God as the Only Creator –2
Humans as creators
As seen above, creating ex nihilo (from absolute nothingness) is both the right and power of God alone. Such a style of creation cannot be ascribed to humankind. Humans were and will remain forever short of enjoying a power of bringing into being anything without making use of the available raw materials and elements created for them in nature. Indeed, everything that humans invent, conceive, concoct and create, is only possible thanks to the unbounded bounties and munificence from God, which humans only discover, manipulate, process, use, and reuse in different ways most convenient and efficient for them and their terrestrial goals. Consequently, humankind’s civilized and cultural ‘creations’ are a relative thing. They are not really ‘creations’ but only the temporary possessions of humankind in their temporary custody. As such, humans neither create nor possess anything. The Qur’an declares this emphatic truth time and again, such as in the following verses: “To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it… ” (al-Baqarah, 2:284).
“Do you not know that Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and that besides Allah you have no guardian or helper?” (al-Baqarah, 2:107).
“… His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!” (alA’raf, 7:54)
Everything around humans has been loaned to them so that they can carry out their duty of vicegerency in a responsible and unhindered manner. Their duty is no more than that. Even humans’ lives are not their own. Their lives belong to their Creator and Master, and, if needed, they must sacrifice their lives for their Master and His cause: “Indeed Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties (in exchange) for paradise… ” (al-Tawbah, 9:111).
God explicitly reveals that he is the Creator and thus the Owner of everything including people, their selves and whatever they are able to make or create. People’s creations and all possessions are in fact God’s: “And Allah has created you and what you make.” (al-Saffat, 37:96). The Prophet (pbuh) also said in a tradition: “Indeed, it is God Who creates every other creator and his creation.” This tradition is recorded by al-Bukhari in his “Sahih”, a compilation of authentic traditions of the Prophet (pbuh), in a section entitled “Allah’s words: ‘Allah has created you and what you make’ and ‘Verily, all things have We created in proportion and measure.‘”
No sooner do humans come to this world than they set out displaying their inherent readiness to take from this world: to breathe, to eat and drink, to wear apparel, albeit without possessing anything, save their own self, to give away in return. Humans therefore, are born as insolvent consumers, as it were. Not only do they own nothing, but also they remain forever short of enjoying the power of bringing into being anything without making use of what is already there created for them in nature. Creating things, conditions and environments from nothingness is the right and authority of God alone and signifies authentic splendor, dominion and power to which God alone is entitled. The upshots of humankind’s myriad civilizational pursuits on earth therefore are never really their own possession and, as such, by no means could be solely utilized for returning the debt of creation and existence to God. Hence, people are given the title of servants or slaves and God alone is the Lord or Master. There can never be any alterations whatsoever in titles: the servant will remain forever the servant, and the Lord will remain forever the only Lord, irrespective of any human intervention that may transpire on any plane of existence. It goes without saying, therefore, that being prudent, modest and grateful when dealing with God’s gifts, as well as when dealing with one’s own accomplishments, are of the virtues most appreciated in humans. It likewise follows that the legitimacy of human ‘creations’ is based only on the strengthening of people’s legitimate relationships with their Lord and with the rest of His creation.
Moreover, God created humans as the most beautiful creatures on earth, in the best of moulds, and gave them the power of reasoning and insight. (al-Tin, 95:4) He created humans as His vicegerents on earth, never to be forsaken by God’s words of guidance, lest they lose their way, rebel against the will and plan of their Lord, and gradually become puffed up with egotism, self-exaltation and innumerable superstitions pertaining to their own existence and existence taken as a whole. (al-Baqarah, 30-39) When these exceptional qualities of humans are paired with their submission to the Creator, Lord and Cherisher of the worlds, they confidently set out proving their worth, elevating their status over that of the angels in the process. Conversely, no sooner do they start mishandling and abusing the same qualities and gifts, than they start drifting away from the plane of truth, debasing themselves to a status lower than that of animals.
On that note, in addition, the Prophet (pbuh) declared that God created Adam, the father of humankind, in His own image. (Sahih Muslim) In other words, God bestowed Adam with life, knowledge, and the power of hearing, seeing and understanding, but Adam’s features are different from those of God. God has life, knowledge and power of understanding, which has been bestowed upon Adam as well, but there is no comparison between the Creator and the created thing. This truth by extension applies to the whole of mankind, the children of Adam.
Hence, God’s names and attributes, including those pertaining to creation, manifest themselves in human beings. People make, build and shape many beautiful and useful objects and things, manifesting thereby certain divine attributes in themselves and in those creative and consequential actions of theirs. However, most people over and over again get carried away and misjudge. The artist says that he ‘creates’ beauty. The engineer ‘invents’ a flying machine. An architect ‘designs’ and ‘creates’ a building. They think that it is they themselves who do this. They even forget the other people who might claim that they ‘created’ the paint and the brush, building materials and the whole of building technology and engineering, and the sciences of geometry, physics and mathematics, without whose ‘creation’ their ‘creation’ could not have been possible. They forget about the sources that produced the materials for that ‘creation’. They disregard their vulnerability and complete reliance on other human and physical factors. They sometimes even close the eyes to their humanness. Who created the mind, the eyes and the hands that put all that they deal with together? That which people make depends on many conditions, materials and assistants. Whereas God’s creative act does not depend on any model, material, time, tool, aide or anything else. When He creates, He says Kun ‘Be!’ and a whole universe becomes. (Tosun Bayrak, The Name and the Named)
It is thus often asked if it is permissible to say that humans are ‘creators’ on account of them creating things, ideas and objects. The answer is that it is permissible if by creation it is meant working on something, crafting it, giving it shape, processing it, assembling it, using and reusing it, or some other meaning that is suitable for human beings to ascribe to themselves and their creative and meaningful functioning as God’s vicegerents on earth, reflecting their actual existential state with all its strength as well as limitations. Ascribing the terms ‘creation’ and ‘creators’ to human beings should thus always be conditional and metaphorical, not authentic or unqualified. A hint at this restricted authorization is presented via God’s description of His Holy Self as “the best of the creators” (ahsan al-khaliqin). This description appears twice in the Qur’an. Unquestionably, a creation should never claim, or aspire, to be a bona fide creator. Such is an aberrant view and goes against the pure and natural order of things.