on This Earth

Ramadhan in the Hijri Year (the Islamic calendar) of 1446 started on 1st March 2025. As part of my routine during Ramadhan, I usually do a study of one of the chapters in the Qur’an. This year, with the blog, I intend to do a reflection of natural phenomena found in the Qur’an. To frame it within the context of the key principles of:

• being still/silent
• observe
• reflect
• practice

this series will focus on the third key principle and give ideas on the fourth. If you would like to know more about the key principles, please click this link. If you want to see an example of how the key principles are applied, please click this link.

Rivers

The first blog post on a natural element I did was on rain, which you can find in this link. Rain is related to the river, the topic of today’s reflection. Someone once asked me where rivers get their water from and I was stumped.  Since then, I’ve tried to trace a few of the water flows in Scotland. I have had a modicum of success reaching their source. 

 (2:74) وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ الْأَنْهَارُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ الْمَاءُ

…And indeed there are some rocks/stones from which rivers flow and indeed there are some that split so water comes out.

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الْأَرْضِ (39:21)

Do you not see that God sends down rain from the sky and let it emerge as springs in the Earth…

Mighty rivers and waterfalls often have humble beginnings.  I recall walking alongside the crystal clear waters of the Fairy Pools in the Isle of Skye. That path led me to the foot of the Black Cuillin. There, the water tumbled down the rocky facade of the mountain.  Many a times, I would walk in the hills and scoop some water from a tiny stream. Those tiny streams are fed from the ground which had adsorbed the rain water. They would later flow into large river basins. 

I do know that in many areas in the world, the glaciers form a large source of fresh water. These then melt and feed into the surrounding rivers. However, they are sustained by layers of rain and snow. These layers keep building the ice within the glaciers. Again, ultimately the source of water in the river basin comes from the rain.

Spreading of Mercy

The river is the mechanism by which water is spread through the land. It is often difficult for us to visualise the river system due to the immensity of the river basin. It is only possible if you are at a high enough vantage point. The image below is only a depiction of what an actual river basin is.

As mentioned previously, mighty rivers and waterfalls actually starts of from a spring or surface run-offs. For example, I read about the source of the Thames in London being a spring in Gloucestershire. But most rivers do not have a single source but are fed from smaller tributaries. These tributaries are in turn fed from the tiny streams dotting around the surface of the earth.

I consider water to be the physical manifestation of God’s mercy as per the verses in Surah Al-Furqan 25:48-49

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرۡسَلَ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ بُشۡرَۢا بَيۡنَ يَدَىۡ رَحۡمَتِهِۦ‌ۚ وَأَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً۬ طَهُورً۬ا (٤٨) 

لِّنُحۡـِۧىَ بِهِۦ بَلۡدَةً۬ مَّيۡتً۬ا وَنُسۡقِيَهُ ۥ مِمَّا خَلَقۡنَآ أَنۡعَـٰمً۬ا وَأَنَاسِىَّ ڪَثِيرً۬ا (٤٩)

And He it is who sends forth the winds as a glad tiding of His coming grace; and [thus, too,] We cause pure water to descend from the skies, (48) 

so that We may bring dead land to life thereby, and give to drink thereof to many [beings] of Our creation, beasts as well as humans. (49)

We too are manifestations of God’s mercy through our actions as we emulate the Prophet s.a.w. as God mentioned in Surah Al-Anbiya’ 21:107 to be a mercy for the worlds.

وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحۡمَةً۬ لِّلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٠٧)

And [thus, O Prophet,] We have sent thee as [an evidence of Our] grace towards all the worlds. (107)

And so we need to learn from the river as to how we can spread God’s Mercy. Each of us needs to be the tiny stream that feeds into the tributaries. Each of our good deeds is a source of mercy that must benefit our surroundings and influence others. And like a stream, our deeds should be continuous and free flowing.

Strength of a river

Rivers shape their landscape – one famous landmark, the Grand Canyon, was shaped by the Colorado River. Even a tiny stream shapes its vicinity as it creates a path through ground. Many times I would cross a stream only to cross it again as I walked in a straight line. However, the larger the river, the more significant is its power in shaping its landscape.

In a similar fashion, we see how small actions can shape the course of history by inspiring larger movements. One such action was by Rosa Parks’ act of defiance in Alabama. It ultimately led to the victory of the Black Civil Rights movement. The collective action of freedom fighters in Indonesia helped deliver its independence from the Dutch. More recently, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests was successful at the time in halting the construction of the pipeline. Only last year, millions shared news put out by Palestinians in Gaza on Tiktok. That helped ordinary people to hear their voices and their side of the story.

Call to Action

We have power when we come together as a collective. We can reshape our world to a better future for all of creation. However, even individuals have power to help better their communities. Let us take the example of the river and be sources of mercy. Please make an action pledge for a nature positive world here.