Did you notice what’s strange about the concept of traveling to see a natural attraction? We literally go thousands of miles and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars just to look at some natural objects. We spend hours and days worth of traveling just to look at mountains, oceans, lakes, falls, or stars.

Why though? Sure, they are beautiful, but what’s the benefit? Do they do anything for us? Do they talk or interact with us? Yet, when we go and see them, we feel better and are left in awe.

When you think about it, there’s no true reason to appreciate beauty, especially when you take all the sacrifices of travel into account. It is something specific to humans. If this is just a material world, with every creature doing things for some benefit, why are we moved by beauty? Matter and atoms do not create the mechanism to be moved by beauty, so why are we?

As the Argument From Beauty suggests, perhaps a Higher Being gave us this inherent quality to appreciate beauty, and perhaps it is directing us to find the source of all beauties, which is God Himself.

Perhaps God also is the One with the Ultimate beauty. As Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said,

“Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.”

[Source: al-Mu’jam al-Awsaṭ 6906. Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani]