Quick or Slow Creation?

Quick or Slow
Creation?

A Response to a
Criticism on the Qur’an

We all know that the Qur’an, at various places, says
that Allah created the heavens and the earth in “six days”. On the other hand,
in 2: 117 the Qur’an also says:

“The
Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only:
“Be!” And it is.”

Mr. Jochen Katz in, one of his articles
writes about the “six days” statement of the Qur’an:

Many
Muslims in recent days try to become modern in their interpretation and bring the six days
into line with cosmology and its currently proposed 15 billion years as age of the
universe. So, they claim that the word for day does not only mean day, but can mean
period, or even eon. And they even claim that the Qur’an is on this very much in line with
science in this regard. Even though the earlier commentators took it to be literal days.

and then, about the “Be
and it is” statement of the Qur’an, Mr. Katz writes:

Does
this aya (i.e. 2: 117) not say that God creates instantaneous? Does this really leave room
for billions of years of development?

Six days are still pretty quick and
acceptable in the range of “Be! And it is” given the massive size of the
universe and the complexity of life …, but wouldn’t it be quite a stretch to translate
Sura 2:117 as “When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! And it finally
came to pass after about 10 billion years.”?

And he said to Adam: “Be! And as
evolution went its way, after about 3 billion years, Adam emerged.”

In the article that follows, I shall try to present
my point of view about the apparent contradictions pointed out by Mr. Katz.

The Interpretation of
Traditional Muslim Scholars

Before presenting my point of view (interpretation)
of the statement “Be and it is”, I would like to give a
short comment on Mr. Katz’s remarks that “Many Muslims in recent days try to become
modern … . Even though the earlier commentators took it to be literal days.”

I have presented adequate
evidence from the pre-Islamic authorities on the Arabic language in one of my other responses to another one of
Mr. Katz’s criticisms that the the Arabic word “Yawm” is used to imply a
particular period of time (whether specified or not) and also the 24-hour interval of time
that we call: a “Day”.

The traditional Muslim scholars
who, obviously were not exposed to the modern day research in the fields of Archeology
etc. took the word “yawm” to mean a 24-hour time interval that we call a day.
But as man, on the basis of his study, observation and research estimated that the process
of creation could not have involved “days” but “eons”, the Muslim
scholars were faced with the problem of lack of consistency between the Qur’an and
Archeological estimations. Thus, they looked again at the words of the Qur’an and found
that it was quite consistent with the words used by the Qur’an to say that the related
verses of the Qur’an could be taken to mean “six periods” or “six time
intervals”. The Mulsim scholars of old could have been mistaken, like any other human
being, because of their lack of exposure to the scientific and Archeological data that was
only made available to man at a very later stage in time. Moreover, in my opinion, they
must have also been influenced by the opening passages of the Bible, for it was their
principle that if the Qur’an did not contradict the Bible, the Bible in those instances
could be presumed to be correct. I think it would not be without interest for my readers
to have a look at the related portions of the first book of the Bible (Genesis), where the
total process of creation has been explained in the following words:

In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light
was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light
“day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and
there was morning–the first day.

And God said, “Let there be an
expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and
separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called
the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning–the second day.

And God said, “Let the water
under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.
God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called
“seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let the land
produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in
it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation:
plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it
according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there
was morning–the third day.

And God said, “Let there be
lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as
signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky
to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights–the greater
light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and
the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there
was evening, and there was morning–the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the water
teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the
sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing
with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to
its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and
increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the
earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning–the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the land
produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along
the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made
the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all
the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was
good.

Then God said, “Let us make man
in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of
the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,B and over all the creatures that move
along the ground.”

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them,
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish
of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the
ground.”

Then God said, “I give you every
seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed
in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds
of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground–everything that has the breath
of life in it–I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God saw all that he had
made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning–the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the
seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested
from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he
rested from all the work of creating that he had done. This is the account of the
heavens and the earth when they were created. ¹
(Genesis 1: 1 – 2: 4)

The reader should especially
note the words:

And there was evening, and there
was morning–the first day. (Genesis 1: 5)
And there was evening, and there
was morning–the second day. (Genesis 1: 9)
And there was evening, and there
was morning–the third day. (Genesis 1: 13)
And there was evening, and there
was morning–the fourth day. (Genesis 1: 19)
And there was evening, and there
was morning–the fifth day. (Genesis 1: 23)
And there was evening, and there
was morning–the sixth day. (Genesis 1: 31)

The especial and repeated
emphasis on “And there was evening, and there was morning…” obviously does not
allow us (linguistically) to interpret the word “day” in these verses to mean
any thing but the 24-hour interval that we call a day. Although the “Expert
Commentary” (included in the Compton’s Interactive Bible, CD Edition) says:
“Some say that the creation days [as mentioned in the above stated verses] were
24-hour days, others that they were indefinite periods ²“, but as we can see that the phrase: “And there was
evening, and there was morning…” does not allow us to take the word “day”
in any other meaning besides “24-hour days” unless it is linguistically proven
otherwise.

Thus when the Qur’an said that
“Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days”, the traditional Muslim
commentators, although they were aware of the fact that the word “yawm” could be
used to imply “a period of time”, interpreted it to mean 24-hour days, for,
besides other reasons, in my opinion, they could have been mistaken because of the words
used by the Bible in this respect.

The Qur’anic Phrase
“Be and it Is”

Now let us turn to the real point raised by Mr. Katz
which actually relates to the meaning of the phrase “Kun fayaku’n” of the
Arabic language, normally translated as: “Be and it is” (although, as anyone who
knows the Arabic language, even at a basic level shall testify that it can also be
translated as: “Be, and it happens”). Mr. Katz’s real objection is that this
phrase implies that God creates instantaneously. While at other places the Qur’an says
that God created the heavens and the earth in six “days” or in six
“periods” of time. His basic objection is presented in the following words:

Does
this aya (i.e. 2: 117) not say that God creates instantaneous? Does this really leave room
for billions of years of development?

Mr. Katz, as the readers can see, has been kind
enough to present his objection in the form of a simple question. My answer to Mr. Katz’s
question is: “NO, this ayah does not say that God (ONLY) creates instantaneously, and
YES, it does really leave room for six ‘days’ or six ‘periods’ of development”.
If we closely look at the phrase “kun fayaku’n” (Be and it
happens), as it has been used in the Qur’an, we can easily ascertain that the meaning in
which it has been used is not always (not even generally) that which is understood by Mr.
Katz. I shall try to present my view point with particular reference to some of the verses
in which the phrase has been used.

Let us begin with 3: 45 – 46. The Qur’an says:

Bring to
mind when the angels said: “Mary, God gives you glad tidings of a “word”
from Him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary; he shall be noble in this
world as well as in the hereafter; and he shall be amongst those who are close [to God];
he shall preach to people, while in his cradle and while in the prime of manhood; and he
shall be a righteous man.” She said: “Lord, how can I bear a child, when no man
has [even] touched me?” He replied: “Even so it shall happen as told. God
creates what He wills; when He decides a thing, He needs only say ‘Be’, and it
happens.”

The reader is requested to note that the phrase
“kun fayaku’n” in the above mentioned verses has clearly been used to
imply that ‘God does not need any help or assistance from anyone or anything to carry out
His plans’. The phrase “kun fayaku’n” has been said in reply to Mary’s question: “how can I bear a child, when no man has [even] touched
me?”. Obviously, if the phrase “kun fayaku’n” only meant
“instantaneously”, it should not have been given as an answer to the question
asked by Mary. The relevant question should have been: “How could I have a child so
quickly?”. The context in which the phrase has has been used in the above verses
clearly indicates that it can also be (and generally is) used to imply that God, like us
humans, is not confined by natural laws while carrying out His plans.

Verse 2: 117, in which this
phrase has been used and which has also been quoted by Mr. Katz, if considered in its
context also does not imply instantaneous creation. Let us have a look at it (in its
complete context):

They say
that He has taken for Himself a son. [No.] He is clear of all imperfections. Rather, All
that is in the heavens and the earth is His. The inventor of the heavens and the earth.
When He decides about something, all that He says is “Be”, and it happens. (2:
116, 117)

Once again the reader is requested to closely follow
the context in which the phrase has been used by the Qur’an. The real topic here is the
negation of the belief that God has made for Himself a son. The first thing that has been
said in reply is: “No, He has not taken any son for Himself, He is clear of all and
any imperfections”. This, as I understand it, is basically a reference to the
imperfections which are inherrent in man, due to which he is in need of children. When God
is clear of all such imperfections, why should He require a son for Himself? Another point
that has been given to negate this idea is that why would He make for Himself a son, when
the fact of the matter is that every thing that has its existence, whether in the heavens
or the earth is God’s. He is the sole owner of all that exists. Why then would He be in
need of a son? The third point given for the negation of this idea is that when God
invented the whole structure of all that exists, out of nothing and without the help and
assistance of anyone else, why would He now be in need of a son?

As we can see, like 3: 45 – 46, the context in which
the phrase “kun fayaku’n” has been used in 2: 117 also shows that it does
not imply “instantaneous” creation, but creation which is not dependent on any
external help.

The same is the case with 3: 59. The Qur’an says:

[The
creation of] Jesus, in the sight of Allah, is like [that of] Adam. He created him from
clay and then said to him ‘Be’ and he was.

Once again the context in which the phrase has been
used does not allow us to take it in the meaning of “instantaneous” creation,
but creation without dependency on external factors.

The same is the case in Al-Nahl 16: 40, Maryam 19:
35, Yasi’n 36: 82.

In view of the above explanation it is quite obvious
that Mr. Katz has been mistaken by the phrase “kun fayaku’n” due to which
it appeared to him that two statements of the Qur’an are mutually contradictory. Whereas
the actual meaning of the phrase from which Mr. Katz has derived that according to the
Qur’an God creates “instantaneously”, on the contrary, is that God is not
dependent upon external variables to carry out His plans. He creates whatever he wants to,
and the way He wants to, wherever and whenever He wants to. If he wants to create
instantaneously, nothing can stop Him, and if He wants to create something through a
process covering billions of years, nothing can stop Him. All that He does in either case
is to say “Be” and the thing is created if He wants to create it instantaneoulsy
or the process is initiated if He wants to create it through an evolutionary process.

May the Lord show us all the path that He would like
us to follow.

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