On Saturday, October 26, 2024, I joined a group from Masjid Tawfiq in Bristol, UK, for a day in the serene countryside of Gloucestershire. The goal of this workshop was to reconnect with the wonders of Allah’s creation and to feel the Quran and hadith come alive in our hearts. This one-day workshop was titled The Language of Nature, and our focus was on connecting with four key subjects that reflect the signs (ayat) of Allah found in nature.
Our journey began with a simple yet powerful exercise: reconnecting to our senses. I call it a “return” to the fitra (innate disposition) because it’s an essential practice, especially in today’s world where the ummah is in a state of ghafla (heedlessness). The first activity was to listen intently to the sounds around us—birds, rustling leaves, distant waters—while surrounded by hills and forest. After a moment of silence, each participant shared what they heard, then we repeated this reflection with our sense of sight, observing the details around us.
The purpose of this exercise was to highlight how often we neglect to “look up.” Iblees (Satan) wants to keep us focused on the mundane, to keep our gaze downward, literally and metaphorically. Today, we spend much of our time looking down at our screens, ignoring the signs of creation around us. By keeping our vision horizontal, we miss the vastness above, the signs that point to divine order.
This reflection led to a nature journaling activity. Each participant was encouraged to record these thoughts in a journal at home as a “memory field guide”—an extension of the day’s experience. This journaling practice aids in tafakkur (reflection) and moves us into tadabbur (contemplation), where we begin to connect Quranic ayat with the natural world.
Our second activity was called the “story leaf stick.” Participants chose a stick near a tree they felt drawn to and collected leaves, which they tied to the stick with rubber bands. This simple activity served as an introduction to understanding the connections, relationships, and patterns in nature—the same way we approach the nazm (structure) of the Quran. We emphasized the importance of context and relationships, both in nature and in understanding the ayat of the Quran.
After completing this activity, we began our hike to the mountain peak. When we reached the summit, we paused to reflect on the Cave of Hira, where the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) received the first revelation. We pondered what flora and fauna might have surrounded him there, and why he was drawn to solitude in the mountains. On that sunny day, with clear views stretching before us, this reflection became even more profound.
As we descended, we returned to our trees to complete the story leaf stick activity. We then moved on to the next lesson: understanding the ayat in the Quran about stars, mountains, and other elements of creation that serve as guides for navigation. We discussed how trees could serve as markers, learning from their roots, branches, and leaves. This allowed us to understand Quranic verses about creation, navigation, and guidance in a practical, embodied way.
This workshop led us to explore the concept of Kitab al-Kawn, the “Book of Creation.” Not a physical book, but a term some ulema use to describe the universe as an extension of the Quran’s signs. The first command in the Quran, Iqra (Read), is not limited to the text but extends to reading the natural world, which is embedded within the revelation itself. This “holon”—where the book of nature and the Quranic signs coexist—was a core lesson that resonated with the participants.
We then posed the question: How do we read the signs of the natural world as we do the Quran? The answer lies in a return to our fitra, engaging as Allah has asked us to: to look, see, and observe. But because of ghafla, we overlook this command. This experience brought a tangible shift for many as they opened their hearts and Qurans, beginning to uncover the hidden layers of meaning within the ayat—like peeling back the layers of an onion.
In our final activity, we explored the Quran’s use of seeing and looking, reflecting on why different words are chosen for observing various aspects of nature, such as fruits or trees. The participants discovered the layers of meaning within these ayat, connecting hadith and science in ways that left them speechless and deeply moved.
By the end of the day, a seed was planted—a moment of awakening. We pray that this seed will grow in their hearts, lifting the veil of ghafla and allowing them to see creation through their hearts. May this newfound clarity guide them toward Allah’s signs in the natural world, bringing them closer to His presence.
