Creation in Qur'an and The Big Bang

The descriptions of creation in the Qur'an seem to be scientifically much ahead of their time, they engage the reader in contemplating the lessons to be learned from it. Qur'an talks about creation with an intent to draw readers attention to the order in all things, and the All-Knowing Creator Who is behind it all.

"To Him is due  

The Primal origin

of the heavens and the earth.

How can He have a son

When He hath no consort?

He created all things,

And He hath full knowledge

of all things"

(The Qur'an, Al An'am 6:101)


The Old Testament narrative is almost like a storybook; hence it starts off with the story of Creation as the beginning of the story of the mankind. The Qur’an gives a different presentation to its idea and message with regard to the story of Creation. The story of Creation is located in various places within the Qur’an, such as in Sura’ Al-Baqarah, Sura’ As-Sajdah, Sura’ Yassin and so on.The Old Testament relates the story about God creating the earth and man in six days (Genesis, 1) and that God took a rest on the seventh day (Genesis, 1-3). The Qur’an also mentions that the Creation takes place within “six days” but never says that God had to take a rest on the seventh day. (Al-Sajdah: 4, Al-A’raf: 54).

Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (mpbuh) took hold of my hands and said: Allah the Exalted and Glorious, created the clay on Saturday and He created the mountains on Sunday and He created the trees on Monday and He created the things entailing labour on Tuesday and created light on Wednesday and He caused animals to spread on Thursday and created Adam (pbuh) after 'Asr on Friday; the last creation at the last hour of the hours of Friday, ie. Between afternoon and night.

Qur'an does not discount the theory of a Big Bang to explain the nature of how things started out at first. Here it is explained that everything was one, before it was cleaved asunder to separate heaven and earth.

Gabriel and Mohammad

"Do not the Unbelievers see 

that the heavens and the earth 

were joined together (as one unit of creation), before 

We clove them asunder, and 

We made from water every living thing. 

Will they not then believe?" 

(The Qur'an, Al Anbiya 21:30) 

"It is He Who created  

the night and the day, 

and the sun and the moon. 

They swim along, each in an orbit. "  

(The Qur'an, Al Anbiya 21:33)

"And the sun runs to its resting place. 

That is the decree of the Almighty, 

the All-Knowing. " (The Qur'an, Ya Sin 36:38) 

"By the sky full of paths and orbits."  

(The Qur'an, Al Dhariyat 51:7)

"He has created the Heavens and the Earth for Truth.  

He wraps the night up in the day, and wraps the day up in the night."  

(The Qur'an, Al Zumar 39:5) 

"It is He Who created for you  

All things that are on earth  

and then directed His attention up to heaven 

and arranged it into seven firmaments.

He has knowledge of all things."

(The Qur'an, Al Baqarah 2:29)

The Qur’an and the Old Testament are similar in the case of God appointing Adam(P) as His representative on the earth. But the Qur’an has made clearer this statement than the Old Testament, more so when God said to His angels that He wants to create a vicegerent (khalifah) on the earth (Al-Baqarah: 30, Genesis, 1:26). This status did not change even when Adam(P) committed a misdeed, repented and was forgiven for it. (Qur’an, 2:37). Man is not “fallen” from the Qur’anic perspective and hence there is no need to “save” or ransom him. In the Christian view however, Adam’s(P) misdeed is the basis for the doctrine of Original Sin, the beginning of mankind’s fall into a state of sin, a flowing from faith in a salvic drama that happened in the past.

The Qur'an states that the Creation of Adam was preceded by the creation of the angels and the jinn (such non-natural unseen world), as it stated that the creation of the angles was done from light and that of the jinn was done from fire. Accepting that the creation of the human being started from mud, we should accept these statements too. The Qur'an also states that Satan (Shaitan) was a Jinn who worshipped God sincerely. So, God gave him a close rank to God’s angles. However, Satan is converted to be an evil after he disobeyed one of the God’s commands. God ordered all the angles, and Satan was close to them, to bow in respect to Adam who was gifted a spiritual breath from God. All of them obeyed God’s command but the Satan did not. He refused doing that because of his arrogance and short sight, thinking that his origin from fire is better than Adam’s origin from mud. So, the Satan was expelled from the angle’s companion in the Paradise. He and his tribe bore hatred to Adam and his offspring. So, the Satan became an enemy for the whole of mankind. He tries to convert any man to commit the same arrogance which he committed. It is done through his abilities to the invisible temptation of man in every moment.