1. Razi writes: Five chapters of the Qur'an open with these words: viz., nos. 1, 6, 18, 34, and 35. Differences between the words madh, hamd and shukr may be noted. Madh is common for all beings, living or non living. One might say mudh words for a flower or a horse. Hamd is specific to living beings. But hamd can be said both for something or somebody one draws benefit as well for someone of no benefit. For example, one might say hamd words for a person because of his good qualities, even if the person saying the hamd might not have drawn any benefit from the one praised. In contrast, shukr is the most specific. One says shukr words only to someone from whom he has benefitted in some way. Otherwise the occasion for shukr words does not arise. The use of the word hamd in this verse is to say that Allah deserves our praises, every moment of our lives, whether or not we feel that we are experiencing one of His graces. Incidentally, hamd is the proof of one's sincerity. Finally, whoever knows the depth and extent of the created worlds, and has some knowledge of the Attributes of Allah will realize that hamd is an ocean that has no shores.

2. The word in the original is ja`ala which indicates a creative action that is connected with a previous activity as well one that involves continuity (Ibn Jarir, Razi).

3. The fact that Allah mentioned darknesses before light supports the theory of the ancients that He created his creations in darkness and then threw light upon them (Razi).

Thus darkness has, according to the Qur'an, its own existence. It is not simply the absence of light as most people - including the scientists - believe (Au.).

4. Qatadah has said, "Allah created the heavens before earth, the darknesses before light, and the Fire before Paradise” (Ibn Jarir).

The Zoroastrians believed in two gods of creation, first, Yezdan, the creator of good, and second, Ahraman, the creator of evil, associating the former with light and the latter with darkness (Shabbir).

In fact, Mujahid has been reported by Abu al Sheikh and Ibn Abi Hatim as of the opinion that the verse was revealed to refute the belief of the freethinkers who claimed that God did not create evil, or snakes, or anything evil. He created light and the good things alone (Shawkani).

Qurtubi quotes a hadith of Muslim at this point. Abu Hurayrah narrates: "The Prophet took me by my hand and said: ‘Allah created the dust on Saturday. He created the mountains in it on Sunday. He created the trees in it on Monday. He created the Makruhat on Tuesday. He created "Nur" (according to another version, "Nun": Nawawi) on Wednesday. He created the beasts on Thursday. And He created Adam in the afternoon of Friday, as the last creation, in the last hours of Friday between the late afternoon hours and the nightfall'" (Qurtubi).

Modern scientific knowledge comes remarkably close to the above statement. Details are as under.

I. Although no satisfactory theory exists about the origin of our solar system, since every model fails to answer all the questions, as do rigorous mathematical tests, nevertheless, there is sufficient evidence for the scientists to conclude that the solar system grew out of a cloud of dust.

Of the many postulates, one is known as the nebular hypothesis. It was first proposed by Laplace, but fell into disrepute as it failed some tests. It is being actively reconsidered now. Recently it has received a thorough analysis at the hands of a German astronomer Carl F. von Weizsacker, and reveals some positive aspects. This theory assumes the solar system as a sub eddy of the larger eddy which gave birth to the galaxies. The dust cloud in the solar sub eddy developed in time its own sub eddies of dust which gave birth to the planets with the sun at the center.

To be sure, there are other models. But most assume dust particles colliding and coalescing and, following certain processes, leading up to the formation of the solar system. Indeed, the best bet so far on the galactic systems, although an unresolved mystery up until now, is also on condensation of primordial dust. Thus the postulates come very near to the hadith statement that Allah created dust in the first stage of the process of creation. This first phase of creation is named here as Saturday, but, obviously, as the last few words suggest, the allusion is to a long period of time, an era, or a phase.

II. Scientists speculate that the earth began as a waterless mass of rock surrounded by a thick cloud of dust. The interior melted with the heat generated by radioactive materials, leading to a liquid core surrounded by a hard crust. In turn, the crust rests on a soft, plastic layer immediately beneath it called asthenosphere. Various chemical processes created water which in the early period occupied most of the surface area except for a huge island. In time the island split. Plate tectonics took over some 2.5 billion years ago. The crust, geologically referred to as lithosphere, split into 15 plates due to various movements of the earth. Their collision and gradual piling up over each other over millions of years created the mountains. Most of the early mountains have worn out, but the process goes on, albeit much slowly now.

It might also be pointed out that verses 9 and 10 of surah Fussilat (no. 41) appear to be speaking of the creation of mountains in the third phase of creation. But that's not correct, for the verses there are speaking of different kinds of phases involved: not only during the creation of the earth, but also of the heavens.

III. First biological activity began some 3.5 billion years ago. (Although a very recent finding in Australia is pushing the date back by another 350 million years). Initially, the life forms were very primitive, such as, certain strains of bacterium, extinct now. Tiny plants made their appearance for the first time, perhaps in the early Cambrian period, some 600 million years ago. Forests filled with tall trees must have appeared much later, during the Carboniferous era, lasting between 350 300 million years ago. Thus, Allah's creation of the trees on Monday (in the third phase of creation).

IV. With regard to the fourth stage of creation, it is not clear what the Prophet meant by makruhat. Literally, the connotation is that of "the undesirable things." The narrator himself did not seek an explanation. It is possible he knew what was meant. Later hadith commentators have said that it is minerals that could have been meant. But, that is only a conjecture. Could it be creepers and reptiles: snakes, scorpions, lizards the unloved of the humans ("the undesirable things")? They could have only appeared in plenty after the establishment of thick forests, at the end of the Carboniferous era, some 300 million years ago.

V. The fifth stage creation has two versions: one version uses the word nur (light) and the other version nun (meaning, fishes, or alternatively in the non Hejazi dialect, whales). Now, if we take it as nur, it should not lead someone to imagine that the reference is to the creation of the Sun, while it can be said fairly accurately that the Sun is 5 billion years old. The hadith does not say Allah created the Sun on Wednesday. Rather, it says that He created light on that day. This statement comes very near to scientific speculations. Very early during the creation of the solar system, while the Sun and the planets were still in their early stage of formation, the earth was being regularly struck by heavy interstellar material which would chip of huge chunks of material as well us kick up millions of tons of dust. In that phase the earth was covered with a cloud of dust which would not allow the sunlight to penetrate. As the dust settled on the surface, the earth also emitted various gases under the pressure of gravitational contraction, and chemical combinations. Those gasses would have again become a barrier between the earth and the sun rays. It is estimated that huge amounts of neon and hydrogen atoms were present in the atmosphere of that period, along with some molecules of oxygen and inert nitrogen. Subsequently, as some scientists have postulated, the atmospheric gasses reacted with each other to form ammonia, methane and water molecules. In the meanwhile, primitive life forms were developing below on the surface of the earth. Their emissions helped create the present day water, all of which is thought to be initially in the form of dense clouds of vapor engulfing the earth, in place of the original dust. (Some scientists postulate that water came from deep in the Galactic areas delivered with the help of comets entirely made of ice. If that be true then, obviously, the impact would have instantaneously created a cloud of dust and water vapor). It is only when incessant rains fell for pretty long periods that the atmosphere cleared up and the earth's surface could receive a dim sunlight. With that, new life forms developed and their emission of oxygen helped in creating and maintaining the present day atmosphere. This happened, according to some estimates, no more than 600 million years ago. But, it is quite possible, that for the earth the sun would have remained as dim as it is for those at the poles now, or, even dimmer until a much later time. The process of reduction of the density of atmosphere might have taken several hundred million years to complete before the sun was finally shining on the earth with all its glory. Thus we arrive very close to the statement that Allah created nur in the fifth stage of creation.

Alternatively, if it is believed that the word is nun, then, we know that small fishes began to appear at the end of Cambrian period itself, some 600 million years ago. The large ones, the kind of fish we are familiar with today, to include whales, could have only appeared during the Permian period, some 250 million years ago.

VI. As we get closer, we can be more certain of the dates. Science has quite a few evidences to prove that although life has been there for billions of years, it was mostly dominated by bacterium. Multicellular bodies appeared only 1.5 billion years ago. Small animals have only been there since the Cambrian period, i.e., about 600 million years behind us. Mammals appeared only some 200 million years ago or less. As for the beasts, they are on the scene since the middle of the Tertiary period. That is, no more than 50 million years. In fact, the kind of beasts that we are familiar with today appeared even much later, perhaps 30 million years ago. Thus their creation on Thursday.

The above of course, does not confirm the theory of evolution. That the biological organisms appeared gradually on the earth, can be scientifically evidenced, but that they appeared by the evolutionary processes still lacks any concrete evidence.

VII. Finally, the appearance of man. Scientists speculate that the Hominidae (the precursors of the sub family Hominidae) appeared by the process of evolution, pretty late: no more than perhaps 2 million years ago culminating in the appearance of the modern day man, the Homo Sapiens, appearing about 100,000 years ago.

There is no fool proof evidence to the above speculation. It seems to rest on some biological data. But they are flimsy. From the first day of its presentation, the theory of evolution has been unable to resolve certain serious questions, and has, therefore, remained a hypothesis, growing weaker with the latest findings. In fact, there are no less than half a dozen schools among the scientists, each of which differs so widely from the other in tracing the tree as to leave one wondering if anyone can be trusted. Not only the sudden appearance of man on the face of the earth, in his present form, is still a complete mystery but it seems almost every animal seems to have appeared suddenly from nowhere. In contrast, the Qur'an tells us that Adam was created as one whole, out of dust, and did not evolve from Primates.

Nevertheless, both the revelation as well as science, agree that whatever the process, man arrived on the scene last. There is no equivalent statement in any other literature apart from scientific, better depicting such a late appearance of man in the program of creation than the words of the hadith which declares the first act of Creation on Saturday, and man's creation during the last hours of Friday, separating him from a night that will be followed by a Day which in turn will herald a new epoch, a new realm the Hereafter.

Contrast the precision of hadith statement with those of the medieval Jewish scholars who put the date of the Creation to 3760 B.C. The opinion of the Christian Church was that the Creation took place at a definite moment in 4004 B.C. Right up to the eighteenths century many scientists believed in the veracity of the statement. The Greek Orthodox Church was more cautious. They put back the Creation to 5505 B.C.!

It might also be pointed out that some scholars have doubted the authenticity of the hadith on grounds that it speaks of creation in seven days, whereas the Qur'an states it took place in six days. But, there has been a misunderstanding. This hadith is also speaking of the creation of the heaven and earth in six days. It was man who was created on the seventh day.

Furthermore, the Qur'anic statement "He created the heavens and the earth in six days" could be with reference to another process, and other, different, kinds of phases in the creation from the very beginning to the appearance of earth ready to support life.

Finally, religion does not purport to solve scientific riddles. It invites man to do that. It is enough of its authenticity that it should come so close to the most widely accepted postulations (Au.).

5. The verse does not state whom or in what sense do the unbelievers equate their Lord with. It could equally mean they equate the deities with Allah, as well as, others, e.g. nature, in His powers and Attributes. Alternatively, it could mean they equate others with Him in hamd, while all praise truly belongs to Allah (Au.).

6. All life forms originated from clay some 3.5 billion years ago. Man feeds upon these life forms. Therefore, it can be said that although the first man, Adam was made of clay, the later generations, who feed on other life forms are also made of clay. Further, devoid of the soul, the flesh and blood are nothing but a mass of atoms - the basic brick of all matter (Au.).

In further explanation, Qurtubi quotes a couple of ahadith and aathar to demonstrate that not only man is created from dust, but actually, each individual is created from a specific dust, and returns to that dust at death.

Taking the lead from Qurtubi, we have taken out several reports from several origins. One of them says:

وَقَالَ عَطَاءٌ الْخُرَاسَانِيُّ: إِذَا وَقَعَتِ النُّطْفَةُ فِي الرَّحِمِ انْطَلَقَ الْمَلَكُ الْمُوَكَّلُ بِالرَّحِمِ فَأَخَذَ مِنْ تُرَابِ الْمَكَانِ الَّذِي يُدْفَنُ فِيهِ فَيَذُرُّهُ عَلَى النُّطْفَةِ فَيَخْلُقُ اللَّهُ النَّسَمَةَ مِنَ النُّطْفَةِ وَمِنَ التُّرَابِ، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى:" مِنْها خَلَقْناكُمْ وَفِيها نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْها نُخْرِجُكُمْ تارَةً أُخْرى - اللآلي المصنوعة (1/ 285)

`Ata’ al-Khurasani said: When the fertilized egg is deposited in the womb, an angel appointed for this purpose visits. He takes some dust from the place he is to be buried and places it in the fertilized egg. Thus Allah creates the new life with the fertilized egg and dust. This is the explanation of the verse (20: 55): “Out of it [dust] We have created you, to it We shall return you, and out of it We shall bring you out a second time.”

Hilal b. Yusfaf is reported to have said:

عن هلال بن يساف قال ما من مولود يولد إلا وفي سرته من تربة الأرض التي يموت فيها

“There is no new born but it has in its navel dust from the earth in which it is to be buried.”

The next is a hadith from Tabarani:

عن ابن عمر أن حبشيا دفن بالمدينة فقال رسول الله دفن بالطينة التي خلق منها

Ibn `Umar reported that a dark African was buried in Madinah. The Prophet remarked: “He is being buried in the dust from which he was created.”

The following is also a hadith whose sum and substance is found in Bazzar and Hakim:

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ قَالَ: مَرَّ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِجَنَازَةٍ عِنْدَ قَبْرٍ فَقَالَ: " قَبْرُ مَنْ هَذَا؟ " فَقَالُوا: قَبْرُ فُلَانٍ الْحَبَشِيِّ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " لا إِلَهَ إِلا اللهُ , سِيقَ مِنْ أَرْضِهِ , وَسَمَائِهِ إِلَى تُرْبَتِهِ الَّتِي خُلِقَ مِنْهَا " – شعب الإيمان (12/ 297)

هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد و لم يخرجاه و أنيس بن أبي يحيى الأسلمي هو عم إبراهيم بن أبي يحيى و أنيس ثقة معتمد و لهذا الحديث شواهد و أكثرها صحيحة منها

Abu Sa`eed al-Khudri reports that the Prophet passed by a funeral near its grave. He asked, “Whose grave is this?” They replied, “That of an African, Messenger of Allah.” He said, “There is no deity save Allah. He was driven from his land and sky to his dust out of which he was created.”

A similar report as above has a note in Mustadrak perhaps coming from Dhahabi: This is hadith with a trustworthy chain of narrators although the Sheikhayn did not place it in their collections .. and this hadith has several such supporting ones most of which are trustworthy.

Ibn `Abbas is also reported as saying:

وقال عبد الرزاق في المصنف عن ابن جريج قال أخبرني عمر بن عطاء بن وراد عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس أنه قال يدفن كل إنسان في التربة التي خلق منها

“Every human is buried in the dust out of which he is created.”

And, Ibn Sirin is reported to have said:

وقال الحكيم في نوادره حدثنا الفضل بن محمد حدثنا بكر بن محمد حدثنا أبو عبد الرحمن المقبري عن إبراهيم بن يزيد الخوزي قال سمعت ابن سيرين يقول لو حلفت حلفت صادقا بارا غير شاك ولا مستثني إن الله تعالى ما خلق نبيه ولا أبا بكر ولا عمر إلا من طينة واحدة ثم ردهم إلى تلك الطينة

“If I could, I would swear and would be true without doubt, and without exception that Allah did not create His Prophet, nor Abu Bakr and `Umar but from one [source of] dust and then returned them to that dust.”

What he meant is that since the three are buried in the same place, they must have been created from that dust alone (Au.).

Verse 1 spoke of the creation of the larger world, the cosmos. Verse 2 speaks of the creation of the smaller world, man (Shabbir).

7. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Suddi and Hasan have said that by the first "term" (ajl) the allusion is to this world's term, and, by the second to that of the Hereafter, that is, the period between the destruction of this world and the Resurrection. Though, other reports coming from the same authorities suggest that the first term is each man's appointed hour of death (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

The two "terms" could also be referring to, as Abu Muslim has said, the terms of those who have passed away, and the terms of those who are yet to appear (Razi).

8. Imam Razi writes: Some people have argued with the help of this verse that Allah is in the heavens. They also quote verse 17 of surah al Mulk (no. 67) which says:

أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا [الملك : 17]

"Or do you feel secure that One who is in the heaven, will not send a violent wind against you?" The weakness in the argument should be obvious. If Allah is in the heavens, He cannot be in the earth, as the verse in question plainly states. Further, Allah has said in this surah itself, verse 12:

قُلْ لِمَنْ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ قُلْ لِلَّهِ [الأنعام : 12]

"Ask (them): ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and earth?' Say: ‘(To) Allah.'"

Now, believing that Allah is in the heaven would mean He owns Himself. To be sure, not a very clever idea. There are other problems too, viz., if Allah were to be in the heaven, he would be limited by the Heaven. But He actually suffers no limitations. Again, if He is in the heaven, then, either He is capable of creating another, eighth heaven above Him, or He is not. If He is not capable, then He is limited in His Powers, which is unacceptable. But if He is capable, then He would be contained by what He has created. Finally, Allah's following statements also deny His existence in a particular direction and place. He said (57: 4):

وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ [الحديد : 4]

"He is with you wherever you might be." And, (50: 16):

وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ [ق : 16]

"We are nearer to Him than his jugular vein."

And, (2: 115):

فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ [البقرة : 115]

"So wheresoever you turn, (right) there is Allah's Face."

Subsequent to these words, Razi offers other possible explanations of the verse in question. But, as if to refute the above, or otherwise, Ibn Kathir has the following to offer as his comment of the verse in question. He says: This verse is in the same vein as that of surah Al Zukhruf, (verse 87) which says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَهٌ [الزخرف : 84]

"It is He who is the Lord in the heaven and the Lord in the earth," meaning, there are no two or more gods.

This of course is a very complicated issue. We might point out at this stage that the standard opinion of the Ahl al Sunnah is to accept the "fawqiyyah" of Allah without imagining Him in any particular direction (Au.).

9. Qarn of the original has been variously interpreted: from a period lasting 20 years, to anything above but less than 100. Asad writes: ‘... in the Qur'anic usage, the term qarn does not always denote "a generation", but rather more frequently "an epoch", or "people belonging to one particular epoch", as well as "a civilization" in the historical sense of the word.'

10. Kalbi and others have reported that Nadr b. al Harth, `Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah (he became a Muslim later: Shafi`) and Nawfal b. Khuwaylid said to the Prophet: "We will not believe in you until a written material came down, along with four angels bearing testimony that you have been appointed a messenger of God." Allah revealed this verse in response (Alusi).

11. This verse was in response to the Makkan

12. As Allah said elsewhere (25: 22):

يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ لَا بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُجْرِمِينَ [الفرقان : 22]

"The day they will see the angels, no good news will there be at that time for the criminals" (Ibn Kathir).

The appearance to the humans of angels in their own form is to uncover the unseen. That happens only to those whose term has expired (Au.).

13. As Allah said elsewhere (17: 95):

قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَلَائِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَلَكًا رَسُولًا [الإسراء : 95]

"Say, ‘Were there to be in the earth angels, going about in peace, surely, We would have then sent unto them an angel from the heaven as a Messenger'" (Ibn Kathir).

14. ‘Since it is impossible for man to perceive angels as they really are, the hypothetical angelic message bearer would have to assume the shape of a human being and so their demand for a direct "verification" of the message would have remained unfulfilled, and their self caused confusion unresolved' (Asad).

15. ‘... the meaning being that a derisive rejection of spiritual truth inexorably rebounds on the scoffers and has not only a disastrous effect on their individual lives after death but also if persisted in by the majority within a community destroys the moral basis of their society and, thus, their earthly happiness and sometimes even their physical existence' (Asad).