Surah Fatir 35:27

The Perfect Power of Allah

Allah tells us of His complete and perfect power of creation. He tells us how He makes different kinds of things from one thing, which is the water that He sends down from the heaven. From water He brings forth fruits of various colors, yellow, red, green, white and other colors, as we can see in the immense variety of their colors, tastes and scents. This is like another Ayah where Allah says:

(And in the earth are neighbouring tracts, and gardens of vines, and green crops, and date palms, growing into two or three from a single stem root, or otherwise, watered with the same water; yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Verily, in these things there are Ayat for the people who understand.) (13:4)

(and among the mountains are Judad, white and red, of varying colors) means, He created the mountains like this, with different colors, as we also see that there are indeed white and red mountains, and in some of them there are streaks which are also of varying colors. Ibn `Abbas said Al-Judad means pathways. This was also the view of Abu Malik, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and As-Suddi. And there are some mountains which are very black. `Ikrimah said, "Al-Gharabib means mountains which are high and black. This was also the view of Abu Malik, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and Qatadah. Ibn Jarir said, "When the Arabs describe something as being very black, they say Ghirbib.

(And likewise, men and moving creatures and cattle are of various colors.) means, the same is true of living creatures too, humans and animals, all creatures which walk on their feet, and cattle. Here something general is followed by something specific. These are all different too, for among mankind there are Berbers, Ethiopians and some non-Arabs who are very black, and Slavs and Romans who are very white, and the Arabs who are in between, and the Indians. Allah says in another Ayah:

(and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge) (30:22). Similarly, animals and cattle vary in their colors, even within one species, and a single animal may have patches of different colors. Blessed be Allah, the Best of creators. Allah then says:

(It is only those who have knowledge among His servants that fear Allah.) meaning, only those who have knowledge truly fear Him as He should be feared, because the more they know about the Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing Who has the most perfect attributes and is described with the most beautiful Names, the more they will fear Him. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah:

(It is only those who have knowledge among His servants that fear Allah.) those who know that Allah is able to do all things. Ibn `Abbas said, "The one among His servants who knows about Ar-Rahman, is the one who does not associate anything in worship with Him; the one who accepts as lawful that which He has permitted and accepts as unlawful that which He has prohibited. He obeys His commands and is certain that he will meet Him and be brought to account for his deeds. Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "Fear is what stands between you and disobeying Allah, may He be glorified." Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The knowledgeable person is the one who fears Ar-Rahman with regard to the Unseen, who likes that which Allah wants him to like, and who shuns that which angers Allah." Then Al-Hasan recited:

(It is only those among His servants who have knowledge that fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Almighty, Oft-Forgiving.) Sufyan Ath-Thawri narrated from Abu Hayyan At-Taymi from a man who said, "It used to be said that the knowledgeable are of three types: (first) one who knows Allah and the command of Allah, (second) one who knows Allah but does not know the command of Allah, and (third) one who knows the command of Allah but does not know Allah. The one who knows Allah and the command of Allah is the one who fears Allah and knows the limits (Hudud) and the obligatory duties (Fara'id). The one who knows Allah but does not know the command of Allah is the one who fears Allah but does not know the limits (Hudud) and the obligatory duties (Fara'id). The one who knows the command of Allah but does not know Allah is the one who knows the limits (Hudud) and the obligatory duties (Fara'id) but does not fear Allah."

Pada ayat ini, Allah menguraikan beberapa hal yang menunjukkan kesempurnaan dan kekuasaan-Nya, yang dapat dilihat manusia setiap waktu. Jika mereka menyadari dan menginsyafi semuanya itu, tentu mereka akan menyadari pula keesaan dan kekuasaan Allah Yang Maha Sempurna itu. Di antara tanda-tanda itu adalah Allah menjadikan sesuatu yang beraneka ragam macamnya yang bersumber dari yang satu. Allah menurunkan hujan dari langit, sehingga tanaman bisa tumbuh dan mengeluarkan buah-buahan yang beraneka ragam warna, rasa, bentuk, dan aromanya, sebagaimana yang kita saksikan. Buah-buahan itu warnanya ada yang kuning, merah, hijau, dan sebagainya. Hal yang sama dijelaskan pula di dalam ayat yang lain. Firman Allah:

Dan di bumi terdapat bagian-bagian yang berdampingan, kebun-kebun anggur, tanaman-tanaman, pohon kurma yang bercabang, dan yang tidak bercabang; disirami dengan air yang sama, tetapi Kami lebihkan tanaman yang satu dari yang lainnya dalam hal rasanya. Sungguh, pada yang demikian itu terdapat tanda-tanda (kebesaran Allah) bagi orang-orang yang mengerti. (ar-Ra'd/13: 4)

Allah juga menciptakan gunung-gunung yang kelihatan seperti garis-garis, ada yang kelihatan putih, merah, dan hitam pekat. Di antara gunung-gunung itu terbentang pula jalan-jalan yang beraneka ragam pula warnanya.

Menurut para saintis, garis-garis berwarna pada batuan paling umum dijumpai pada jenis batuan sedimen. Batuan sedimen terbentuk dari hasil pengendapan bahan yang terangkut oleh aliran air atau angin. Bahan yang diendapkan adalah butiran-butiran halus berupa pasir, debu, atau lempung sebagai hasil pelapukan batuan di tempat lain, yang kemudian terlepas dari batuan induknya dan terangkut oleh aliran air atau tiupan angin. Tempat pengendapan bahan sedimen ini umumnya terletak pada bagian-bagian yang rendah di mana kecepatan tenaga pengangkut (arus air, hembusan angin) berkurang. Daerah-daerah yang umum dikenal sebagai tempat pengendapan adalah dataran, pesisir terutama daerah delta, dan dasar laut.

Pada proses pengangkutan (transportasi) dan pengendapan (sedimentasi) terjadi pula mekanisme pemilahan (sorting) di mana pada umumnya bahan dengan karakteristik fisik yang sama (misalnya dalam hal ukuran butir atau berat jenis) akan diendapkan pada lingkungan pengendapan yang sama.

Proses pelapukan, pengangkutan, dan pengendapan ini berjalan terus- menerus sepanjang sejarah bumi yang dapat memakan waktu ribuan bahkan jutaan tahun.

Selama proses ini berjalan terdapat pula perubahan-perubahan baik dalam hal lingkungan pengendapan maupun jenis bahan yang diendapkan, sehingga pada batuan sedimen terbentuk lapisan-lapisan yang juga melukiskan urutan sejarah (waktu) pengendapan. Mekanisme geologi lain yang biasa terjadi pada batuan sedimen adalah mengalami pengangkatan oleh adanya gaya tektonik sehingga batuan sedimen yang biasanya terbentuk di tempat-tempat yang rendah bisa dijumpai di puncak-puncak gunung. Pada puncak-puncak gunung yang tertoreh, baik oleh pengikisan maupun oleh terjadinya rekahan, lapisan-lapisan sedimen ini akan tampak ke permukaan.

Setiap lapisan pada batuan sedimen dapat memiliki warna yang berbeda karena tersusun dari material yang berbeda. Perbedaan warna ini terutama dicirikan oleh perbedaan susunan mineralogisnya. Misal: mineral-mineral yang mengandung senyawa besi oksida (hematit) berwarna merah, mineral yang berwarna putih antara lain alumino-silika (kaoline), mineral-mineral logam hidroksida (goethite, brucite, diaspore, boehmite) dapat memberikan berbagai warna (kuning, hijau, abu-abu, hitam, merah muda), yang berwarna bening antara lain silika (kuarsa). Batuan atau mineral keras yang berwarna-warni biasa digosok menjadi batu perhiasan.