The exposition of the Qur'anic
concept of causation in the natural events presupposes the elaboration of the
Qur'anic concept of creation. It is because causation falls within the
structure of the created universe. In fact, the Qur'an has little accounts of
cosmogony,[1]
but the verses that talk about the creation of everything including man, heaven
and earth, and other creature are strewn through the pages of the Qur'an, from
which we may be able to grasp the embedded concept of causality therein.
There are different terms used by
the Qur'an to express the idea of creation, such as khalaqa, fatara, bada'a,
sakhkhara and ansha'a, but khalaqa is the most common
term, and has been employed to indicate the creation of everything including
man, animals, plants, sun, moon, stars, earth and heaven, spirits and angels.
The word faÏara[2]
in verb form is used in relation to man.[3]
However, the verb form bara'a has not been used to indicate the meaning
of creation in the Qur'an, though al-BÉri, meaning the Originator, is
one of God's attribute.[4]
The same case is with the verb form bada'a.
The term badÊ', meaning also the Originator, has been used
only in the context of the heaven and the earth.[5]
The major theme that can be grasped
from the verses concerning God’s creation is that Allah is the Creator of all
things, there is no creator but He. His creatures are not only things that can
be seen with the eye, but also invisible things like Souls, angels, jinns and
demons. The way God creates everything is described generally by His sheer
command 'Be, and it is'.[6]
He created (khalaqa, fatara, bada'a, ansha'a) the heaven and the earth
and all that there is between them.[7] He (God) created (khalaqa) everything[8]
and gave to each its measure.[9]
One of the focal points that can be derived from these themes is the status of
the created ness of the universe with its harmonious order, stability and
regularity. When God creates something, He also creates within it the capacity
or the limits of behavior, called in the Qur'an qadar or
"measure". The following verses are a few examples that describe well
the qadar or “measure" set in every creature:
Everything
functions according to its measure.[10]
Indeed, we have created everything with a measure (bi qadar).[11]
Verily, Allah has appointed measure (due proportion) (qadr) for all
thing.[12]
The rain is sent down from the sky according to measure and God causes it to
store up in the soil.[13]
It is worth noting, however that qadar
or "measure" in the foregoing verses should be understood in
terms of patterns, dispositions, trends or in general sense as "holistic
determinism". It should be understood neither in terms of particular
events and acts nor in relation to predetermination theory. It can also be
perceived from the fundamental disparity between God and His creation. The
former is infinite and absolute, while the latter is finite and dependent upon
the former. Thus, "measured' in this case is best understood as
"finite" or "limited".[14] Moreover, measure in the created things does
not imply their independency whatsoever; it conversely indicates their
dependency upon God. It is because when God creates things with their measures,
he at the same time gives His guidance or command (hudÉ) to them in a
continuous way. The Qur'an (al-A‘lÉ 2-3) states, "He Who created
[things] and gave order and proportion, and who measured [them] out (qaddara)
and thus granted guidance”. Also in The Qur'an (ÙÉhÉ 50) it is stated, "He gave everything its
form and then guided [it]". The following verses should be understood in
the same light:
It is He
Who sends down rain from the skies, with it We produce vegetation of all kinds;
from some We produce green (crops) out of which We produce grain, heaped up (at
harvest) out of the date palm and its sheaths
come clusters of dates.[15]
We
pour forth water in abundance; We split the earth in fragments; and cause the
production of corn, grapes and nutritious plants; and olives and dates.[16]
The
measure can also be interpreted as ordained laws,[17]
and therefore the whole nature looks one firm, well-knitted structure with no
gap, no rupture, and no dislocation.[18]
The universe is created in such a manner that it has an ordered and a unified
system that works with its own laws, and with natural stability and regularity
that have been ingrained in it. Whatever is produced from this creations is
already set in due balance.[19]
This gigantic machine-like universe, works within ordained laws with regularity
and causal processes, not because of itself, but because of the will of its
Creator.
Therefore, the causal processes in
the nature are designed from the very beginning of creation onward continually.
He decrees the rules of causality in everything.[20]
Thus, there is no denial of causality, properly understood. If we sow seeds and
nurture the saplings, we can expect to reap the harvest, otherwise not. If we
build a ship and place it on the sea, and the winds are favorable, we may
anticipate profitable trade, otherwise not. The decree for the rules of
causality in everything that constitutes an ordered system can be understood as
autonomous, in the sense that it works by its own innate laws.
However, it cannot be assumed that
after creating everything along with their causal law God gets rest in His
throne without creative activity anymore, nor yet does it means that God
operates in addition to the operation of man and nature. It is autonomous but
is not autocratic, for it does not contain its own final rationale as an
integrated part of its being.[21] In other words, the universe cannot explain
itself, has no warrant for its own existence and is not ultimate in itself.
Therefore, besides this natural causation there is another causation, which is
the ultimate one, from Whom the whole natural processes are originated, that is
divine causation.
In addition, the ordered and
flawless system of the universe[22],
which is usually called "natural sign", is itself a miracle and
serves as God's sign for humans. However, since people belittle and ignore them
all,[23]
God shows His power and capability of diverting, suppressing or temporarily
suspending the efficacy of natural causes "If We wished, We could cause
the earth to swallow them up, or cause a piece of the sky to fall upon them...”[24].
The case with fire that became cool and safe for Abraham when he was thrown
into it to be burnt and also with Moses' rod that turned into a serpent, are
the proof of God power of suspending the efficacy of natural causes. This
"supernatural miracle", so to speak, is manifested in the hand of the
Messenger of God to support the truth of the message he carried out, and certainly,
this could never happen without divine permission.[25]
This supernatural sign, however, should not be confused with the magic or
sorcery, which is illusory, not real and distorts reality. The Qur'an
encourages the humans to comprehend the "natural sign" through their
reason, but it requires the capacity of faith to understand "the
supernatural miracle".
[1] Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the
Qur'an, (Minneapolis: Bobliotheca Islamica, 1994), 65-66; Hereinafter cited
as Major. Also M.Abdul Haq Ansari, "The Creation of the Heaven and
The Earth in the Bible and the Qur'an", in Khurshid Ahmad & Zafar
Ishaq Ansari (eds), Islamic
Perspective, Studies in honour of Sayyid Abul A'la al-Mawdudi,
(Leicester-Jeddah :Islamic Foundation, 1979), 77-78.
[2] FaÏara means
creation of primeval matter to which further process were applied later. See
Lane, E. W. An Arabic-English Lexicon. A
lithographed edition, London
[3] Al-Qur’an, al-‘AnkabËt
30:30; HËd
11:51; YÉsÊn 36:22; al-Zukhruf 43:27; al-IsrÉ’17:51;
ÙÉhÉ 20:72) and in
active participle form (fÉtir)
has been used in the context of the heaven and earth ( al-An‘Ém 6:79, 14; , YËsuf
12:101; al-IbrÉhÊm 14:10; FÉÏir
35:1; al-Zumar 39:46; al-ShËrÉ 42:11.
[4] Even the word al-BÉrÊ is only used
twice in the Qur'an (59:24 and 2:54 ).
[5] Al-Qur’an, al-Baqarah 2-17; al-An‘Ém
6:101
[6] Al-Qur’an, al-Baqarah 2:111; Ali Imran 3: 47 , 59; al-An‘Ém 6:73; al-NaÍl
16:40 ; al-Maryam 19:35 ; YÉsÊn 36:35, 82; al-Mu’min 40:68
[7] Al-Qur’an, al-Hijr 15:85; ØÉd
38:27; al-Baqarah 2:116-117; al-An‘Ém
6:14 ; al-‘AnkabËt
29:20.
[8] Al-Qur’an, al-Ra‘d
13:16 ; al-Zumar 39:62; al-Mu’min 40:62.
[9] Al-Qur’an, al-Qamar 54:49; al- FurqÉn
25:2; al-A‘lÉ
87:2-3
[10] Al-Qur’an, al-Ra‘d
13:17 .
[11] Al-Qur’an al-Qamar 54:49.
[12] Al-Qur’an, al-ÙalÉq 65:3.
[13] Al-Qur’an, al- Mu’minËn 23:18 ; al-Zukhruf 43:11.
[14]
Fazlur Rahman, Major, 67. A.Yusuf Ali also interprets measure as
limitation, meaning that everything has its appointed time, place and occasion.
Nothing happens but according to God's law and plan, see Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The
Meaning, 1394.
[15] Al-Qur’an,
al-An‘Ém
6: 99
[16] Al-Qur’an, ‘Abasa
80: 25-29
[17] See for example A.Yusuf
Ali, The Meaning,1636, see note no 6082.
[18] Al-Qur’an, al-Mulk 67:3-4.
[19] Al-Qur’an, al-Hijr 15:19.
[20] Al-Qur’an, al-A‘rÉf 7:54 ; al-Qamar 54:49; al-Hijr 15:21 .
[21] Fazlur Rahman, Major, 66.
[22] Al-Qur’an, QÉf
50:6-7; al-DhÉriyÉt 51:47-48.
[23] They
say: there is nothing but this present life of ours; we die and we live, and it
is only [natural process of ] time that destroy us". Al-Qur’an, al-JÉthiyah
45:24.
[24] Al-Qur’an, Saba ’ 34:9.
[25] Al-Qur’an, al-Mu’min 40:78.
