TAKE A BOW
‘If all the trees on earth were pens and all the seas, with seven more seas besides, [were ink,] still God’s words would not run out: God is Almighty and All-Wise.’ [31:27]
In 2015, Yale University completed a tree study and recorded the total number of trees on our planet at over three trillion. The stateliest trees are the Californian Redwoods, reaching average heights and girths of 115 metres and 29 feet. The heaviest redwood is not the tallest but the most voluminous. It weighs in at 6,167 tonnes, more than 32 blue whales combined and has a volume of 1,487 cubic metres.
Now, reflect the volume of all three trillion trees on earth.
The vastness of the ocean is even more staggering. The seas have a measure of 1,335,000,000 cubic kilometres and hold 1.35 billion trillion litres of water. Add seven more seas, and we end up with 10.8 billion trillion litres.
When we consider these facts, we view the verse with greater appreciation. The similitude presented is to manifest the Divine Power to the intellect. The numbers do not suggest that God has limits. A quintillion more oceans will still not suffice, for creation has boundaries while the Creator has none.
Regarding knowledge, humans only have but little: ‘We know only of what You have taught us’ [2:32]. Enshrouded in mystery is the Reality of the Sublime, and our failure to fathom the Divine Infinitude should instil humility:
‘Celebrate the glory of your Lord and be among those who bow down to Him’ [15:98].
PEOPLE OVER PROFIT
One of the principle objectives of the Prophet (s) was to establish justice on earth, which extended to economic justice: ‘weigh with justice and do not fall short in the balance’ [55:9]. This ayah particularly relates to honesty in commerce and establishes the axiom—people over profit.
The world’s abysmal failure at imbibing this command has led to its inversion—profit over people. This ungodly philosophy—also known as capitalism or neoliberalism (homework: Google neoliberalism)—has catapulted the world into social upheaval and undermines the very fabric of society.
The world has never been more unequal, with South Africa at the apex according to the gini-coefficient (inequality index). The bottom 50 per cent of South Africans earn a monthly average wage of ZAR1,350.
These woeful 2022 figures are from the World Inequality Lab database created by the world-renowned French economist and social philosopher Thomas Piketty.
The South African wealth gap would have deeply troubled the Prophet (s), just like the hedonistic society of Makkah during his day.
Does it trouble you?
If not yet, the Cape Argus’ 6 December headline ‘Hungry Vagrants Are Eating Squirrels’ should.
The Prophet (s) drove a people’s economy based on utility, not a market economy of corporate tyranny that concentrates wealth with an elitist few. We, unfortunately, have become servile to the latter, which advances acquisitiveness and creates individualism.
The economy should be about community, not amassing at the expense of your neighbour.
On the other side,
There is grass.
Life grows green there.
And old.
On the other side, there’s no other side.
Only absolutes.
As sunrises, but it’s not eastern.
There, only sunsets are deemed truthful,
And dreams wax under the stars.
Poem by Zaahied Sallie
Until next week, InshaAllah
Zaahied Sallie
p.s. Howard Zinn is one of the most influential Historians of the 20th and 21st centuries. He is also my favourite. Here’s the link to my most beloved lecture of his: Artists In A Time of War
Author of The Beloved Prophet – An Illustrated Biography in Rhyme
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