Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
creation 472
period of Islamic thought, Edinburgh 1973; H.A. gan opponents (q 2:22, 164-5; 6:1, 14, 73,
Wolfson, Philosophy of the kalam, London 1976. 80, 101-3; 7:54, 194; 10:32, 35, 69; 13:16;
16:17; 20:4; 25:3; 27:59-61, 64; 29:61; 30:27,
40; 31:11, 25; 32:4; 34:49; 35:3, 13, 40;
Creation 37:95-6; 39:38; 40:61-4; 41:9; 43:9, 87; 46:4;
52:35-6; 56:57-62) and therefore provides a
God’s origination of the universe and of point of common agreement from which
humankind. In cultural traditions around theological debate can proceed. But, the
the world, including the tradition of natu- Qurān says, the pagans fail to draw from
ralistic evolution, creation stories serve to their recognition of God as sole creator the
explain the nature of the human social and appropriate conclusion, namely that he is
physical environment, to make sense of uniquely worthy of worship: “Those upon
what befalls human beings and, often, to whom they call besides God create noth-
legitimate particular moral, political or ing, and are themselves created” (q 16:20;
ideological systems. One of the central cf. q 7:191; 25:2-3; see polytheism and
themes in the Qurān is that reflection atheism). “Those upon whom you call
upon creation (khalq) ratifies God’s peer- apart from God will never create a fly, even
less authority (q.v.) to command (see if they gathered together in order to do it.
sovereignty) and his unique prerogative And if the fly should snatch something
to be worshipped (see worship). This, in away from them, they would be unable to
turn, indicates that the proper response to recover it from him. Weak is the peti-
him and to those who preach his revelation tioner, and weak is he who is petitioned”
(see revelation and inspiration) is sub- (q 22:73; cf. 16:73; 25:2-3; see power and
mission (islām, q.v.) to his will. impotence).
The Qurān is not, however, content to
God as sole creator assert merely that God created the uni-
The Qurān is insistent that God, Allāh, is verse at some definable point in the past.
the “creator (badī) of the heavens and the As opposed to deism or to certain readings
earth” (q 2:117; 6:101; cf. q 2:54; 10:3; of Newtonian physics, God continues to
12:101; 13:16; 21:56; 26:77-8; 35:1; 36:70; sustain the creation during every moment
39:46, 62; 40:62; 42:11; 46:3; 59:24; 64:2-3; of its existence (q 2:255). (As discussed be-
85:13; 91:5-6), which signifies that he is low, this has implications for understanding
the creator of all things — the lowest, precisely what the Qurān understands by
the highest and, implicitly, all that is in creation). Accordingly, worship of him
between. proceeds not merely from his gracious cre-
Indeed, his being the creator is a central ative act in the past but from dependence
reason that he is deserving of worship upon him for existence at every instant of
(q 2:21; 6:1, 80, 96; 7:10; 11:61, 118-9; 14:10, the present and the future. And in fact the
32-4; 16:52, 80-1; 36:22; 39:6; 43:26-7; Qurān is deeply impressed with the on-
56:57-62; 87:1-4) for the entire universe going order of nature and summons all
owes its existence to him. Moreover, in his humankind to share in its admiration and
role as creator as with other aspects of his to learn from it (q 7:54-6; 24:43-4; 25:47-50,
nature, God has no partners, no helpers 53-4, 61, 62; 26:7; 29:19; 31:10; 35:13; see
and thus no peers (see god and his at- natural world and the qurn). It is, for
tributes). In fact, his uniqueness in this re- instance, God who sends down water in
gard is recognized even by the Qurān’s pa- rain and sends it coursing through rivers
473 creation
(q 6:6) — a power that would arouse par- God did not, however, create the universe
ticular attention in the aridity of Arabia. merely for the comfort and enjoyment of
the human race. It is also arranged as a
God’s purpose in creation proving ground for them. “He it is who
Creation had a divine purpose (q 3:190-1; created the heavens and the earth in six
15:85-6; 30:8) and was done “in truth” days… in order to test you, which of you is
(q 6:73; 29:44; 39:5; 44:39; 45:22). But that best in conduct” (q 11:7; cf. q 18:7; 67:2; see
purpose is, in a sense, external to the deity trial. The Qurān generally describes the
who does not need a cosmos for himself. creation of the universe as requiring the
“We did not create heaven (q.v.) and earth biblical six days [as at q 7:54; 10:4; 11:7;
(q.v.) and what is between them for sport. 25:58-9; 32:4; 50:38; 57:4; but see 41:9-12]).
Had we wanted to adopt a pastime, we “God made the heavens and the earth in
could have found it in ourself,” says the truth, so that each soul (q.v.) could be re-
God of the Qurān (q 21:16-7; cf. q 44:38). warded for what it earned; they will not
And since the creation and the cosmos it- be wronged” (q 45:22; see reward and
self are of a teleological character, those punishment).
who believe (see belief and unbelief) are
not free to view the universe or even their A qurānic natural theology
own lives as pointless. “We did not create But the physical cosmos provides more
heaven and earth and what is between than just necessities for survival and good
them for nothing. That is the thinking of things to enjoy; it is more than simply a
those who disbelieve” (q 38:27). place where humans can be tested and
What was God’s intention in creating the tried. It is a message to human beings that
physical cosmos? On this point, the Qurān if heeded, will help them pass the divinely
is unabashedly anthropocentric. God’s ordained test. It is, itself, a kind of revela-
purpose in the creation of the universe was tion. Nature is constituted as it is “that you
focused on humanity. This is manifest, for might remember” (q 51:49). Thus under-
example, in the fact that the universe is girding the special revelation of the Qurān
admirably designed to provide for human is a qurānically endorsed natural theology
needs and wants (q 2:22, 29; 10:67; 14:32-4; according to which serious and discerning
16:5-8, 10-8, 80-1; 17:12; 20:54-5; 22:65; minds can deduce much about the exist-
23:17-22; 67:15; 78:6-13; 79:32-3). The ence and character of God by contempla-
Qurān offers its own version of what has tion of the cosmos (q 10:6-7, 67; 13:2-4;
come to be termed in cosmology the “cos- 16:10-8, 65-9, 79; 17:12; 20:53-4; 24:41, 44-5;
mic anthropic principle.” This beneficent, 25:61, 62; 29:44; 42:29; 55:1-15; 56:57-62;
human-centered design characterizes not 71:14-20; 88:17-20). “Truly, in the creation
merely the arrangements on the earth of the heavens and the earth and the varia-
where humans actually live. It extends be- tion of night and day and in the ship (see
yond to the heavens: “He cleaves the dawn ships) that sails in the sea, carrying things
and makes the night for rest and the sun useful to the people, and in the water (q.v.)
(q.v.) and the moon (q.v.) for reckoning. that God sends down from the sky so that
That is the decree of the Mighty, the Om- he enlivens the earth after its death and
niscient. He is the one who placed the stars disperses every animal throughout it, and
for you, so that you might be guided in the in the direction of the winds and of the
darkness (q.v.) of land and sea” (q 6:96-7; subservient clouds between heaven and
see cosmology in the qurn). earth, there are signs (āyāt) for people who
creation 474
have intelligence” (q 2:164; cf. 6:96-7; 7:11-22; 15:26-35; 17:61-2; 18:51; 20:120;
45:3-5; see animal life; agriculture and 38:75-86; see disobedience; bowing and
vegetation; air and wind). prostration; adam and eve). In this re-
Significantly, the term used for the signs spect, qurānic natural theology has ethical
(q.v.) of the natural realm, āyāt, is the same as well as purely theological implications
Arabic word used to denote the individual (see ethics in the qurn). The universe
verses (q.v.) of Islam’s special revelation, has been organized into a cosmos rather
the Qurān. Thus nature, properly viewed, than a chaos and humanity is accordingly
becomes a revealed book (q.v.) very much warned to introduce no human disorder
like the Qurān is itself composed of indi- into the divinely ordained arrangement of
vidual signs or miracles (q.v.). (The iden- the physical world: “Do not sow corruption
tification of miracles as signs pointing to (lā tufsidū) in the earth after its ordering
the divine recalls the equivalent usage of (bada i lā
ihā)” (q 7:56; see corruption).
Greek semeia in the Gospel of John.) “Truly, Moreover, humankind is admonished to
in the creation of the heavens and the read the signs (q.v.) of nature correctly:
earth and the variation of night and day “Among his signs (āyāt) are night and day,
there are signs (āyāt) for those of under- the sun and the moon. Do not bow before
standing, those who remember God stand- sun and moon, but bow before God, who
ing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and created them” (q 41:37; cf. 6:75-9; see idols
who contemplate the creation of the and images; idolatry and idolaters).
heavens and the earth: ‘Our Lord, you did The symbols were not created for their
not create this for nothing!’ ” (q 3:190-1; see own sake but are intended to point beyond
prayer). “Have they not looked at the sky themselves.
above them,” the Qurān asks of the unbe- As the creator of all things God is obvi-
lievers, “how we have built it and adorned ously also the creator of humankind (q 4:1;
it without rifts? And the earth, how we 6:2). In the intimate relationship between
spread it out and cast into it firmly-rooted creator and creature he knows everything
mountains and scattered throughout it about human motivations, thoughts and
every delightful pair, as a sight and a re- acts; he is closer to each person than that
minder for every repentant worshiper?” individual’s own jugular vein (q 50:16; see
(q 50:6-8; cf. q 67:2-5). Such passages im- artery and vein) and is therefore uniquely
ply that the ultimate condemnation of the equipped both to understand and to judge.
pagan polytheists will be just even if they
never heard the message of the Qurān it- God as absolutely free agent
self because they had before them the book The assertion that the creation of the
of nature and its clear testimony to the ex- heavens and earth was in some sense a
istence, beneficence and oneness of God. greater achievement than the creation of
man (q 40:57; 79:27-30) does not imply that
The moral implications of God as sovereign and it was a more difficult act. For the Qurān
creator stresses God’s utter freedom in creation
Humanity has been divinely appointed to and the sublime effortlessness with which
be God’s vice-regent (see caliph) upon the he acts (q 4:133; 5:17; 14:19-20; 35:16-7;
earth (q 2:30; the Qurān knows the story 42:49; 46:33; 50:38). The most dramatic
of the origin of the devil (q.v.), as when qurānic assertion of divine creative power
Iblīs (q.v.) failed to prostrate himself before is the repeated declaration that God has
the newly created Adam. See q 2:30-4; merely to say, “ ‘Be!’ And it is” (kun fa-yakūn,
475 creation
at q 3:47, 59; 6:73; 16:40; 19:35; 36:82; out of nothingness, it appears necessary to
40:68; 54:49-50). An uncritical reading examine whether such a concept appears
might gloss such passages as promising in the Qurān. Traditional understandings
material for the construction of a theory to the contrary, it seems that it does not. In
of creation from nothingness (creatio ex several of the passages where the phrase
nihilo). Indeed, verses containing this kun fa-yakūn occurs, creatio ex nihilo is ex-
phrase or a variant thereof are commonly cluded by the context. In no passages is
used to support such a concept. Usage of absolute nothingness a necessary pre-
qurānic evidence alone, however, does not requisite for the effectiveness of God’s cre-
support the theory. ative act. The subject of q 3:47, 3:59 and
19:35 is the virginal conception of Jesus
Origins of the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (q.v.), whom, q 3:59 affirms, God first cre-
Although it is popularly regarded as a ated from dust, and then said to him “Be!”
teaching of their canonical scriptures, the and he was (kun fa-yakūn). This points to a
notion of creation from absolute nothing- striking characteristic of these passages:
ness appears to have developed relatively q 2:117 typifies them in its assertion that
late in the history of Judaism and Chris- God “decrees a matter (amr)” and then
tianity. The biblical terms that are gene- “says to it (la-hu) ‘Be,’ and it is” (compare
rally rendered in English as “create” have q 3:47; 40:68). q 16:40 and 36:81-2 actually
their origins in the Hebrew terminology speak of a thing (shay) to which God says
for handicrafts and the plastic arts. They “Be!” and it is kun fa-yakūn, (cf. q 54:49-50;
primarily refer to mechanical actions such cf. 19:35; 40:68). There seems to be an
as cutting out or paring leather, molding underlying and pre-existing substrate to
something into shape or fabricating some- which the divine imperative is addressed
thing, rather than to metaphysical orig- as clearly is the case in the story of the
ination (for which early Semitic thought Sabbath-breakers who are told “Be apes!”
almost certainly lacked the conceptual (kūnū qiradatan, q 2:65; 7:166; see curse).
apparatus; metaphorical usage was a later The command kun! would therefore seem
development). Throughout the Hebrew to be rather more determinative or consti-
Bible, the image recurs of God as a crafts- tutive than productive of something out of
man, a potter shaping a vessel from clay utter nothingness.
(q.v.) or a weaver at his loom (Isaiah 29:16; Indeed, a survey of the words used in the
40:22; 45:9; 51:13, 15-6; Psalms 74:13-7; Qurān in connection with creation and an
89:11; 90:2; Romans 9:20-3). Although it is examination of the ways in which they are
very doubtful that a doctrine of creation used, reveals little or no reason to suppose
from utter nothingness is to be found in that any of them involves a creation from
either the Hebrew Bible or the Greek New nothing. The great Andalusian jurist and
Testament, by the early part of the third philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroës, d. 595⁄
century of the common era creatio ex nihilo 1198) appears to have been correct when
had become a fundamental doctrine of he alleged that the theologians’ adherence
orthodox Christianity. Its near-universal to creation from nothing rests upon an
adoption by Jews may have come still later. allegorical interpretation of the Qurān
whose literal sense rather teaches a pre-
Does the Qurān teach creatio ex nihilo? existent matter which simply received the
In light of the widely-held misconceptions form given it in God’s creative act. “For,”
about the biblical attestation of creation as he observes, “it is not stated in scripture
creation 476
that God was existing with absolutely noth- 53:32, 45; 67:23-4; 74:11-2; 76:2, 28; 82:6-8;
ing else: A text to this effect is nowhere to 90:4; 92:3; 95:4-5) and in the natural suc-
be found” (Averroës, On the harmony, 56-7; cession of human generations (q 2:21;
see exegesis of the qurn: classical and 39:6). “He it is who forms you in the
medieval). wombs as he pleases,” says the Qurān.
The most common relevant qurānic ter- “There is no god but he” (q 3:6). God’s
minolgy for creation involves the Arabic creative power is also at work in the every-
root kh-l-q. Its original meaning seems to day events of animal reproduction
have been associated, much like the (q 24:44-5; 36:36) and the propagation of
creation-related vocabulary of the Hebrew plants (q 6:95, 99; 13:4). The Qurān
Bible, with such things as working leather. names yet other materials, besides clay and
The Qurān states that God created the water, out of which the human body is
heavens and the earth in six days (q 7:54; created — materials which cannot have
10:3; 11:7; 25:59; 32:4; 50:38; 57:4) and that been involved in the origination of Adam
humankind is also among his creations (as and Eve (q.v.). It is produced from a single
at q 2:21; 6:94; 7:11; 26:184; 37:96; 41:21; cf. soul (nafs, q 4:1; 7:189; 39:6) or from a male
5:18; 50:16; 51:56; 55:3; 56:57). An exam- and a female (q 49:13). It is created from a
ination of the occurrences of the verb vir- kind of water (q 25:54, 77:20-2, 86:5-7) as
tually rules out creatio ex nihilo: Thus Iblīs were all animals (q 24:45) — though this
in particular (q 7:12; 38:76) and the jinn water is not to be confused with the pri-
(q.v.) in general (q 15:27; 55:15) are cre- mordial water from which Adam was
ated of fire (nār). The human, on the other taken. For the human body is created from
hand, is said to have been created from a drop of sperm (nufa, q 16:4; 36:77; 76:2;
dust (turāb, q 30:20; this is specifically 80:18-9; cf. q 53:45-6; 86:5-7), “from an ex-
stated of Adam and Jesus [q.v.] at q 3:59), tract of contemptible fluid” (q 32:8-9; cf.
from the earth (ar , q 20:55; see earth), q 77:20-2; 86:5-7). “We have created them,
from clay (īn, q 6:2; 7:12; 32:7; 38:71, 76; cf. they know of what” (q 70:39; this is remi-
17:61), from sounding clay drawn from al- niscent of the mishnaic injunction [Aboth
tered mud ( al āl min
amā masnūn, q 15:26, 3:1] to “know whence thou art come.”
28, 33), from an extraction of clay (sulālat The Mishna’s answer to this question,
min īn, q 23:12), from sticky clay (īn lāzib, obviously designed to promote humility
q 37:11) and from sounding clay like in humankind, is from a “putrid drop”
earthenware ( al āl ka-l-fakhkhār, q 55:14). [tippah serukhah]). Yet the human body is
God created man with his hands (khalaqtu also created from a blood clot (alaq,
bi-yadayya, q 38:75-6) — recalling Jesus’ q 96:2).
“creation” of a bird from clay by the leave How are we to reconcile these varied and
of God (q 3:49; 5:110). See clay. seemingly contradictory statements? It
It is not only in the miraculous origina- would seem that there is really no contra-
tion of Adam and Eve that the divine role diction, for the Qurān affirms that human
of the creator is to be recognized. For, as beings are created in stages (awār, q 71:14),
noted above, God is actively involved in obviously referring to the process of fetal
the ongoing order of the universe. Thus he development from conception through ges-
is also the creator of men and women as tation to birth, a process which at every
manifested in the ordinary processes of phase it ascribes to the creative agency of
human reproduction (q 7:189; 16:4; 19:9; God. “He creates you in the wombs of
23:78-9; 30:54; 35:11; 36:35; 39:6; 49:13; your mothers, creation after creation in a
477 creation
three-fold gloom” (khalqan min badi khalqin, reasonable to take this scripture as being
q 39:6). The physical human body is made internally consistent.
first from dust, then of a “drop,” then of We know from Aristotle that the Platon-
clotted blood, then of a morsel of partially ists called preexistent matter “the non-
formed flesh which turns into bones and existent” (to mē on, Aristotle, Physics 1.9.192a
covering skin and, finally, it becomes a 6-7). More to the point, however, the early
man (rajul, q 18:37; cf. 22:5; 23:12-4; 40:67; fourth century Syrian monastic writer
75:37-9). In every case, the “creation” de- Aphraates uses a similar argument to
scribed occurs from pre-existing materials. make precisely the same point as does the
See also birth; biology as the creation latter of the two passages in q 19 — and
and stages of life; blood and blood Aphraates clearly does not intend to argue
clot. for creatio ex nihilo: “About this resurrection
Only two passages in the Qurān would of the dead I shall instruct you, most dear
seem to be susceptible to an interpretation one, to the best of my ability. God in the
indicative of creatio ex nihilo. Both occur in beginning created man; he molded him
q 19, “Mary” (Sūrat Maryam). When Ze- from dust and he raised him up. If, then,
chariah (q.v.), a believer, expresses some when man did not exist, he made him
doubt that he and Elizabeth should have a from nothing, how much easier is it for
child at their advanced ages, the Lord (q.v.) him now to raise him up like a seed sown
replies, “That is easy for me, since I created in the earth” (cited by T. O’Shaughnessy,
you before, when you were not anything” Creation from nothing, 278). What is in-
(wa-lam taku shay, q 19:9). Later it is the un- volved here is creation not from absolute
believers who express doubt when they but from relative non-existence, from a
question the possibility of bodily resurrec- condition when the human body did not
tion: “Man says, ‘When I have died, shall I exist as such but existed only potentially as
then be brought forth living?’ Does man dust or clay. It is God’s ability to give life to
not remember that we created him before, inanimate matter both at birth and at the
when he was not anything?” (wa-lam yaku resurrection (q.v.) which is the ultimate
shay, q 19:66-7). But if these two passages proof of his power. Creatio ex nihilo is not
teach creatio ex nihilo, they are the only qur- the point at issue.
ānic passages that do so, which in turn If khalaqa is associated with pre-existing
suggests that they in fact do not propound material, the same is true of other words
such a concept. See also mary. used qurānically in connection with God’s
There is no obligation, of course, to as- creative activity. The root j--l, for example,
sume that the Qurān is a monolithic, to- is used to describe God’s creation of earth
tally consistent text, on this or any other and sky (q 40:64), of the constellations or
matter. There is no a priori reason, how- zodiacal signs (q 25:61), of darkness and
ever, to take the opposite position, i.e. to light (i.e. night and day: q 6:1; 10:67;
assume that the Qurān is inconsistent and 40:61), of the sun and the moon (q 6:96).
self-contradictory. The situation must be Indeed, it is very often used in precisely the
evaluated on a case by case basis and, as same sense as khalaqa — as, for instance,
will be clear, there is no compelling evi- when the Qurān states that every living
dence contained within these two passages thing, including particularly the posterity
to imply that the Qurān contradicts itself of Adam, has been made from a kind of
on the issue of creatio ex nihilo. In the ab- water (q 21:30; 32:8; see also q 23:12-4, in
sence of such compelling evidence, it is which, when it is taken with other similar
creation 478
passages, jaala is synonymous with khalaqa). 21:104; 27:64; 29:19-20; 30:11, 27; 32:7;
It is also used to refer to God’s changing 85:13 [by implication].)
Sabbath-breakers into apes (q 5:60), the The Arabic root b-d- (whose third radical
transformation of what is on the earth into differs from the root just discussed) occurs
barren sterility (q 18:8), the laying out of only four times in the Qurān. In two of
gardens (q 36:34), the production of fire the four occurrences of the root, God is
from a green tree (q 36:80) and the divine simply declared to be the “creator of the
dispensation of ships (q.v.) and of cattle for heavens and the earth.” Neither requires
human usage (q 43:12). It is a form of this an understanding of creatio ex nihilo. In
root which is used when the Children of their third qurānic occurrence, the radi-
Israel (q.v.) demand of Moses (q.v.) that he cals appear in the eighth verbal form and
“make” them a god like the gods of the are used to describe the allegedly unau-
idolaters (q 7:138) — where presumably thorized “invention” of monasticism by
what is meant is the fashioning of a mate- Christians (q 57:27; see monasticism and
rial idol (see calf of gold). Likewise it is monks; christians and christianity).
the verb used by Pharaoh (q.v.) when he The fourth occurrence is in the form of
orders Hāmān (q.v.) and his servants to the noun, innovation (bid, q 46:9). Admit-
build him a tower out of fired clay bricks tedly, the latter two cases might be inter-
so that he may climb up to the god of preted to support the concept of creatio ex
Moses (q 28:38). nihilo, but there is nothing in the context
Other verbs used in the Qurān seem to to suggest that they should be so taken.
imply a similar pre-existent material, an The Arabic root b-r-, cognate with the
Urstoff, out of which the universe was Hebrew verb of creation occurring at Gen-
made. At the very least, there is nothing esis 1:1, is to be found almost solely (in the
in them which would necessitate reading contexts which concern the present discus-
the Qurān as advocating creatio ex nihilo. sion) in the neutral meanings of “creator”
Heaven, for example, of which it is repeat- (q 2:54; 59:24) or “creature” (q 98:6-7),
edly stated that God is the creator (using where nothing is specified about the mode
the root kh-l-q as at q 65:12; 67:3; 71:15 and of creation. The one exception to this is
throughout the Qurān), is said to have q 57:22, which speaks of misfortunes as
been “built” as an “edifice” (both the noun foreordained before God brings them
and the verb are formed from the Arabic about. It is evident, however, that misfor-
root letters b-n-y, q 2:22; 40:64; 50:6; 51:47; tunes in this life, whether earthquakes or
78:12; 79:27; 91:5). In another version of diseases or war (q.v.), are “brought about”
Pharaoh’s order to Hāmān to build him a out of pre-existing matter or circumstan-
tower, b-n-y is used as a synonym of jaala ces. Thus, again, nothing in the qurānic
(q 40:36). use of baraa compels an assumption of cre-
In the case of badaa, too — which is used atio ex nihilo and, indeed, what evidence the
as a synonym of khalaqa at q 7:29 — there book does furnish would seem to militate
is no reason to infer, from the text as it against such an assumption.
stands, a creation out of nothing. In the Much the same can be said of the root
passages relevant to the present concern, n-sh- which, in its qurānic manifestation,
the root b-d- invariably serves as an incep- essentially means “to cause something to
tive helping verb, with the actual content grow.” God produces gardens, for example
relating to the creation being supplied by (q 6:141; 23:19), and he makes trees grow
another root. (See, for example, q 10:4, 34; (q 56:72). He also causes clouds to swell up,
479 creation
heavy with rain ( yunshiu al-sa
āb al-thiqāl, wearied in the first creation,” God asks,
q 13:12). Significantly, the root occasionally “that they should be in confusion about a
seems to be used as a synonym for khalaqa new creation?” (q 50:15). “Do they not see
as at q 36:77-9 and 29:19-20. God created that God, who created the heavens and
humankind from a single soul (q 6:98) or the earth and was not wearied in their
from the earth (q 11:61; 53:32). Verbs de- creation, is able to give life to the dead?”
rived from this root are also used to de- (q 46:33).
scribe the raising up of a new human The nature of resurrection (q.v.) as a
generation (q 6:6, 133; 21:11; 23:31, 42; revivification of once animate, now inani-
28:45), the birth of a child (q 23:14) and mate, matter and the pointed comparisons
the development of sensory apparatus to the initial creation (emphatically so at
(q 23:78). In none of these instances does q 22:5-6; 36:77-82; 75:37-40; 86:5-8) are
a concept of creatio ex nihilo appear to play significant in many ways. They sustain the
a role. view that the qurānic concept of creation
was most likely conceived as the determi-
Protology and eschatology nation of pre-existent matter. They are
A further clue to the qurānic doctrine of also strikingly reminiscent of the argument
creation occurs in certain polemical pas- advanced in a formative Jewish context at
sages (see polemic and polemical lan- 2 Maccabees 7 — one of the most import-
guage) which might seem at first only ant documents for the study of the devel-
marginally relevant. In accordance with opment of thinking in the Abrahamic tra-
the ancient notion of history as cyclical, ditions on the nature of creation (see also
almost every element of the traditional scripture and the qurn). “When we are
creation myths was taken up again in dust,” exclaim Muammad’s Meccan crit-
Judaeo-Christian apocalypticism, which ics, “shall we indeed be in a new creation?”
taught that God would renew the world in (q 13:5; cf. 32:10; 34:7; see opposition to
a new creation or palingenesia. Not surpris- muammad). “They say, ‘When we are
ingly, the same doctrine is abundantly at- bones and fragments, shall we really be
tested in the Qurān where protology fore- raised up again as a new creation?’ ” To
tells eschatology (q.v.) and God’s initial this, Muammad is instructed to reply
creation is a sign pointing forward to the “ ‘Be stones, or iron, or some creation yet
resurrection at the end of time (see apoc- more monstrous in your minds!’ Then
alypse) as well as a demonstration of they will say, ‘Who will bring us back?’
God’s power actually to do it (q 6:95; 7:29, Say: ‘He who originated you the first
57; 10:55-6; 13:5; 16:70; 17:49-51, 98-9; time’ ” (q 17:49-51). “Have they not seen
19:66-7; 20:55; 21:104; 22:5; 27:64; 29:19-20, that God, who created the heavens and the
120; 30:11, 27; 31:28; 32:10; 36:76-8; 46:33; earth, is capable of creating the likes of
50:2-11, 15; 53:45-6; 75:37-40; 86:5-8; cf. them?” (q 17:99; cf. 17:98).
J. Bouman, Gott und Mensch, 252). God cre- Thus, while the Qurān forcefully asserts
ates once and then he repeats the process God’s role as peerless creator of the uni-
to bring men before his tribunal at the day verse and summons humanity to serve and
of judgment (q 10:4; 30:11; 32:10; 46:33-4; to worship him on that account, it does not
see last judgment). Men will be “created” appear that a theory of creatio ex nihilo can
again when they are but bones and dust be constructed on the basis of qurānic
(q 13:5; 17:49-51, 98-9; 32:10; 34:7; 36:77-82; material alone. Rather, it is only with the
see death and the dead). “Were we development of the Islamic sciences, such
creeds 480
as adīth (reports of the sayings and the vary substantially in length, contents and
deeds of Muammad and his early fol- arrangement.
lowers), qurānic commentary (tafsīr), the- Although the Qurān does not proclaim
ology (ilm al-kalām), and philosophy ( fal- any formal creed or compendium of faith,
safa) that one finds extensive discussion it does contain elements that form the basis
about the divine act of creation from abso- for most creeds. First among these is the
lute nothingness (cf. R. Arnaldez, Khal, nature of God (see god and his attri-
esp. sec. III-VI; van Ess, tg , iv, 445-77 and butes), particularly his unity and unicity
“Schöpfung” in Index). (e.g. q 2:255; 27:26; 28:70, 112), although
other attributes are sometimes included.
Daniel Carl Peterson The following are often singled out for
special consideration: power (e.g. q 2:20,
Bibliography 106, 109 etc.; see power and impotence),
Primary: Averroës, On the harmony of religion and knowledge (e.g. q 4:11, 17, 24 etc.; see
philosophy, trans. G.F. Hourani, London 1961.
Secondary: R. Arnaldez, Khal, in ei 2 , iv, 980-8;
knowledge and learning), will (e.g.
J. Bouman, Gott und Mensch im Koran, Darmstadt q 3:40; 14:27; 22:18 etc.), life, including
1977, 11-38, 89-94, 252; van Ess, tg ; J.A. hearing (e.g. q 2:181, 224; 3:34) and sight
Goldstein, The origins of the doctrine of (e.g. q 2:96, 110; 3:15; 4:58, 134), speech
creation ex nihilo, in Journal of Jewish studies 35
(1984), 127-35; G. May, Schöpfung aus dem Nichts. (q 2:253; 4:164) and visibility (q 75:22-3).
Die Entstehung der Lehre von der Creatio Ex Nihilo, Other themes include the prophetic mis-
Berlin 1978; J.D. McAuliffe, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī sion of Muammad and earlier messen-
on God as al-Khāliq, in D. Burrell and B.
gers (e.g. q 4:136; 7:158; 8:1; 48:29; see
McGinn (eds.), God and creation. An ecumenical
symposium, Notre Dame 1990, 276-96 (examines prophets and prophethood; messenger)
creation in al-Rāzī’s exegesis of the Qurān); and eschatological matters, namely the
K. Norman, Ex nihilo. The development of day of resurrection ( yawm al-qiyāma, e.g.
the doctrines of God and creation in early
Christianity, in byu studies 17 (1977), 291-318; q 6:36; 50:41-2; 58:6, 18) following the an-
T. O’Shaughnessy, Creation and the teaching of the nihilation of all creatures (e.g. q 28:88) and
Qurān, Rome 1985 (an updated expansion of his preceding the last day or the day of judg-
article); id., Creation from nothing and the
ment ( yawm al-dīn, e.g. q 37:20; 70:26; see
teaching of the Qurān, in zdmg 120 (1970),
274-80; D.C. Peterson, Does the Quran teach eschatology; apocalypse; last judg-
creation ex nihilo? in J.M. Lundquist and S.D. ment; resurrection). In some passages,
Ricks (eds.), By study and also by faith, Salt Lake the Qurān explicitly puts forth a credal
City 1990, 584-610; D. Winston, Creation ex
nihilo revisited. A reply to Jonathan Goldstein,
prototype, such as that found at q 4:136:
in Journal of Jewish studies 37 (1986), 88-91. “O believers, believe in God and his mes-
senger, and the scripture (see book) he has
revealed to his messenger, and the scripture
Creeds he revealed before. But he who believes not
in God and his angels (see angel) and his
Concise and authoritative formulae that scriptures and his messengers and the last
provide a summation of the essentials of day, has wandered far away” (cf. q 2:136,
faith (q.v.). Professions of faith or creeds 285; 3:84; 57:7; see belief and unbelief;
(aqāid, sing. aqīda) were formulated by in- astray; scripture and the qurn).
dividual scholars and by groups of schol- The qurānic data constituting the neces-
ars, yet there exists no standard or uni- sary beliefs that determine the content of
versally accepted Muslim creed. Rather, the Muslim faith were further supple-
there are a variety of Islamic creeds, which mented by data from the sunna (q.v.).
