Title:
Six or Eight Days of Creation
Article:
Mr Katz, in one
of his articles has objected that in most of the places the Qur'an states
that God created the heavens and the earth in six days (for example: 7:54, 10:3,
11:7, and 25:59) while in 41: 9 - 12, a little more detail of the number of days
involved in this creation is given. In this verse, God has separately mentioned
the number of days it took to create the earth and the number it took to create
the heavens. Mr. Katz says that if we add up these numbers, they sum up to
eight, rather than six, which obviously is a contradiction in the statements of
the Qur'an.
In the article that follows, I shall try to briefly present my point of view
about the stated apparent contradiction in the Qur'an.
Let us begin by taking a look at the translation of verses 41: 9 - 12. The
Qur'an says:
Say: do you indeed disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two
days? and do you make other gods His equals? The Lord of the Universe is He.
He set upon the earth mountains, towering high above it. He blessed it and
provided it with sustenance for all those in need alike, in four days. Then,
turning to the sky, which was but a cloud of vapour, He said to it and to the
earth: “Come forward both, willingly or perforce”. “We will
come willingly”, they answered. In two days, He formed the sky into seven
heavens.
A quick look at the verse with particular reference to the number of days
involved in the creation, shows that:
- The creation of the earth took two (2) days;
- the setting up of mountains, seas etc., and the provision of sustenance
for living things on the earth took four (4) days; and
- the making of the skies took two (2) days.
The accumulated number of days involved in the total process of creation
seems to be eight (8), as Mr. Katz has also stated. Obviously, there would have
been no contradiction, if the matter had ended here. But it did not. There are a
number of instances in the Qur'an where it clearly states that Allah created the
heavens and the earth in six days. This is where the problem begins!
Now, obviously, in view of this apparent contradiction we are faced with a
very simple question: Was the author of the Qur'an not even a person of average
(even far below average) intelligence? For if the Qur'an contains errors, such
as “six equals eight” (6 = 8), it would be very difficult to assume
that he (or He) possesses an intelligence above a two year old child (?).
Moreover, we are faced with another serious question: Why didn't the rejecters
of the Prophet (pbuh) object to such obvious errors in the book that was proving
to be “the beginning of the end” for them. Were they really as
ignorant as that?
Questions such as these force us to have a second and a closer look at the
related verses of the Qur'an. For if the Qur'an really contains such fundamental
errors (or even just AN Error), it cannot and MUST NOT be ascribed to the
All-Knowing, All-Wise Creator and Lord of the universe.
We are thus forced to take a second, closer, look at verses 41: 9 - 12. To
understand these verses more accurately, let us take a look only at the related
portions of these verses. The Qur'an says:
… do you indeed disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two
days? … And He set upon the earth mountains, towering high above it. He
blessed it and provided it with sustenance for all those in need, alike, in
four days. Then, … In two days, He formed the sky into seven heavens.
I really do not know if any questions arise in the minds of my readers, after
looking at these verses again. But as soon as I looked at these verses with the
knowledge that the same book which is giving us the above information, has also
told us that the total time of creation is six days, I realized that these
verses are not giving the number of days involved in three
creations, but only two. It is not the earth, the mountains
(etc.) and the skies that are under consideration, but only the earth and
the skies. (The Reader is requested to have a look at these verses again, and
see it for himself/herself). The portion: “And He set upon the earth
mountains, towering high above it. He blessed it and provided it with sustenance
for all those in need, alike, in four days”, mentions only a continuation
and finalisation of the process of the creation of the earth.
The realization of this fact solved the problem completely. The verses, as I
saw them now, were quite clear. The Qur'an in these verses was actually saying
that the basic structure of the earth was created in two (2) days. Later on,
mountains, seas and other paraphernalia required for the sustenance of living
organisms on this basic structure of the earth were designed and created. And
all this work (including the creation of the earth and the designing and
provision of the paraphernalia) was completed in a total of four (4) days. After
this, the skies were modeled and seven heavens were created in two (2) days.
Thus the total time involved in the creation of the earth and the heavens
totalled to six (6) days - not eight (8) days. I do acknowledge that if the
Qur'an had not mentioned at other places that the creation of the heavens and
the earth involved six (6) days, the total process could have been taken to add
upto eight (8) days. But keeping in mind that the Qur'an has mentioned elsewhere
that the total process involved six (6) days, there is nothing wrong,
linguistically, to say that the total period involved in designing and creating
the earth (because the mountains etc. are a part of that earth) took four (4)
days. While that of the skies involved two (2) days. Thus the total number of
days in the designing and creation of the earth and the skies involved six (6)
days.
The verses now seemed quite clear in their message. I thanked my Lord, and to
show my gratitude fell down in prostration.
© Copyright December 1998. All Rights Reserved with the Author
Discussion(s) regarding this Article
1 A Further Clarification on the Number of Days of Creation
2 Regarding “Six or Eight Days of Creation?”...