms the other. The commentators explain it as the meeting of rivers with the salty sea, with each keeping its nature by Allah's power, as a sign and a blessing.
- What does the Quran say about the sea and the oceans? The Quran presents the sea as a blessing Allah has subjected to us: a source of food and ornaments, a highway for ships, and a place where people remember Allah sincerely in danger. The Prophet ﷺ said its water is pure and what dies in it is lawful. The Quran also uses the dark, deep sea as a picture of disbelief.
- What does the Quran say about rain, and what dua should I say when it rains? The Quran calls rain a mercy that Allah sends down in measured amounts, driving the clouds with winds, reviving dead land, and making every living thing from water. When it rained, the Prophet ﷺ said, "O Allah! Let it be a strong fruitful rain" (in Arabic, *sayyiban nafi'an*), and he welcomed it as fresh from his Lord.
- Do animals have souls, and will they be resurrected on the Day of Judgment? Animals are living creatures and "communities like you", and the Quran says they will be gathered to their Lord. The Prophet ﷺ said that even the hornless sheep will get its right from the horned one on the Day of Resurrection. A report from Abu Hurayrah, followed by many commentators, says that after this settling of accounts, animals will be turned to dust. There is no authentic text saying pets enter Paradise.
- Do animals, trees and all of creation really glorify Allah? Yes. The Quran says there is not a thing except that it glorifies Allah with His praise, though we do not understand how. Birds each know their prayer and glorification, the stars and trees prostrate, and the Prophet ﷺ reported that Allah called an ant colony "a community which sings My glory". Authentic hadith even record a palm trunk that cried.
- What does the Quran say about plants and trees? The Quran presents plants as living signs: Allah splits the seed, sends rain, and brings out grain, palms, grapes, olives and pomegranates, "similar yet varied", watered by one water yet different in taste. Plants point to His power, to the resurrection, and to our duty of gratitude, and planting them earns reward.
- How was Adam (AS) created? Allah created Adam (AS) directly from clay taken from the earth, shaped him with His own hands, proportioned him, and breathed into him the soul He created. He was sixty cubits tall, the angels were commanded to prostrate to him, and his descendants vary in colour and nature like the soils he was taken from.
- How was Hawwa (Eve) created? Was she really created from Adam's rib? The Quran says Allah created all people from one soul, Adam (AS), and "created from it its mate", Hawwa, so that he could find tranquillity with her. The commentators explain that she was created from Adam's rib, and the Prophet ﷺ used the image of the rib to tell men to treat women kindly and gently, not to belittle them.
- What does the Quran say about the stages of a baby in the womb? The Quran describes the human being created from a drop (nutfah), then a clinging clot (alaqah), then a lump of flesh (mudghah), then bones clothed with flesh, then "another creation", within three darknesses. The Prophet ﷺ said an angel is sent to the embryo to write its provision, lifespan, deeds and destiny, and the soul is then breathed into it.