Creation in the Qur'an
The act of Creation is frequently spoken of in the Qur'an in order to remind people about the order of the universe and about the All-Knowing Creator who created and maintains it all.
The Islamic term for Creation is khaliqa, and Allah is known as Al-Khaliq (the Creator). These words come from an Arabic root word that refers to the act of Creation or molding into form. Other Arabic words derived from this root mean “nature,” “morality,” and “ethics.”
The Qur'an calls upon people to study the natural world and its history in order to find signs of God's wisdom. By pondering the perfect, intricate, natural laws, an individual may come to realize that an infinitely Wise and All-Powerful Creator must be ordering the universe. According to the Qur'an, God proclaimed, “We will show them Our Signs, in the horizons and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest that it is the truth” (Qur'an 41:53).
No Book of Genesis
In the Bible, one can simply open to the first chapter and find a step-by-step theological explanation of the process of Creation, from beginning to end. Not so with the Qur'an. The Qur'an contains similar levels of detail, but the story must be pieced together from many verses, dispersed throughout dozens of different chapters.
The purpose of the Qur'anic account is not to give the reader a history lesson, but rather to engage the reader in contemplating the lessons to be learned from the story of Creation. Thus, the descriptions of the process of Creation are interspersed with verses extolling the wisdom of God, lamenting mankind's ingratitude, and calling upon people to open their eyes and look around them. How can this wonderful universe be under the power of anyone other than an Almighty, All-Knowing God?
Descriptions of Creation
In many different passages, the Qur'an speaks of the creation of the heavens and the earth, the mountains, the diversity of life, and the special gifts and role that human beings have on earth.
He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself on the Throne. He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees well all that you do. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all affairs go back to Allah. He merges night into day, and He merges day into night, and He has full knowledge of the secrets of all hearts. (Qur'an 57:4–6)
Verily in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves, and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are signs for those of assured faith. And in the alternation of night and day, and the fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are signs for those that are wise. (Qur'an 45:3–5)
Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see; then He established Himself on the Throne. He has subjected the sun and the moon; each one runs its course for a term appointed. He regulates all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that you may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord. And it is He Who spread out the earth, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and flowing rivers, and fruit of every kind He made in pairs. He draws the night as a veil over the day. Behold! Verily in these things there are signs for those who consider! And in the earth are tracts, diverse though neighboring, and gardens of vines and fields sown with corn, and palm trees — growing out of single roots or otherwise — watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Behold! Verily in these things are signs for those who understand! (Qur'an 13:2–4)
