The Fruits

And this is among the best-loved verses here, verse 99:

It says: He who sent down water — rain — from the heavens; and by it We brought forth the crops and the produce of many things, and much greenery; ḥabban mutarākiban; and from the palm trees, from their spathes, clusters hanging low; and the great vines of grapes; the zaytūn, the olive; the rummān, the pomegranate. And, subḥān Allāh, there is the account of a man who became Muslim simply by reflecting upon fruit. Take any fruit in hand: consider the watermelon, how every aspect of it — the size, the texture, the substance, the flavour — is wholly unlike the mango or the durian. The durian is a remarkable fruit; those in Malaysia and in such countries will know what a durian is. Some flee from it; but the making of it is extraordinary, with its spikes. One cuts through the spikes, which are very thick, and opens it, and within are four fine compartments holding the flesh, and the flesh is like ice cream to those who care for it; it simply melts. Remarkable. And it is wholly unlike the lychee, or the mangosteen, or the rambutan — ʿajīb; is it "rambutan"? That appears to be the name; it resembles the mangosteen. Remarkable. Fruits are remarkable things. The banana is wholly different. The apple. Or a common orange: look at the skin, its two tones of colour — red without — rather, yellow-orange without, white within; the flesh; then a further covering over the segments themselves, which one removes; then the segments are separated, each one distinct; and when one peels the skin from a segment, there are smaller segments still within. One throws them into the mouth without so much as looking at any of it. But open an orange, and open the skin of a single segment, and see the small segments within, and take pleasure in it — and it is an altogether different thing. Try it today or tomorrow: take an orange, open the skin of a segment, and enjoy it, and it will be altogether different from putting it in the mouth as one does. Everything in it is remarkable. There is such comprehensiveness in it.

All of this is treated there; it must be looked into and pondered for oneself.

Allah is not one whom you may encompass; He encompasses everything, and you shall not encompass Him. And He is the All-Subtle, the All-Knowing. Allah then sets out the other evidences.