Praise be to Allah, the Sustainer and the Cherisher of
the worlds. [1:2]
~●~○~●~○~●~○~●~○~●~○~●~○~●~○~●~○~●~
The meaning of "Rabbul Alamin" is that Allah is
the Sustainer and the Cherisher of the worlds. The plural use of the word
"world" refers in the sense to the plant world, animal world, human
world, human world and material world. In order to comprehend the significance
of the use of the plural form "worlds", one has recognized that there
are worlds within and beyond our familiar world.
Modern scientific knowledge enables one to classify these
worlds in terms of length of scale such as:
1. From the proton to
the world of giant molecules
2. From giant
molecules to plants and animals
3. Our planet earth
4. From our planet to
the known part of the universe
Whether a world is small or big, Allah has made wonderful
arrangements for the sustenance of all the inhabitants of that world. Each life
form has its own food, its own communication signal, its own housing pattern,
and its own reproduction mechanism. But wonderful thing to note is that Allah
has left none without food, none without shelter, none without a defense
mechanism. Whether they inhabit a small or a large world, they have a means of
sustenance and Allah is their Sustainer.
However, if by "Rabbul Alamin", we mean that Allah
is the Sustainer of the living worlds, then the story remains incomplete. By
the sustenance of the world is actually meant both the living and inanimate
worlds.
Interestingly enough, newer and newer worlds of both living
and non-living types are being revealed with the progress of modern science. It
is significant to find that more than 1400 years ago, Allah had hinted, in the
Quranic revelation, at all such worlds through the plural use of the word
"worlds".
In conclusion, it can be said that the various types of
worlds of inanimate and living matter which we have discussed so far are indeed
governed and sustained by Allah through the operation of a magnificent set of
rules. Indeed, Allah is the Sustainer and Cherisher of the worlds.
