According to Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah grant him blessings and peace, said:
When God created the Earth, she began to quake. So He created the mountains and said to them: “Upon her”, and she then became still. The angels were amazed at the power of the mountains* and they asked: “O Lord, is there anything in Your Creation more powerful than the mountains?”
He replied: “Yes, iron.”
“O Lord, is there anything in Your Creation more powerful than iron?”
He replied: “Yes, fire.”
“O Lord, is there anything in Your Creation more powerful than fire?”
He replied: “Yes, water.”
“O Lord, is there anything in Your Creation more powerful than water?”
He replied: “Yes, wind.”
“O Lord, is there anything in Your Creation more powerful than wind?”
“Yes, the child of Adam, who gives charitably with his right hand whilst concealing it from his left hand.”
Reported in the Mishkat al Anwar of Imam Muhyuddin ibn Arabi
* In some manuscripts this first section reads as follows: When God created the Earth, it began to quake. Then the angels asked, “How, O Lord, will Your servants find stability upon this earth?” Whereupon He appeared to them in a revelation that caused them to swoon. When they came to, the angels saw that the mountains had been created.