Do Plants Glorify God?

 Do Plants Glorify God?

Surah Ya-Sin - Verses 36, 37, 38, and 39

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

{ Glory be to Him who created all pairs, from what the earth produces, from themselves, and from what they do not know! (36)

And a sign for them is the night: We strip the day from it, and behold, they are in darkness. (37)

And the sun runs its course to a fixed destination. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing. (38)

And the moon, We have determined its phases until it returns like the old date stalk. (39) }

1. The Creation of Pairs – Verse 36

{Glory be to Him who created all pairs, from what the earth produces, from themselves, and from what they do not know!}

Today, we know that plants have sexual reproduction systems with male and female pairs, a fact discovered centuries after the Quran’s revelation.

The phrase “from what they do not know” may also refer to modern discoveries, such as the existence of particle-antiparticle pairs in physics, polarity in magnets, and molecular complementarity in biology.

2. The Alternation of Day and Night – Verse 37

{And a sign for them is the night: We strip the day from it, and behold, they are in darkness.}

The term “strip” poetically describes the transition from day to night, caused by the Earth’s rotation.

Today, we know that night is not the disappearance of light but rather the absence of it due to the Earth’s shadow.

3. The Movement of the Sun – Verse 38

{And the sun runs its course to a fixed destination. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.}

For a long time, it was believed that the sun was stationary at the center of the universe. However, modern science has proven that the sun moves at an immense speed (about 828,000 km/h) through the galaxy, following a defined trajectory.

The “fixed destination” could be interpreted as the “solar apex,” which is the direction the sun and the solar system are moving in the Milky Way.

4. The Phases of the Moon – Verse 39

{And the moon, We have determined its phases until it returns like the old date stalk.}

This verse clearly describes the phases of the moon, a well-known astronomical phenomenon.

The comparison to the old date stalk is a beautiful analogy to the thin crescent moon at the end of the lunar cycle before it temporarily disappears during the new moon.

Do Plants Glorify God?

Recent scientific discoveries show that plants emit sounds, inaudible to the human ear, in the form of ultrasonic waves.

Some researchers suggest that these sounds might be a form of communication between plants or signals indicating stress, such as lack of water or injury.

Recent Scientific Discoveries on Plant Sounds:

• Between 2000 and 2010, researchers documented that plants emit ultrasonic sounds, especially when under stress (e.g., dehydration).

• In 2012, studies showed that plant roots are sensitive to sound vibrations and can respond to specific sounds, suggesting a form of acoustic communication.

• Stefano Mancuso, an Italian plant neurobiologist, has demonstrated that plants have mechanoreceptors allowing them to perceive and react to sounds.

Connection Between Discoveries and the Quran.This discovery can be linked to the verse:

{Glory be to Him who created all pairs, from what the earth produces, from themselves, and from what they do not know!}

The phrase “from what they do not know” could be an indication of this phenomenon, which was unknown at the time of the Quran’s revelation.

The Quran Mentions the Glorification of All Creatures, Surah Al-Isra (The Night Journey) – Verse 44

{The seven heavens, the earth, and all those in them glorify Him. There is nothing that does not glorify His praise, but you do not understand their way of glorification. Indeed, He is Most Forbearing, Most Forgiving.}

1. “There is nothing that does not glorify His praise”

This verse asserts that all creatures glorify God, even if humans cannot perceive their glorification. The recent discovery of plant sounds gives a scientific perspective to this Quranic truth: plants “speak,” but we do not understand their communication.

2. Plants Emit Inaudible Sounds

Science has demonstrated that plants produce sound signals, particularly under stress. These sounds exist in an ultrasonic range that the human ear cannot naturally hear. This aligns with the verse “but you do not understand their way of glorification.”

3. Could Glorification Be “Vibrational”?

Some scientists believe that plant sounds are not merely stress signals but may have biological and communicative significance. If every being glorifies God in its own way, then plants could be doing so through vibrations or sounds that we are just beginning to discover. 

Modern science is beginning to uncover aspects of plants that were previously unknown, yet the Quran mentioned them over 1400 years ago. Science continues to evolve, and with each new discovery, we find that the Quran contains astonishing references that align with modern scientific facts, encouraging reflection and contemplation.