You Do Not Understand Their Glorification: How Do Non-Human Beings Glorify GOD?

Author: Berk KÖKSAL
Date: September 20, 2026
Place: Mersin

The central purpose of this article is to contemplate the verses together with other related verses, and to consider sincerely and deeply what bearing witness to the oneness of GOD means in human life in terms of knowledge, justice, truthfulness, and submission.

Peace. Peace be upon you.

Human beings often measure reality by the limits of human perception. What we do not hear seems silent. What we do not understand may seem meaningless. What does not communicate in our language can appear to have no language at all.

17:44 breaks that confidence. The seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them glorify GOD. Nothing is excluded. Then comes the boundary: you do not understand their glorification.

This is not only a statement about creation. It is a statement about the limits of human knowledge. Reality can be larger than what my senses and concepts can decode.

24:41 speaks of birds knowing their own prayer and glorification. 13:13 speaks of thunder praising GOD. 13:15 speaks of shadows prostrating. 22:18 gathers the sun, moon, stars, mountains, trees, animals, and many human beings inside the language of prostration.

The purpose of this article is not to invent a physical mechanism for those verses. The deeper question is: if the Quran itself says that we do not understand their glorification, how should human knowledge learn humility?

Summary:

1. Nothing Exists Without Glorifying Him

17:44

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

Yedi evren, yeryüzü ve onların içindeki herkes O’nu yüceltir. Hiçbir şey yoktur ki O’nu yüceltmiyor olsun, ama siz onların yüceltmelerini anlamazsınız. O Hoşgörülüdür, Bağışlayıcıdır.

2. Birds Know Their Prayer and Their Glorification

24:41 — Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its prayer and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

3. Thunder Praises His Glory

13:13 — The thunder praises His glory, and so do the angels, out of reverence for Him. He sends the lightning bolts, which strike in accordance with His will. Yet, they argue about GOD, though His power is awesome.

4. Even Shadows Prostrate

13:15 — To GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.*

5. Shadows in Total Submission

16:48 — Have they not seen all the things created by GOD? Their shadows surround them right and left, in total submission to GOD, and willingly.

6. Every Creature Prostrates Without Arrogance

16:49 — To GOD prostrates everything in the heavens and everything on earth —every creature—and so do the angels; without the least arrogance.*

16:50 — They reverence their Lord, high above them, and they do what they are commanded to do.

7. Sun, Moon, Stars, Mountains, Trees, Animals, and Human Beings

22:18 — Do you not realize that to GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the animals, and many people? Many others among the people are committed to doom. Whomever GOD shames, none will honor him. Everything is in accordance with GOD’s will.

8. Mountains Glorifying Night and Day

38:18 — We committed the mountains in his service, glorifying with him night and day.

9. Mountains and Birds Glorifying With David

21:79 — We granted Solomon the correct understanding, though we endowed both of them with wisdom and knowledge. We committed the mountains to serve David in glorifying (God), as well as the birds. This is what we did.

10. “O Mountains... and You Too, O Birds”

34:10 — We endowed David with blessings from us: “O mountains, submit with him, and you too, O birds.” We softened the iron for him.

11. Understanding the Language of Birds as a Gift

27:16 — Solomon was David’s heir. He said, “O people, we have been endowed with understanding the language of the birds, and all kinds of things have been bestowed upon us. This is indeed a real blessing.”

12. Animals and Birds Are Communities Like You

6:38 — All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book.** To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned.

13. The Flight of Birds Is a Proof

16:79 — Do they not see the birds committed to fly in the atmosphere of the sky? None holds them up in the air except GOD. This should be (sufficient) proof for people who believe.

14. Who Holds the Birds in the Air?

67:19 — Have they not seen the birds above them lined up in columns and spreading their wings? The Most Gracious is the One who holds them in the air. He is Seer of all things.

15. Stars and Trees Prostrate

55:6 — The stars and the trees prostrate.

16. Heaven and Earth Say, “We Come Willingly”

41:11 — Then He turned to the sky, when it was still gas, and said to it, and to the earth, “Come into existence, willingly or unwillingly.” They said, “We come willingly.”

17. Everything Has Submitted—Why Seek Another Religion?

3:83 — Are they seeking other than GOD’s religion, when everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly and unwillingly, and to Him they will be returned?

18. “The Knowledge Given to You Is Minute”

17:85 — They ask you about the revelation. Say, “The revelation comes from my Lord. The knowledge given to you is minute.”

19. Arabic Word Roots: Glorification, Prostration, and Understanding

17:44 — Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

24:41 — Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its prayer and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

13:15 — To GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.*

Other Claims

17:44 — Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

24:41 — Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its prayer and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

Conclusion

17:44 — Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

1. Nothing Exists Without Glorifying Him

Verse

17:44

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

Yedi evren, yeryüzü ve onların içindeki herkes O’nu yüceltir. Hiçbir şey yoktur ki O’nu yüceltmiyor olsun, ama siz onların yüceltmelerini anlamazsınız. O Hoşgörülüdür, Bağışlayıcıdır.

Source: kuranteyit.com

Reflection on the Verse

The scale of 17:44 is immense. The seven universes, the earth, and everyone within them glorify GOD. The verse does not confine glorification to human beings or angels.

Then the verse immediately limits us: we do not understand their glorification. Human knowledge can be genuine without being total.

I can study a tree biologically, a bird through physics and behavior, and thunder through atmospheric science. None of those forms of knowledge are worthless. But the verse warns me not to assume that explanation has exhausted meaning.

The universe may appear silent to me because my understanding is limited, not because creation is without praise.

Verse references: 17:44.

2. Birds Know Their Prayer and Their Glorification

Verse

24:41 — Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its prayer and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

Reflection on the Verse

24:41 gives a concrete example: birds flying in formation glorify GOD, and each knows its prayer and glorification.

This changes the moral imagination with which I look at non-human creatures. A bird is not merely a biological mechanism, an aesthetic object, or a resource. The verse gives it a relationship of prayer and glorification.

The mechanism is not explained. I should not pretend to know whether the verse refers to sound, behavior, another form of awareness, or something beyond categories available to me.

What I do know from the verse is enough: they glorify, they know their prayer, and GOD is fully aware of what they do.

Verse references: 24:41; 17:44.

3. Thunder Praises His Glory

Verse

13:13 — The thunder praises His glory, and so do the angels, out of reverence for Him. He sends the lightning bolts, which strike in accordance with His will. Yet, they argue about GOD, though His power is awesome.

Reflection on the Verse

13:13 describes thunder itself as praising GOD’s glory, while the angels act out of reverence. A natural event is given theological meaning.

There is no need to set physical explanation and Quranic meaning against one another. Understanding the physics of thunder does not make the verse’s language meaningless, just as knowing the water cycle does not eliminate gratitude for rain.

The end of the verse is striking: people still argue about GOD while His power is awesome. Creation praises, angels revere, lightning moves according to His will, and the human being continues to dispute.

The contrast is morally uncomfortable.

Verse references: 13:13; 18:54.

4. Even Shadows Prostrate

Verse

13:15 — To GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.*

Reflection on the Verse

13:15 includes shadows in the language of prostration. The ordinary movement of a shadow through morning and evening becomes part of the Quranic picture of submission.

Human beings often reserve the word “prostration” for a conscious ritual act. The verse uses the language more widely. Creation remains inside an order it did not design for itself.

My own shadow can therefore become a reminder. My body ages, sleeps, falls, breathes, and remains subject to created conditions even when my ego imagines independence.

The universe does not need my permission to remain under GOD’s authority.

Verse references: 13:15.

5. Shadows in Total Submission

Verse

16:48 — Have they not seen all the things created by GOD? Their shadows surround them right and left, in total submission to GOD, and willingly.

Reflection on the Verse

16:48 strengthens the shadow image by describing it in total submission to GOD.

This makes submission larger than a religious label. The physical world itself operates within measures and conditions established by its Creator. Human beings are unique not because we escape those conditions, but because moral choice adds another layer of responsibility.

My body is already dependent. The spiritual question is whether my conscious self recognizes what my created condition already displays.

Tawhid can begin with something as simple as looking at my own shadow and remembering that I am not self-created.

Verse references: 16:48; 13:15.

6. Every Creature Prostrates Without Arrogance

Verse

16:49 — To GOD prostrates everything in the heavens and everything on earth —every creature—and so do the angels; without the least arrogance.*

16:50 — They reverence their Lord, high above them, and they do what they are commanded to do.

Reflection on the Verse

16:49-50 join prostration with the absence of arrogance. Every creature and the angels prostrate; the angels reverence their Lord and do what they are commanded.

That gives the human ego a powerful mirror. We possess little in comparison with the scale of creation, yet knowledge, wealth, visibility, or religious status can still produce arrogance.

The non-human glorification described in these verses is therefore not only something to admire. It judges the human self. If creation submits without arrogance, what exactly makes me imagine that I am above submission?

Verse references: 16:49-50.

7. Sun, Moon, Stars, Mountains, Trees, Animals, and Human Beings

Verse

22:18 — Do you not realize that to GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the animals, and many people? Many others among the people are committed to doom. Whomever GOD shames, none will honor him. Everything is in accordance with GOD’s will.

Reflection on the Verse

22:18 gathers an extraordinary list: the heavens and the earth, sun, moon, stars, mountains, trees, animals, and many human beings prostrate to GOD.

Yet the verse also distinguishes human beings: many others among people are committed to another outcome. Human freedom therefore appears beside cosmic submission.

The sun does not negotiate its orbit. A tree does not declare itself independent of the conditions of life. Human beings, however, can consciously refuse the meaning of submission even while their created bodies remain inside GOD’s order.

Freedom is therefore not only privilege. It is responsibility.

Verse references: 22:18.

8. Mountains Glorifying Night and Day

Verse

38:18 — We committed the mountains in his service, glorifying with him night and day.

Reflection on the Verse

38:18 presents mountains glorifying with David night and day. To human perception, mountains appear silent and still. The verse gives them another dimension.

This forces me to reconsider the word “silent.” Is something truly silent because I cannot hear its meaning? 17:44 has already warned that we do not understand their glorification.

The image also extends praise across time. When people sleep, when cities become quiet, when no human voice seems to be praying, creation is not described as spiritually empty.

A person who remembers GOD may therefore be joining something much larger than an isolated human act.

Verse references: 38:18; 17:44.

9. Mountains and Birds Glorifying With David

Verse

21:79 — We granted Solomon the correct understanding, though we endowed both of them with wisdom and knowledge. We committed the mountains to serve David in glorifying (God), as well as the birds. This is what we did.

Reflection on the Verse

21:79 places mountains and birds together in glorification with David. One appears massive and stationary; the other light and mobile. Their difference does not prevent a shared orientation toward GOD.

This gives me a different way to think about unity. Unity does not require identical form. Creation can be radically diverse and still be united in relation to one Lord.

In Dividing the Religion, I reflected on human beings turning one community into competing identities. Here mountains and birds become a quiet contrast: difference does not have to become rivalry.

Verse references: 21:79.

10. “O Mountains… and You Too, O Birds”

Verse

34:10 — We endowed David with blessings from us: “O mountains, submit with him, and you too, O birds.” We softened the iron for him.

Reflection on the Verse

34:10 addresses mountains and birds directly. The Quranic picture of creation is therefore not limited to passive objects described only for human utility.

The verse does not explain how mountains or birds receive this command. Filling the silence with an invented theory would violate the restraint taught by 17:44.

But the lack of mechanism does not erase the statement. Human beings should be cautious about equating “I cannot explain it” with “it has no meaning.”

Verse references: 34:10; 17:44.

11. Understanding the Language of Birds as a Gift

Verse

27:16 — Solomon was David’s heir. He said, “O people, we have been endowed with understanding the language of the birds, and all kinds of things have been bestowed upon us. This is indeed a real blessing.”

Reflection on the Verse

27:16 says that Solomon was endowed with understanding the language of birds, and he described this as a real blessing.

Read beside 17:44, this is significant. Human beings do not normally understand the glorification of creation, while Solomon is described as receiving a particular capacity of understanding.

Scientific study of animal communication can expand human knowledge and should not be dismissed. Yet the verse does not permit me to claim that ordinary observation gives access to every level of meaning mentioned in the Quran.

Knowledge grows best when curiosity and humility grow together.

Verse references: 27:16; 17:44.

12. Animals and Birds Are Communities Like You

Verse

6:38 — All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this book.** To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned.

Reflection on the Verse

6:38 calls the creatures on earth and the birds that fly “communities like you.” That language disrupts the habit of seeing non-human life only as background, resource, or instrument.

The verse also says these creatures will be summoned to their Lord. Whatever details are not given should remain unclaimed, but the basic point is powerful: their existence has a relation to GOD that is not reducible to human usefulness.

This can produce an ethical consequence. Power over other creatures should not become permission for cruelty. They are creations of the same Lord.

Verse references: 6:38.

13. The Flight of Birds Is a Proof

Verse

16:79 — Do they not see the birds committed to fly in the atmosphere of the sky? None holds them up in the air except GOD. This should be (sufficient) proof for people who believe.

Reflection on the Verse

16:79 turns an ordinary sight into a proof: birds flying in the atmosphere. Familiarity makes wonder disappear; the verse restores attention.

A human being can study wings, airflow, muscle, and aerodynamics. Those explanations deepen knowledge. The verse asks another question at the same time: what does this ordered ability point to?

Knowing how a mechanism works does not require pretending that the mechanism created itself. Explanation and gratitude do not have to be enemies.

Verse references: 16:79.

14. Who Holds the Birds in the Air?

Verse

67:19 — Have they not seen the birds above them lined up in columns and spreading their wings? The Most Gracious is the One who holds them in the air. He is Seer of all things.

Reflection on the Verse

67:19 again points to birds spreading their wings, but this time connects the scene with the Most Gracious. The image is not only one of power; it is placed under mercy.

Countless conditions cooperate for a bird to remain in flight. We may describe many of them scientifically, yet the verse teaches us to see the whole order under GOD’s sustaining sovereignty.

Looking at a bird can also become a reflection on my own dependence. I stand, breathe, think, heal, and sleep through conditions I did not create.

Verse references: 67:19.

15. Stars and Trees Prostrate

Verse

55:6 — The stars and the trees prostrate.

Reflection on the Verse

55:6 joins stars and trees in one short sentence: they prostrate.

For human scale, the difference between a star and a tree is enormous. One is cosmic and distant; the other may stand beside a house. Yet both belong under the same Lord.

This widens tawhid beyond human religious life. GOD is not merely the Lord of my private concerns or of this planet. The scale of His sovereignty includes what is near and what is unimaginably distant.

The verse also corrects the ego. My problems feel central because I experience them from inside myself. Creation reminds me that I am a small part of a far greater order.

Verse references: 55:6.

16. Heaven and Earth Say, “We Come Willingly”

Verse

41:11 — Then He turned to the sky, when it was still gas, and said to it, and to the earth, “Come into existence, willingly or unwillingly.” They said, “We come willingly.”

Reflection on the Verse

41:11 portrays the sky and the earth responding to GOD’s command: “We come willingly.” The theological direction is clear even if the verse does not give us a physical theory of how this response occurred.

The heavens and the earth are not presented as independent powers resisting their Creator. They come into existence under His command.

Human beings, inside this same creation, receive moral choice. We can consciously resist even though our very existence remains dependent on GOD.

That makes freedom a serious trust rather than a declaration of independence from the Creator.

Verse references: 41:11.

17. Everything Has Submitted—Why Seek Another Religion?

Verse

3:83 — Are they seeking other than GOD’s religion, when everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly and unwillingly, and to Him they will be returned?

Reflection on the Verse

3:83 directly joins cosmic submission with the question of religion. Everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to GOD, willingly or unwillingly, and all will be returned to Him.

This gives “Submission” a scale larger than institutional identity. Religion is not merely a human label; it is connected to the basic relation between creation and its Lord.

Human beings can turn religion into competition between groups. The verse returns the mind to a more fundamental reality: everything belongs to one sovereignty and returns to one GOD.

Tawhid is therefore cosmic before it is tribal.

Verse references: 3:83.

18. “The Knowledge Given to You Is Minute”

Verse

17:85 — They ask you about the revelation. Say, “The revelation comes from my Lord. The knowledge given to you is minute.”

Reflection on the Verse

17:85 provides an epistemic boundary for this entire article: the knowledge given to human beings is minute.

That statement does not oppose learning. The Quran repeatedly calls people to observe, reason, investigate, and reflect. The lesson is that increasing knowledge does not turn finite knowledge into omniscience.

When 17:44 says that we do not understand the glorification of creation, 17:85 makes the limitation less surprising. Reality exceeds what we have been given.

The honest position is therefore double: believe what the verse states, and remain restrained about mechanisms the verse does not disclose.

Verse references: 17:85; 17:44.

19. Arabic Word Roots: Glorification, Prostration, and Understanding

Verse

17:44 — Glorifying Him are the seven universes, the earth, and everyone in them. There is nothing that does not glorify Him, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Clement, Forgiver.

24:41 — Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its prayer and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

13:15 — To GOD prostrates everyone in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.*

Reflection on the Verse

The Arabic root س ب ح (s-b-ḥ) is central to the Quranic language of glorifying GOD. In 17:44 it is used for the seven universes, the earth, and everything within them. Glorification is therefore not confined to human speech.

The root س ج د (s-j-d) gives the language of prostration. It appears for non-human creation in verses such as 13:15, 16:49, 22:18, and 55:6. The wider Quranic use warns against reducing prostration only to the human ritual posture; the contexts strongly carry submission and bowing to GOD’s order.

The phrase “you do not understand” in 17:44 belongs to the semantic field of ف ق ه (f-q-h), deep understanding or comprehension. The verse does not merely say that the glorification is inaudible; it says our understanding does not grasp it.

24:41 also uses the language of prayer. Each creature knows its prayer and glorification. Taken together, these roots present creation not as spiritually empty matter but as a world of submission, praise, and relation to GOD—much of which remains beyond human comprehension.

Verse references: 17:44; 24:41; 13:15; 16:49; 22:18; 55:6.

Other Claims

Throughout interpretive history, people have proposed different accounts of the glorification of non-human creation. Some have spoken of a metaphorical “language of state,” while others have understood the verses as describing a real form of glorification unique to each creature.

The explicit Quranic boundary should remain decisive: 17:44 says that we do not understand their glorification, and 24:41 says each knows its prayer and glorification. Any detailed theory of “how” should therefore be held cautiously.

Modern research on animal communication, plant behavior, vibration, or cosmic processes can be fascinating, but identifying a particular scientific phenomenon as the definitive physical mechanism of Quranic glorification would go beyond what the verses establish.

Conclusion

17:44 can radically change the way a person sees the world. Creation is not presented as a silent warehouse of resources surrounding the human being. The seven universes, the earth, and what they contain glorify GOD. Birds know their prayer and glorification. Thunder praises. Shadows prostrate. Mountains and birds join praise. Stars and trees prostrate.

And in the middle of all this, the human being is told: you do not understand their glorification.

That statement does not humiliate knowledge. It gives knowledge its proper scale. We can study, discover, classify, and explain, while still recognizing that our explanations do not make us owners of all meaning.

The strongest reflection I carry from these verses is this: the human distinction is not merely that we can speak, but that we can consciously choose whether to join the submission already written across creation.

Perhaps contemplation begins when I stop asking only, “What can this creature do for me?” and also ask, “Whose servant is this creature?”

GOD knows best.

Note

2:32 — Onlar, “Sana yücelik olsun. Senin bize öğrettiğinden başka bizim hiçbir bilgimiz yok. Sen Her Şeyi Bilensin, En Bilgesin.” dediler.

GOD knows best.

Source: kuranteyit.com