An Introduction

The Prophets of Allah
based on the narrations by Ibn Kathir

Introduction

The Creator

It is only logical to believe that before anything was created there had to be a Creator. It is, also, only logical to believe that this Creator had to be an eternal being without beginning or end and that nothing could be like this Creator. It is this Unique Being Whom the Qur'an calls Allah the Lord, the Only Supreme Being worthy of worship.

Allah the Almighty stated this about Himself: «He is Allah than Whom there is La ilaha illa Huwa (none who has the right to be worshiped but He), the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen (open). He is the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. He is Allah than Whom there is La ilaha illa Huwa (none who has the right to be worshiped but He), the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him. He is Allah the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.» Surah 59: 22-24

When Allah the Most High decided to create the earth, sun, planets, stars, and the galaxies - those that are known and those that are unknown to us - He commanded them: "Be!" and they were. Almighty Allah said: «Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" - and it is!» Surah 36: 82

As for the method of creation, it is unknown to us except what Allah revealed, which is that He created the heavens and the earth and the spaces in between in six days.

Allah the Exalted declared: «Allah it is He Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them in six Days.» Surah 32: 4

These six days are calculated as Allah the Almighty's days. This means they are not like our days on earth, as we count the day according to the earth's rotation once around its axis and the year according to its orbit around the sun. Perhaps these six days are thousands of years, or even millions of centuries, by our calculation nowadays, or perhaps they are more or less than that. They might be something totally different by Allah's reckoning.

Allah told us that He created the heavens, the earth, and everything that is between them in six days, then established Himself on the throne of the universe. Everything submitted to His will; everything was indebted to Him; everything prostrated and showed reverence to Almighty Allah. He controlled the working of everything and everything needed Him. He is the One Who needs nothing and no one, but everything and everyone needs Him. All was complete. Allah the Almighty's will had been accomplished. The universe was created and had prostrated to Him as a symbol of its need and its desire for sustenance and in submission to His will.