While traveling, we should learn to see creation as signs (āyāt), not merely scenery. The Qur’an urges us to “travel through the earth and observe” (29:20). Mountains can remind us of Allah’s power, changing landscapes of His creativity, ruins of past civilizations of the temporary nature of human greatness, and plants, animals, seas, and skies of the extraordinary order sustaining life. Travel therefore becomes an act of reflection when we move beyond taking photographs to asking: Who created this? What does it teach me about Allah? What happened to those who lived here before me? And how should this knowledge change the way I live? In this way, the eyes travel through the earth while the heart travels toward its Creator.
This is the theme of Surah Al-ʿAnkabūt 29:20 which we shall expand and try to dig deeper into the wisdom behind this post to enlighten our vision:
The Verse
قُلْ سِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانظُرُوا كَيْفَ بَدَأَ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ اللَّهُ يُنشِئُ النَّشْأَةَ الْآخِرَةَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“Say, ‘Travel throughout the land and observe how He originated creation. Then Allah will bring about the later creation. Surely Allah has power over everything.’” — 29:20
This is a remarkable Qur’anic verse because Allah does not merely say “believe that I created”; He says, in effect, go, look, observe and think.
The context of 29:20
The immediate subject of verses 29:19–23 is resurrection. The people being addressed could acknowledge Allah as Creator, yet some regarded resurrection after death as impossible. The Qur’an answers: if Allah brought creation into existence the first time, why should recreating human beings be considered impossible? Maʿārif al-Qur’an explicitly explains the passage in this way: the first creation is presented as evidence for the possibility of the second creation.
That is why Verse 19 first asks: “Have they not seen how Allah originates creation and then repeats it? Indeed, that is easy for Allah.” — 29:19
And then verse 20 takes the argument further: Do not merely hear the argument — go out into the world and examine the evidence yourselves.
So its sequence is: Creation before our eyes → Creator → His power → resurrection → accountability.
This is why the second half of 29:20 immediately says: “Then Allah will bring about the later creation.”
The principal subject is therefore not tourism, geology or biology by themselves. Rather observation of nature is being used to awaken certainty about Allah and the Hereafter.
Why does Allah say “Travel through the earth”?
There are two important commands:
- سِيرُوا — sīrū: Travel, move about, journey.
- فَانظُرُوا — fa-nẓurū: Then look, observe, contemplate.
The second command is crucial. A person can travel thousands of kilometres and learn almost nothing spiritually.
The Qur’an asks for travel with an observing mind and asks to look at:
- mountains and valleys,
- oceans and rivers,
- deserts and forests,
- animals and plants,
- human beings,
- civilizations and their ruins,
- birth, growth, decay and death,
- and the extraordinary order underlying creation
Ibn Kathir specifically mentions contemplation of the heavens, stars and planets, as well as earth's plains, mountains, valleys, deserts, trees, rivers, fruits and oceans. For him, these visible realities point toward both a Creator and His ability to resurrect creation.
So 29:20 is teaching something profound: The believer should not pass through Allah's creation without reading its signs.
Scholarly interpretation of the verse
1. Ibn Kathir: creation is evidence for resurrection Ibn Kathir's interpretation is straightforward.
Human beings once did not exist; Allah brought them into existence. Therefore, the One who created them initially can create them again. He then says people should contemplate the visible signs throughout the horizons—the heavens, planets, earth, mountains, rivers, vegetation and oceans.
His reasoning is essentially: If first creation is before you, why doubt the second creation?
For Ibn Kathir, therefore, 29:20 teaches both: (1) Tawḥīd: creation points toward the Creator, and (2) Ākhirah: the Creator who originated life can restore it after death.
2. Maududi: observe what Allah is already doing Maududi focuses especially on the logical argument.
He explains that people are already witnessing God's creative power. Once this power is acknowledged, re-creation cannot rationally be regarded as beyond Allah's ability.
The argument can be simplified: (1) First creation exists. (2) First creation required divine power. (3) The same divine power remains. (4) Therefore resurrection cannot be impossible for Allah.
This is characteristic of the Qur’anic method: it takes something observable and uses it to make us think about something presently unseen.
3. Yusuf Ali: travel both literally and intellectually
Yusuf Ali gives this verse a particularly broad and beautiful interpretation. He understands travelling through the earth both literally and, in a broader sense, intellectually.
He draws attention to the wonders encountered across the world—mountains, rivers, geological formations and other natural marvels—and then moves inward to the constitution of matter, energy, animal instinct and human capacities. His central thought is that from what humanity can observe, we may reason toward realities we cannot yet observe directly.
That is an important insight into 29:20: Observation should lead beyond observation.
You see creation;
- you reflect upon its origin;
- you recognize power and wisdom;
And finally you recognize that resurrection is not incredible.
What is particularly remarkable about this verse?
- The Qur’an could simply have said: “Allah created everything, therefore believe.”
- Instead it says: سِيرُوا — Travel and while travelling فَانظُرُوا — Observe.
This establishes an important Qur’anic attitude toward knowledge:
- Faith need not fear observation.
- Nature is not an enemy of revelation. In the Qur’anic worldview, nature itself contains āyāt—signs—which invite contemplation of the Creator.
The Muslim should therefore possess two books, metaphorically speaking:
- The revealed Book — the Qur’an, and
- The created “book” — the universe.
Both invite reflection upon Allah.
Is 29:20 a command to study science?
Now coming over to oft asked question that what Qur'an says about a particular thing - and is it ratified by science. It has been explained time and again that in books of theologies, science has no place - but it is science which can draw conclusions from what has been said.
Therefore, it would be going too far to say that the verse specifically commands modern disciplines such as geology, biology, paleontology or cosmology. The classical tafsirs primarily understand its immediate purpose as proving Allah's creative power and resurrection. Ibn Kathir and Maududi are particularly clear about this.
But the intellectual attitude encouraged by the verse certainly accommodates serious investigation of creation.
A Muslim scientist studying cells, DNA, embryonic development, fossils, ecosystems, mountains, oceans, stars or galaxies, can approach those subjects not merely asking: “How does this work?” - but also: “What does the existence, order and intelligibility of creation make me reflect upon?”
Science studies mechanisms and processes. The Qur’anic reflection goes further and asks questions of meaning, origin, purpose and ultimate destiny. We should therefore avoid forcing particular modern scientific theories into 29:20. Its message is broader and more enduring: Examine creation carefully; what you discover should deepen your awareness of the Creator and His power.
Why has this been stressed upon believers?
Although the verse directly challenges those denying resurrection, its method is immensely valuable for believers because faith can become habitual.
We say Allah is the Creator. But when did we last seriously contemplate what that means?
Consider one seed becoming a tree. One fertilized human cell developing into a complex human body. A lifeless-looking landscape becoming green after rain. Billions of stars occupying an immense universe. Generations appearing, living and disappearing.
The Qur’an asks us not to become spiritually blind to familiar things. Something does not cease to be extraordinary merely because we see it every day. A sunrise becomes “ordinary” only because it happens repeatedly. Birth becomes “ordinary” because babies are born every day. Yet both remain astonishing signs when contemplated deeply.
How should we implement 29:20 today?
We can implement the verse on several levels.
- Travel with reflection
- When visiting mountains, seas, deserts, forests or historic civilizations, do more than take photographs.
- Ask: Who created this? - What does this teach me? - How temporary am I compared with what I see? - What became of the generations who lived here before me?
- Then travel becomes something close to tafakkur — reflective contemplation.
- Study creation Muslims should encourage children to study astronomy, biology, medicine, geology, archaeology and other fields of knowledge—not because every scientific discovery must be labelled a “Qur’anic miracle,” but because understanding creation can deepen appreciation of its complexity and order.
- Study history and ruined civilizations
- “Travel through the earth” also has a historical dimension throughout the Qur’an.
- Ancient civilizations remind us that they: possessed wealth, constructed cities, exercised power and thought their world would continue.
- But then then they disappeared - Their ruins silently preach the temporary nature of worldly power.
- Observe yourself
- One need not always travel thousands of kilometres.
- Our own bodies are extraordinary fields of reflection: heartbeat, consciousness, eyesight, memory, healing, ageing and reproduction.
- The “journey” into creation can therefore begin within ourselves.
- Connect every observation with the Hereafter - This is the part most easily forgotten.
Remember, 29:20 does not finish: “See how Allah originated creation.” Rather, it immediately continues: “Then Allah will bring about the later creation.” Therefore the intended journey is:
Observation → reflection → Creator → resurrection → accountability
If our study of creation produces knowledge but never humility, we have only completed part of the Qur’anic journey.
A powerful contemporary reading of 29:20
The verse could be paraphrased—not as a translation, but as a reflection—as saying:
Go out of your small world. Look at the earth. Study life. Examine creation. Learn from history. Think about beginnings. Then ask yourself: if Allah brought all this into existence once, why should you doubt that He can bring you back to life?
That final question is the heart of 29:20. The verse therefore joins three things that we sometimes wrongly separate: (1) Faith — believe in Allah. (2) Reason — think about the evidence. (3) Observation — go and see it yourself. And all three finally lead to: Ākhirah — you will be created again and returned to Him.
Perhaps the greatest lesson of 29:20 for us today is this: a believer should never move through the world with closed eyes. The earth is not merely a place to live upon; it is an enormous field of signs. The more deeply we observe creation, the more consciously we should remember the Creator—and the more seriously we should prepare for the “next creation” that the same verse promises.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may refer to more Selected Verses from Sürah 29. Al-‘Ankabūt "العنكبوت" (The Spider) already published
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An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
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