Man and the Universe in the light of the Quran
Whereas in some religions, different things present in the universe are objects of worship or religious adoration, the Quran gives a diametrically opposite viewpoint about the relationship between the man and the universe. The Quran says that whatever is in the heavens and in the earth has been made subservient to man[1]. The sea[2], the ships that sail in the sea[3]; the rivers[4]; the sun, the moon[5], and the stars[6]; the day and night[7]; and the animals[8] are all just to name a few examples. All this subservience is according to Allah’s Laws[9] and in all this are signs for those who think & reflect[10] and who make use of their reason[11]. The purpose of all this is that mankind may thrive and flourish[12]. The nations who have thought and reflected, and made use of reason in doing research on what is in the heavens and the earth are thriving and flourishing but those who have neglected this, are poor and subservient to those who have done reflection and research.
[1] Al-Quran Surah 22: Verse 65; Surah 31: Verse 20, Surah 45: Verse 13]
[2] [Surah 16: Verse 14]
[3] [Surah 14: Verse 32, Surah 22: Verse 65, Surah 45: Verse 12]
[4] [Surah 14: Verse 32]
[5] [Surah 7: Verse 54, Surah 13: Verse 2, Surah 14: Verse 33, Surah 29: Verse 61, Surah 31: Verse 29, Surah 35: Verse 13, Surah 39: Verse 5]
[6] [Surah 7: Verse 54, Surah 16: Verse 12]
[7] [Surah 14: Verse 33, Surah 16: Verse 12]
[8] [Surah 22: Verse 36]
[9] [Surah 7: Verse 54, Surah 14: Verse 32, Surah 16: Verse 12, Surah 22: Verse 66, Surah 45: Verse 12]
[10] [Surah 45: Verse 13]
[11] [Surah 16: Verse 12]
[12] [Surah 16: Verse 14, Surah 22: Verse 36, Surah 45: Verse 12]