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… Roam the earth … (3:137, 6:11, 27:69, 30:42)
I have been blessed to travel and there are valuable lessons to be learned from travel—whether it’s just from one town to another or to a far-away country. Thank God, travel today is so easy, but God has always provided the means to travel—from the camel to the ship to the airplane. [10:22] He is the One who moves you across the land and sea.
The journey itself is the first part to consider. God is in full control of everything, and we have to remember that fact when we travel. He is the One who moves you.
Food is a wonderful part of travel—the world is full of different foods for different tastes. I’ve tried some exotic things in my travels—some I liked and some I didn’t. But God is the Provider. [6:142] Some livestock supply you with transportation, as well as bedding materials. Eat from GOD’s provisions to you, and do not follow the steps of Satan; he is your most ardent enemy.
Praise be to God who has filled the world with abundant provisions. The earth is designed to feed and sustain every single creature, and if God wants, He can have every creature eat and enjoy whatever it wishes. He sends down the provisions in exact measure. This means there is an adequate amount of food for everyone on earth, even though it may appear unequally distributed. If we are guilty of denying someone else his provision by taking more than our share, then God will surely account for it on the Day of Resurrection. The food a person wastes can be the relief of hunger for another. [16:5] And He created the livestock for you, to provide you with warmth, and many other benefits, as well as food.
Another blessing of travel is the animals you get to experience.
[45:3-4] The heavens and the earth are full of proofs for the believers. Also in your creation, and the creation of all the animals, there are proofs for people who are certain. Different parts of the world have very different animals, and God has made each creature to survive in its own niche, like the camel in the desert or the fish in the sea. And the migration of birds from one place to another is amazing. [24:41] Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its prayer and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.
Overwhelming Signs of God
[2:164] In the creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, the ships that roam the ocean for the benefit of the people, the water that GOD sends down from the sky to revive dead land and to spread in it all kinds of creatures, the manipulation of the winds, and the clouds that are placed between the sky and the earth, there are sufficient proofs for people who understand.
[14:25] It produces its crop every season, as designed by its Lord. GOD thus cites the examples for the people, that they may take heed.
The creation of the earth, its rotation and its seasons, are miracles that you get to experience when you travel. In Mumbai, we don’t really see seasonal changes, but many parts of the world go through dramatic changes. I don’t know how people can cope with days of constant sunlight or days with no sun at all. But God talks about seasons in the Quran (14:25, 106:2), and it’s something to enjoy when you travel. [21:33] And He is the One who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; each floating in its own orbit.
Another experience is being in a place, like Mauritius, where the two seas merge. You can actually see and taste how God has separated the waters. [25:53] He is the One who merges the two seas; one is fresh and palatable,
while the other is salty and undrinkable. And He separated them with a formidable, inviolable barrier (evaporation).
The different colors of the flowers, birds and people, the languages (roughly 6500 spoken languages in the world and India has about 1650 of them), the tall buildings, the world cultures and ecosystems are all gifts from God for us to enjoy when we travel.
Travel makes us appreciate God in so many ways. Sometimes we get lost when traveling, and then we realize how we have to turn to God. Some people only turn to God in those times: “If You only save us this time, we will be eternally appreciative.” (10:22) And even though they implore God for help when lost or afraid, most then turn unappreciative. [17:67] If you are afflicted in the middle of the sea, you forget your idols and sincerely implore Him alone. But as soon as He saves you to the shore, you revert. Indeed, the human being is unappreciative. But we know that we have to implore God always, in times of joy as well as fear (21:90), and we have to thank Him when He does guide us home.
May we all be blessed to enjoy travels, experience God’s great gifts, and appreciate His bounties.
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[22:46] Did they not roam the earth, then use their minds to understand, and use their ears to hear? Indeed, the real blindness is not the blindness of the eyes, but the blindness of the hearts inside the chests.
[67:15] He is the One who put the Earth at your service. Roam its corners, and eat from His provisions. To Him is the final summoning.
[45:12] GOD is the One who committed the sea in your service, so that the ships can roam it in accordance with His laws. You thus seek His provisions, that you may be appreciative.