Not “Outdoorsy”: Reflections on Creation, Faith, and the Qur’an

Not "Outdoorsy": Reflections on Creation, Faith, and the Qur’an

12/16/2025

By: Ubaydullah Evans

ALIM, Resident Scholar

We recently took a family vacation to Yosemite. This trip, organized by my wife Hadiyah and with her careful, meticulous planning, was a great blessing for our family. Additionally, we had the good fortune of enjoying the companionship of family friends. I could certainly write a reflection of funny anecdotes about the children–as the family with whom we vacationed had a son who got on wonderfully with our children. And predictably, I could toss out the stale bon mot about the gaping mouths and curious glances generated by a Black, Muslim family in rural California. Where I’d like to focus, however, is on a few scattered ideas that occurred to me as I took in some of the breathtaking vistas and scenery of the celebrated national park.

It’s really quite odd. The Qur’an is replete with verses that exhort humanity to gaze contemplatively upon the world. The following verse of Sūrat al-Mulk is a personal favorite:

“He is the One ‘Who created seven heavens, one above the other. You will never see any imperfection in the creation of the Most Compassionate. So look again: Do you see any flaws? (3) Then look again and again—your sight will return frustrated and weary. (4) [67: 3-4]

In fact, the Qur’ānic Revelation assumes us to have an intentional relationship with the flora and fauna of the natural environment. If not, the verses encouraging devotion through contemplating creation would be unintelligible. And yet, I’ve always felt a certain aversion to being “outdoorsy.” For me, it evokes “bobo” imagery. The designation “bobo” was introduced by conservative political commentator David Brooks in his book, “Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There.” The term, which is a portmanteau for “bourgeois bohemians,” is used to describe a fusion between two distinct social classes: the white collar, capitalist bourgeois and the counter-cultural, hedonistic, and artistic bohemian. For reasons I’ve yet to adequately explore, “outdoorsy” culture coming onto my radar with this particular genealogy always left me feeling slightly ambivalent.

Nonetheless, I claim no special authenticity for myself. We all consciously and subconsciously participate in social rituals that announce our class affiliations. Today’s “bobo” is simply yesterday’s “yuppie” or in my specific case, “buppie” (Black urban professional). However, in addition to being as potentially contrived and commercially driven as yuppie, hipster, or foodie culture, the category “outdoorsy” at times appears to carry a repulsive self-righteousness. The preachy, environmentally-conscious, anti-capitalist minimalist who spends thousands of dollars on gear at REI to go “off the grid” is the stuff of sketch-show comedic gold! And yet, if the space within my heart that should be occupied by a desire to commune with the creation of God is instead filled with derisive mocking of “glamping,” who’s more deserving of the label “superficial?”

There among the gorges, canyons, and waterfalls of Yosemite we experienced a communion with nature too profound to be referred to as “outdoorsy.” This wasn’t limited to a pedestrian fascination with being outside of doors. Nor was it an urge to make an occasional spiritual pilgrimage to the wilderness for the purpose of interrupting our soul-crushing, mechanized, artificial daily routines. Rather, this trip highlighted the importance of being in consistent contact with nature as a source of achieving balance, equilibrium, and most importantly guidance. Upon reflection, I realized that to enter a natural environment is to enter a place that is without sin; a place in perfect harmony with the Will of God. Viewed against such a grand backdrop, the weightiness of the deputation God has entrusted to men and women—by making us free-choosing, accountable beings—is drawn into sharp relief.

“We did indeed offer the Trust to the heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but the human being undertook it; He was indeed unjust and foolish.” [33:72].

Human willingness to undertake the “Trust,” which was initially refused by the natural world, is the thing which qualifies us as the vicegerents of God and thus the potential objects of His love. When we choose submission (Islam) to God, He loves that we have chosen to submit to Him. However, those elements of God’s creation granted no right to choose exude no less the peace, beauty, tranquility, and harmony that results from being in submission to God.

Whenever I reflect upon our time at Yosemite, two things occur to me: The first is that the United States of America is a country of breathtaking geological and topographical diversity. The history of this nation represents a whirling vortex. At times, our righteous indignation at the commission of the grave crimes of racial slavery and genocide prevent us from celebrating the favors bestowed upon this nation. I identify with this ambivalence. Those historical episodes along with current failures to fulfill its promise of justice make us suspicious of allusions to America’s providence. And yet the beauty and generosity of the land itself is undeniable.

Secondly, I reflect on the words of the twentieth-century Anglo-American poet, W.H. Auden who wrote:

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That for all they care, I can go to Hell
But on Earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were the stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be
Let the more loving one be me…

In these lines, Auden recognizes that the passion he feels for the stars cannot be reciprocated. But he also recognizes that in being the “more loving one” he is satisfied.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans is ALIM’s first Scholar-in-Residence. He converted to Islam while in high school. Upon conversion, Ustadh Ubaydullah began studying some of the foundational books of Islam under the private tutelage of local scholars while simultaneously pursuing a degree in journalism from Columbia. Since then, he has studied at Chicagoland’s Institute of Islamic Education (IIE), in Tarim, Yemen, and Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he is the first African-American to graduate from its Shari’a program. Ustadh Ubaydullah also instructs with the Ta’leef Collective and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) at times. As the ALIM Scholar-in-Residence, Ustadh Ubaydullah is a core instructor at the ALIM Summer Program. He teaches History of Islamic Law, Shama'il, and Aphorisims of Ibn Ata'illah along with other courses.

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