Creatio Ex Nihilo and the Literal Qur'an

Intellectual Discourse, 25(2): 381-408, 2017

28 Pages Posted: 27 Jun 2018

See all articles by Abdulla Galadari

Abdulla Galadari

Khalifa University of Science & Technology

Date Written: 2017

Abstract

In the modern age, the conflict between science and religion manifests itself in the debate between evolution and creation. If we adopt a creationist’s reading of the Qur’an, we discover an interesting anomaly. Reading the Qur’an literally does not necessarily provide the foundation of creationism. Creationists usually have in mind the concept of creatio ex nihilo, ‘creation out of nothing’. However, in the Qur’an, one of the words used for creation, khalaqnā, has the root khlq, which means ‘to split’ or ‘to divide’. This root word may even apply to the biological process of cell division. Therefore, from a scientific perspective, using the word khlq to describe this physical process is not problematic. Also, with close textual analysis of the Qur’an, we realise that the word for creation ‘Be’ (kun) is not truly describing the moment of creation, but rather ‘being’. The Qur’an separates the notion of creation from being, which puts into question on what the text constitutes as the ontological nature of the human being and the universe. Therefore, even if we do adopt a literal reading of the Qur’an, we find that it does not necessarily support a worldview that endorses creatio ex nihilo.

Keywords: creationism, exegesis, evolution, Islam, Qur’an, science and religion

Suggested Citation

Galadari, Abdulla, Creatio Ex Nihilo and the Literal Qur'an (2017). Intellectual Discourse, 25(2): 381-408, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3130683

Abdulla Galadari (Contact Author)

Khalifa University of Science & Technology ( email )

Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates

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