Attribution to Nature
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The first question of the fatwa ( 8886 ):
Q1: We have a water bottling company that wrote a phrase on large billboards placed on public roads for advertising. The phrase is: “There are still some gifts of nature in our world,” accompanied by an image of water flowing from somewhere. We told them that this phrase is not valid religiously, because the One who gave us water is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) alone, not nature, as the communists say—may Allah kill them—or what is this nature you claim has a will and gives water and other things? But they replied that this phrase is a figure of speech, like when someone says: “The prince built the town.” What is the ruling of the Shari'ah on this phrase?
We ask you to clarify this, may you be rewarded, because people read it day and night, and some may believe it to be correct. This is dangerous for their creed. I ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to return the Muslims to their religion and to hold the correct creed without ambiguity or doubt.
A1: It is not permissible to say or write: “There are still some gifts of nature in our world,” even if one claims it is a figure of speech; because it causes confusion for people and makes their hearts comfortable with what the people of atheism hold. Since many disbelievers still deny the Lord and attribute the creation of good and evil to other than Allah in reality, the Muslim should protect his tongue and pen from such phrases; to protect himself from participating in the slogans and manifestations of the people of atheism, and to distance himself from what they constantly utter in their speech, so that he may be pure from the impurities of shirk (associating partners with Allah) in his outward conduct and his inward creed. It is obligatory for him to accept advice and not to seek out excuses to justify his error, nor to fabricate excuses to justify his position. For the truth is more deserving of being followed, and the ancients said: “Beware of what you have to excuse.” And success is from Allah. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.