They were non-existent, then Allah—exalted is He—brought them into being and created them by His power.

Among His creatures are those that are constantly renewed—plants, newborns, and other things that were once nothing and then came to be while you watched. Who creates them? It is Allah. Do they create themselves? Has any human being produced them? No one has ever made such a claim, nor could anyone possibly do so.

Allah, the Exalted, says: “Were they created by nothing, or are they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are uncertain.” (at-Ṭūr 52:35–36)

These things neither brought themselves into existence nor were they produced by any other creature. No one has ever created a tree, nor fashioned a mosquito or even a fly: “Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create even a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose.” (al-Ḥajj 22:73)

This creation, then, points to the Creator. Hence, when a Bedouin was asked on the spur of the moment, “By what means have you come to know your Lord?” he replied, “Droppings point to a camel, and footprints point to a traveller—does not this universe point to the All-Subtle, the All-Aware?”

When you see a footprint on the ground, does that not tell you that someone has walked there? When you see camel droppings, does that not indicate