The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): As for the cause by which creation subsists, Allah the Mighty and Majestic has explained in His Book that the subsistence of creation [comes from] four things: eating, drinking, wearing clothes, and marriages which are for procreation; and in all of these there is need for command and prohibition [from Allah]. As for [the explanation]: foods are from the varieties of plants and lawful-to-eat livestock. Allah the Exalted said concerning plants: "We poured down water in abundance, then We split the earth in clefts, and caused to grow in it grain, and grapes and greens, and olives and palm trees, and dense-treed gardens, and fruits and pastures, as provision for you and your cattle." (Abasa/25-32) And Allah the Exalted said: "Have you considered what you sow? Is it you who cause it to grow, or are We the grower?" (al-Waqi'ah/63-64) And Allah the Glorified again said: وَ الْأَرْضَ وَضَعَها لِلْأَنامِ فِیها فاکِهَةٌ وَ النَّخْلُ ذاتُ الْأَکْمامِ وَ الحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ وَ الرَّیْحانُ [And the earth, He has set it for living creatures; in it are fruits and palm trees with sheaths, and grain with husk and fragrant plants]. These and their like are among the things that Allah the Exalted brings forth from the earth for the subsistence of creation.