Creation in the Quran

Creation in the Quran is a recurring topic in the Quran that has been greatly discussed. God is the creator of the universe and everything that exists in it, including man, jinn, animals, plants, and in short all living and non-living beings. He is the originator of the heavens and the earth and created heaven and hell to reward and punish those worthy of it. In this article on Islam4u.pro, we will take a look at:

Creation in the Quran: God is the Creator of Everything

Allah has said in the Quran:

اللَّـهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ ﴿62﴾

Allah is creator of all things, and He watches over all things ¹

This verse makes it very clear that God has created everything that exists in the world. Everything that you can imagine, God has created it.

Creation in the Quran: Creation of the Human Being

One of God’s greatest creations is the creation of the human being. Our ancestor Adam, was directly created by God out of clay, while human beings after him were created from the joining of a drop of seminal fluid from the male and an egg from the female. God says in this regard:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿12﴾

Certainly We created man from an extract of clay. ²

Elsewhere God says:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ ﴿26﴾

Certainly We created man out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud. ³

Indeed, man was made from a black, aging, and foul-smelling mud. However, God proportioned it and breathed His spirit into it and created Adam, the father of man:

فَإِذَا سَوَّيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِي فَقَعُوا لَهُ سَاجِدِينَ ﴿29﴾

So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down in prostration before him.’ ⁴

Thus, Adam became the prophet of God and His vicegerent on earth.

Creation of Other Human Beings

As for the creation of other human beings, God says in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً

O mankind! Be wary of your Lord who created you from a single soul, and created its mate from it, and from the two of them scattered numerous men and women. ⁵

So after God created Adam and Eve, the multiplication of their offspring was the result of mating. God says in this regard:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿12﴾

Certainly We created man from an extract of clay.

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ﴿13﴾

Then We made him a drop of [seminal] fluid [lodged] in a secure abode.

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ ﴿14﴾

Then We created the drop of fluid as a clinging mass. Then We created the clinging mass as a fleshy tissue. Then We created the fleshy tissue as bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as [yet] another creature. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators! ⁶

Unlike the very first human being who was created as an adult and perfect human being, his offspring were first born as babies and gradually developed into adults over the course of several years. Then they become old and finally die, while others die before even becoming old.

This process has been explained in a verse of the Quran:

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ثُمَّ لِتَكُونُوا شُيُوخًا ۚ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّىٰ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَلِتَبْلُغُوا أَجَلًا مُّسَمًّى وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿67﴾

It is He who created you from dust, then from a drop of [seminal] fluid, then from a clinging mass, then He brings you forth as infants, then [He nurtures you] so that you may come of age, and then that you may become aged—though there are some of you who die earlier—and complete a specified term, and so that you may exercise your reason. ⁷

Creation in the Quran: Man Has Been Given Free Will

God created us with free will. We are free to shape our own destinies for the better or worse. Of course, God showed the two paths of good and evil and inspired it to our hearts, then gave us the choice to choose either one of them. God says in surah Insan (سورة الانسان: Human being):

إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا ﴿3﴾

Indeed We have guided him to the way, be he grateful or ungrateful. ⁸

And in surah Shams (سورةُ الشمس) God says:

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا ﴿7﴾

By the soul and Him who fashioned it,

فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا ﴿8﴾

and inspired it with [discernment between] its virtues and vices:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا ﴿9﴾

one who purifies it is felicitous,

وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا ﴿10﴾

and one who betrays it fails. ⁹

Even though God sent the prophets and their successors to guide us and inform us of many things we need to believe in and know, deep within us, we are able to tell certain things that are good and bad from each other. Everyone knows that murder, theft, adultery, cheating, and in general injustice is bad. Likewise, everyone knows helping the needy, saving someone’s life, being kind and just to others, feeding the hungry, and similar acts are good. This is the same inspiration of discerning virtue from vice that God is talking about in surah Shams.

Creation in the Quran: Creation of Jinn

God has spoken of the creation of a group of creatures whom He created before the human being: the jinn. God created the jinn from fire unlike the human being who was created from dust or clay. Satan who defied God and did not prostrate before Adam is a jinn.

However, it is important to note that not all jinn are bad like Satan. As a matter of fact, jinn like human beings have free will and can be either good or bad. The ones who are bad tempt the human being by going inside his mind and disrupting his thoughts and tempting him into doing various bad things.

Jinn in their original form cannot be seen as they are like gas, but they are shapeshifters and can take the shift of animals or even human beings just as Satan has done so for deceiving his subjects for years. For more information, refer to surah Jinn article.

Creation in the Quran: Verses About Jinn

As for the creation of the jinn, God says in the Quran:

وَالْجَانَّ خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ مِن نَّارِ السَّمُومِ ﴿27﴾

And We created the jinn earlier, out of a piercing fire. ¹⁰

Elsewhere, God says:

وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِن مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ ﴿15﴾

And created the jinn out of a flame of a fire.

Creation in the Quran: Creation of the Heavens and the Earth

God says in the Quran:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَمَا مَسَّنَا مِن لُّغُوبٍ ﴿38﴾

Certainly We created the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, in six days, and any fatigue did not touch Us. ¹¹

Christians and Jews believe that God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then rested on the seventh day. This verse rejects such a blasphemous claim, as God is clear from mortal states such as fatigue for Him to need rest. When God says whatever is between the heavens and earth, He means everything that is living and non-living as well as the galaxies and planets.

Another verse of the Quran speaks about the creation of the seven heavens:

اللَّـهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّـهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا ﴿12﴾

It is Allah who has created seven heavens, and of the earth [a number] similar to them. The command gradually descends through them, that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah comprehends all things in knowledge. ¹²

God has said that the creation of the seven heavens and the earth was greater than the creation of man:

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿57﴾

The creation of the heavens and the earth is surely more prodigious than the creation of mankind, but most people do not know. ¹³

God wants people to acknowledge His power and not become arrogant and wants them to humble themselves before Him, submit to Him, give thanks to Him, and worship Him. However, most people do not do this and are oblivious of God, their creator and the creator of everything.

Conclusion

God is the creator of the universe and everything that exists in it. In this article, only a few verses about the creations of God were mentioned. Now, does this creator not deserve to be worshipped and obeyed? He is the one who created us, therefore He knows what is best for us to do. Therefore, we should follow the religion of God (Islam), give thanks to Him, stay on the path of righteousness, and abstain from treading the path of evil.