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.

Mountains

I was listening to Yaqeen 30 for 30 and something about mountains caught my interest. One of the scholars mentioned how mountains are linked to revelation. For example, God spoke to Prophet Moses (Musa a.s.) on a mountain. And Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. received his first revelation on a mountain.

It is true that traditionally, mountains are seen to be sacred sites. From Mount Sinai where Prophet Moses spoke to God as was mentioned. To Mount Olympus where the Greek Gods were said to have lived. To Uluru which is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area and many more.

Last year, a day after attempting to climb Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, I sat in Glen Coe and contemplated this question:

what makes mountains great locations to be sacred sites?

Constant Witnesses

There is something about mountains that evoke a sense of awe. The ranges dominate the landscape for thousands if not million of years.  The youngest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas, was formed about 60 million years ago. A constant in a fast and ever changing world, mountains therefore give a sense of stability and constancy to people.  I’ve been through Glen Coe multiple times since I first came to the UK. And it never fails to take my breath away, no matter the weather.  The mountain range of Glen Coe seem unchanging and yet different every time.

Their constant presence make them easy landmarks for us to identify, i.e. signposts for travellers. If revelation is guidance for the journey back to God, then the mountains can also serve as metaphorical signposts. They are living witnesses and physical reminders of these interactions with the Divine. Just as Mount Sinai is the witness to the event in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:63

وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِيثَـٰقَكُمۡ وَرَفَعۡنَا فَوۡقَكُمُ ٱلطُّورَ خُذُواْ مَآ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰكُم بِقُوَّةٍ۬ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَتَّقُونَ (٦٣)

AND LO! We accepted your solemn pledge, raising Mount Sinai high above you, [and saying;] “Hold fast with [all your] strength unto what We have vouchsafed you, and bear in mind all that is therein, so that you might remain conscious of God!” (63)

These places carry with them the living memory of the divine encounters. When we open ourselves to connecting with the mountains, these memories are somehow part of us too.

Endurance

Mountains are not for the fainthearted or the unprepared. In fact, even the most experienced climbers and hikers can get lost or die in the mountains. The mountains also exposes you to the elements. In fact in the mountains, you are at the mercy of the elements.  Battered by the winds and rain while climbing Ben Nevis last year, I wondered if we have become so arrogant. That we think that with our modern gears that we can conquer both mountains and elements. No, indeed, the mountains soon teaches us humility and our own limitations.

I learned this on my first mountain climb in my early twenties. What was meant to be a day trip or two at most ended up being a four day trip. We got lost at the first turning. We climbed down and up cliffs, crossed streams, and bashed through bushes to get to the summit. The situation got to me towards the end of my endurance and I broke down.

The mountains must have tested the endurance of the prophets, peace on them all. A small test in compared to the tests they faced after but one to prepare them for the journey. Not only a physical test but a mental and spiritual one. To be out in the mountains alone, following a light to be seen from a distance as Prophet Musa a.s. was an act of faith. The Qur’an described it in Surah An-Naml 27:7-8

 

إِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِأَهۡلِهِۦۤ إِنِّىٓ ءَانَسۡتُ نَارً۬ا سَـَٔاتِيكُم مِّنۡہَا بِخَبَرٍ أَوۡ ءَاتِيكُم بِشِہَابٍ۬ قَبَسٍ۬ لَّعَلَّكُمۡ تَصۡطَلُونَ (٧) 

فَلَمَّا جَآءَهَا نُودِىَ أَنۢ بُورِكَ مَن فِى ٱلنَّارِ وَمَنۡ حَوۡلَهَا وَسُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (٨)

Lo! [While lost in the desert,] Moses said to his family, “Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]. I may bring you from there some tiding [as to which way we are to pursue], or bring you [at least] a burning brand so that you might warm yourselves.” (7) But when he came close to it, a call was sounded. “Blessed are all who are within [reach of] this fire, and all who are near it! And limitless in His glory is God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!” (8)

Consequently, I think today, we need to reframe the way we approach the mountains. We are not here to conquer them but to learn from them and stretch the boundaries of our endurance. Through our connection with the mountains, we become better versions of ourselves. And also better equip to weather the storms of this life.

Perspective

Height always offer you a different perspective and no other structure on this earth is higher than a mountain range. From that height, everything seems small. You can see further and the topography of the land makes more sense. And you can hear sounds from great distances.

I often wonder what Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. experienced during the times he spent in the cave of Hira’ on Mount Al-Nur. The history books mentioned he was troubled by the state of his people. Of the corruption, the oppression, the loss of morals and ethics. That was the reason given for his seclusion in the cave.

Being alone on a mountain top, the weights on your shoulder tend to melt away. They seem insignificant in light of the immensity and agelessness of the mountains. Perhaps that was what he experienced. He would have experienced the natural rhythm on that mountain. It was pure and balanced in contrast to the corruption of the city of Mecca. That natural rhythm gives hope that the natural order of justice and balance will ultimately be upheld.

It does not mean that we do not strive against injustice, corruption, and oppression. We know from the long arc of history what devastation such evil can cause before it destroys itself. Our task is to stand up against such evil even if we don’t see balance restored ourselves. Because we know that ultimately evil cannot win as that is part of the natural order. The perspective from the mountain top only reinforces that. You can see from that height how nature is reclaiming the landscape once it is out of man’s control. But man can do much to help nature restore the balance.