Bismillah (in the name of God)
"أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ فَأَنۢبَتْنَا بِهِۦ حَدَآئِقَ ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍۢ مَّا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُنۢبِتُوا۟ شَجَرَهَآ ۗ أَءِلَـٰهٌۭ مَّعَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌۭ يَعْدِلُونَ"
[More precisely], is He [not best] who created the heavens and the earth and sent down for you rain from the sky, causing to grow thereby gardens of joyful beauty which you could not [otherwise] have grown the trees thereof? Is there a deity with Allah? [No], but they are a people who ascribe equals [to Him].
Translation by Sahih International. Surah Al-Naml, verse 60.
In May,
Baba and I plant
I plant flowers in pots
He plants herb seeds in rows
We prepare the soil in the planter box
He plants the usual tomatoes and cucumbers
I plant jalapeños... and some high-maintenance fruit that looks cute growing
Planted in May
Tiny transplants of flowers
By June, they flourish and fill the pots
New leaves, little buds, beautiful flowers
Leaves of a similar color, buds of different sizes
Open into flowers of varied colors, sizes, shapes, and scents
Designed and structured so intentionally that scientists love to study it
Beautified so eloquently that artists love to recreate it
But none of them created it nor can replicate it
Perfection for us to witness and enjoy
Perhaps so we pause and ponder
On the gardens granted to us
Granted and sustained
If you've ever planted, you'd know-
That you could water your plants every day
That you could leave the hose and soak the soil
That you could install the latest irrigation systems there is
But nothing revives and refreshes like rain sent down from the sky
Rain sent down from the sky as sustenance and a sign
A sign is the creation of the sky up above us
A sign is the perfection of the water cycle
A sign of a higher power beyond us
A Creator and a Provider
I love planting
In every step is a reminder
A reminder that we can prep the soil
But we didn't create it or the earth we plant in
A reminder that we can plant seeds or transplants
But we didn't create them or have the power to grow them
A reminder that we didn't create the sky or send down rain from it
It is a showcase of the deliberately designed systems and cycles around us
A showcase of infinite beauty in every plant and the way it grows
Beauty that surrounds us in these spring and summer seasons
I love planting because it makes me slow down, ponder
Upon the wisdom of the plants' Creator, my Creator
The mercy of the plants' Provider, my Provider
The one Creator, one Provider, one God
And truly senseless is the claim
That this is accidental
In the voice of Abdul Basit Abdul Samad: https://youtu.be/IPvgRH8-SjE?t=1996 (time stamp 33:16)