By S. Arshad, New Age Islam
17 July 2019
God is omnipotent and omniscient. He has created the universe and has full control over the affairs of the universe. In the Quran, God says that whatever he intends to do or create, he just says, Be and it is. This gives an idea of the power of God on the universe. The Quran affirms this attribute of God in about eight verses:
“She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: When He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, 'Be,' and it is!” (Al-i-Imran: 47)
“The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was.” (Al-i-Imran: 59)
“It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, "Be", and it is.”(Maryam: 35)
“To Him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: "Be," and it is.”(Al Baqarah: 117)
“It is He who created the heavens and the earth in true (proportions): the day He saith, "Be," behold! it is.” (Al Anam: 73)
“Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is!”(Yasin: 82)
“For to anything which We have willed, We but say the word, "Be", and it is”. (Al Nahl: 40)
“It is He Who gives Life and Death; and when He decides upon an affair, He says to it, "Be", and it is”.(Al Mumin:68)
If we take the verses of the phrase ‘Kun Fayakoon’ at face value, it will give a wrong idea about the creation of the Universe and about the nature of God. God does what He wills but He does not do it out of His whims or for fun. If the phrase is taken at face value then it would mean that God’s creation is an illusion and does not have any principle or laws to govern it and there is not any fixed system for its governance. There are other verses that suggest that despite his power to create or destroy anything at any time, he sticks to his own principles and does not break the laws created by Himself in order to maintain order and system in the universe. The Quran says, ‘Yudabbirul Amr’ (He plans his affairs with great precision). The Quran also calls God, the Wise (Hakeem). After creating the Universe, God prescribed principles and laws for every matter according to which it works. God does not interfere with their inner workings or properties. That’s why the Quran says, La Tabdila Li Kalimatillah (There is no change in his words/principles). He says ‘Be and it is’. That is true; whatever he wills takes place or shape but that does not mean that the matters of the universe do not work according to any principle. If that had been the case, the universe would have been in complete disarray. But that is not the case. The universe runs smoothly according to their principles and God’s schemes. The phrase only means that God is Omnipotent and He can do what He wills. To drive home this point, the following verses can be presented:
“Verily your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority), regulating and governing all things”.(Yuus:3)
“He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six days,” (Al Furqan: 59)
“Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created the earth in two Days?” (Ha Mim Sajda: 9)
“It is Allah Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all between them, in six Days,” (Sajda: 4)
“Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days,” (Al Araf: 54)
In the above quoted verses the Quran tells us that the earth and heaven were created in six days: the earth was created in two days and the rest in four days.
So, God had said, Be and it took six days for it to be. Moreover, six days were not six days of earth but of heaven. The time span of the earth and the heavens are different. The Quran says,
“He rules (all) affairs from the heavens to the earth: in the end will (all affairs) go up to Him, on a Day, the space whereof will be (as) a thousand years of your reckoning”. (As Sajdah:5)
“Verily a Day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning.”(Al Hajj: 47)
From the verses quoted above it is learnt that when God says one day it means one thousand years for people on earth.
So when God says the Heaven and Earth were created in six days, He means that it actually took six thousand years for the heaven and earth to take its final shape. So the universe came into being in six thousand years after God’s decree.
This corroborates the scientific theory of evolution. The universe was first in the shape of a condensed energy, Golden Egg (Hiranyagarbha). The Quran also tells this in the following verse:
“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (Al Anbiyaa: 30)
The Cosmic Egg remained in that state for one year according to the Upanishads. It means the Cosmic Egg remained in that state for 365000 years. After that the Big Bang took place which the Quran also supports (before we clove them asunder). God caused the Big Bang and the universe took its shape. This all shows that the universe came into being according to a well designed plan and as a result of God’s mastery and not at once. ‘Be it and it is’ means that whatever is created or takes place in the universe is due to God’s will. All the affairs on earth and heaven are decided according to God’s will and the matter takes its own course by virtue of the properties and attributes bestowed on them by God and only He has the power to control the affairs of the universe.
S. Arshad is a regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com
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Moderate Islamist here
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