World Tourism Day: The Holy Quran Promotes Tourism
By S.
Arshad, New Age Islam
27
September 2021
The Holy
Quran Promotes Tourism Not Only for Religious Purposes but Also for Research
and Appreciation of God’s Mastery and Artistry
Main
Points:
1. Quran
advises its readers to travel extensively through the earth to enrich
knowledge.
2. The Quran
advises Muslims to visit historical places to learn from the fate of sinner
communities.
3. The Quran
also promotes tourism to places of natural beauty for mental and spiritual
refreshment.
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Man has
always travelled through the earth. Since primitive times, man has had to
travel for various purposes; for livelihood, for rehabilitation, in the
aftermath of natural disasters and in the aftermath of war. In the Quran, God
says that in the beginning, He had provided men with all they needed to live
happily within short distance so that they did not have to travel long
distances to find livelihood. But the people of Saba prayed God that they
wanted to travel long distances. So God dispersed them and made them travel
long distances in search of food, shelter and for other social and political
needs and compulsions. Surah Saba says:
And We placed between them and the cities which
We had blessed1 [many] visible cities. And We determined between them the
[distances of] journey, 2 [saying], "Travel between them by night or by
day in safety. “But [insolently] they said, "Our Lord, lengthen the
distance between our journeys," and wronged themselves, so We made them
narrations1 and dispersed them in total dispersion. Indeed in that are signs
for everyone patient and grateful. (Saba: 18-19)
According
to the Quran many communities and individuals travel for various reasons. The
followers of Prophet Nuh travel aboard a giant ship from India to modern day
Turkey to save themselves from the Flood.
Prophet Moses a.h. travelled along his community to flee Pharaoh across
the river.
Prophet
Moses a.s. travelled a long distance to meet Hadhrat Khizir a.s. at God’s
instruction.
Therefore,
travelling has been a part of individual and collective life of communities.
But in
modern times, traveling for gaining knowledge and for exploring the earth has
assumed great importance. This mode of travelling is called tourism. People
travel to historical places or religious places for gaining knowledge or
spiritual solace. Researchers also travel across cities and towns to gain
knowledge in their concerned field.
Since
travelling promotes learning and knowledge and contributes to the spread of
knowledge, the holy Quran also promotes travel or tourism. But since Quran has
a reformist approach towards everything, it promotes tourism as a means of
enriching human intellect and got spiritual enlightenment. It advises its
readers to travel through the earth and see the relics of bygone nations, of
the remains of the kings of the pasts and the remains of their kingdoms. The Quran
also asks Muslims to study their history and learn lessons from them. It advises Muslims or the readers at large to
study the fate of the bygone nations and learn lessons from their wrongdoings
so that they do not repeat the same mistakes. The Quran says:
Have they not travelled through the earth and
observed how was the end of those before them? (Ar Rum: 9)
Have the deniers not travelled through the land
to see what was the end of those ˺ before them? (Yusuf: 109)
Have they not travelled through the land and
observed how was the end of those before them? (Al Mumin: 82)
Similar situations came to pass before you, so
travel throughout the land and see the fate of the deniers. (Al: Imran: 137)
In all the
above-quoted verses, the Quran encourages tourism to historical places like the
remains of the kingdoms and of the bygone nations that were destroyed for their
wrongdoings like dishonesty, corruption, sexual perversion, transgression etc.
However,
the Quran does not advice Muslims to travel through the earth only for gaining
historical wisdom. It also advises Muslims to travel through the earth to
observe nature’s wealth, the flora and fauna, the gigantic mountains and
beautiful rivers and appreciate God’s mastery and artistry. The Quran says:
Say, ˹O Prophet, ˺ “Travel throughout the land and see
how He originated the creation, then Allah will bring it into being one more
time. (Al Ankabut:
20)
Therefore,
according to the Quran tourism is not only a means to gain spiritual
enlightenment through travel to historical places like Egypt, Babylon, Syria,
India, China but also a source of knowledge and spiritual and mental
refreshment through travel to beautiful places of natural wealth like Kashmir,
Switzerland and other similar places of historical importance and natural
beauty.
Great sufis
of the past followed this Quranic advice (Seeru fil ardh) and travelled
extensively through the earth and enriched their knowledge and attained
spiritual insight. Therefore, Quran promotes tourism not only for religious
purposes but also for research purpose and also for appreciation of natural
beauty and of God’s mastery and artistry.
-----
S.
Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL:
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