He—glorified be He—recounts what He has placed on the earth of mountains, trees, fruits, open plains and rugged valleys, and what He has brought into existence of every kind of created being, inanimate and animate alike, whether roaming the wilderness, inhabiting the deserts, dwelling on land, or swimming in the seas. All of this bears witness to His majesty, power, wisdom, and mercy toward His creatures. He has made readily available for every living being the sustenance it needs by night and day, in summer and winter, morning and evening, just as the Exalted says:

“There is no creature moving upon the earth but that its provision rests with Allah. He knows its dwelling-place and its final repository; all is recorded in a clear Book.” (Hūd 11:6)

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Yaʿlā relates—through Muḥammad ibn al-Mathannā, ʿUbayd ibn Wāqid, Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā ibn Kaysān, Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir, and Jābir—from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say,

“Allah created a thousand nations: six hundred of them in the sea and four hundred on land. The first of those nations to perish will be the locusts; once they are gone, the others will follow in succession like beads slipping from a string.”

As for ʿUbayd ibn Wāqid—Abū ʿAbbād al-Baṣrī—Abū Ḥātim deemed him weak. Ibn ʿAdī observed that most of what he transmits is unsupported, and that his own teacher is weaker still. Al-Fallas and al-Bukhārī ruled his ḥadīths to be munkar. Abū Zurʿah said one should not narrate from him. Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Dāraqutnī likewise regarded him as weak, and Ibn ʿAdī specifically rejected this ḥadīth and others besides. Allah knows best.

He, Exalted is He, also says:

“There is no creature on earth, nor any bird that flies with its wings, but they are communities like yourselves. We have neglected nothing in the Book; then to their Lord they shall all be gathered.” (Al-Anʿām 6:38)