Surah Al-Ghashiyah, Ayah 24

The Exhortation to look at the Creation of the Camel, the Heaven, the Mountains and the Earth

Allah commands His servants to look at His creations that prove His power and greatness. He says,

أَفَلاَ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ

(Do they not look at the camels, how they are created) Indeed it is an amazing creation, and the way it has been fashioned is strange. For it is extremely powerful and strong, yet gentle, carrying heavy loads. It allows itself to be guided by a weak rider. It is eaten, benefit is derived from its hair, and its milk is drunk. They are reminded of this because the most common domestic animal of the Arabs was the camel. Shurayh Al-Qadi used to say, "Come out with us so that we may look at the camels and how they were created, and at the sky and how it has been raised." Meaning, how Allah raised it in such magnificence above the ground. This is as Allah says,

أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ (So, do they not look at the camels how they are created...88:17) The Qur'an first described the conditions of the Hereafter; and it then went on to depict the reward of the believers and the retribution of the unbelievers. Now it turns attention to rebuff the obdurate unbelievers' foolish denial of the Hereafter. They reject it on the ground that after death and decomposition of the body and bones it is inconceivable that they would be recomposed and resurrected. For their guidance, Allah invites their attention to reflect carefully on a few of His Signs. There are uncountable Signs of Allah in the universe. These verses refer to four of them specifically which suited the condition of the desert Arabs. They often travelled through the desert. In such a situation, all they saw were camels they travelled on. They mounted camels and covered long journeys. Above them was the sky and beneath them was the earth. All around them [ left, right, front and back ] they saw mountains. The Arabs are commanded to ponder over these four natural phenomena which make Allah's might manifest.

Calling people to God aims at exhorting people through peaceful persuasion, to make them realize their Creator, the one and only God; to understand the purpose of their creation; the coming of the Hereafter, of their accountability to their Creator, etc. The purpose of this exhortation is to awaken souls from their slumber. It is to put a lost person on to the right path leading towards God. It is to awaken man’s insight so that he begins to see glimpses of God in the signs of the vast universe. It is to unveil the Creator in the mirror of His creation.