Principles of Islam
36. Plants
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winds blow it does not show haughtiness, instead it
swerves to and fro with the wind, and when the
winds are not blowing it stands in position once
again. Exactly the same is the case with the God
worshipper. A true believer lives among the people
with gentleness. He does not display arrogance. His
way is that of adjustment and not of clash and
confrontation. He follows the principle of
persuasion and avoids the way of violence.
At one point in the Qur’an honey has been
mentioned in particular. Honey a valuable drink is
produced from the plants. The Qur’an tells us about
honey that therein is healing for men’ (16:69). This
indicates symbolically that besides food and drink
plants have another special quality that of having
the healing effect. It is a fact that most of the
medicines are produced from plants. This healing
attribute of the plants is so great that even when a
tiger, a carnivorous animal, takes ill; he eats grass to
cure himself. So God has granted us double
blessings in the form of plants. They serve both as
food and as medicine.
