| He is God, the Creator, the Evolver, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. He is gloriefied by whatever there is in the heavens and the earth, and He is the Mighty Friend, the Wise. (59:25) |
In these days, people in various regions of the Muslim world celebrate Nawruz, the spring festival that, at the same time, marks a new year in the local solar calendar. Nature is reawakening to life after the long cold winter. Watching the appearence of new blossoms and flowers everyday and hearing the twittering of the returning birds almost feels like witnessing a new creation.
As if to highlight this miracle, the verse mentions three of God's most beautiful names that refer to God as the Creator. They point to different aspects of creation and creativity.
The first one, al-Khâliq, "the Creator", is the one that is used most frequently in the Qur'an. Theological usage links it with creatio ex nihilo ("creation from nothing"). According to al-Ghazzâli, it points to the aspect of inventing and planning things that never existed before - and in fact there is a related word mukhtaliq that means inventor. The Qur'an teaches that God created the heavens and the earth "in truth". They contain "God's signs", the Creator's handwriting, so to speak, that we are repeatedly encouraged to study in order to derive benefits from them both for our life in the world and for our deeper understanding of existence. Research, knowledge and faith are closely linked with each other.
Looking more carefully, beyond science and philosophy, we discover that these millions of buds and blossoms and leaves are not just copies of each other, that they do not just follow a programmed mechanism. Not even two of them are exactly alike or develop exactly in the same way. The secret of all living beings, starting from plants and increasingly animals and human beings, is that each individual is unique as if it were invented for its own sake the moment when it came into existence. This is not limited to the external appearance but, especially in the case of human beings, to their inner character. The prayer that the Prophet taught us to say when looking into a mirror is a subtle play with words derived from the same root: "God, You have made my physical constitution (khalqi) beautiful, therefore make my character (khulqi) beautiful as well." Beautifying one's character is the objective of ethics (ilm al-akhlâq) where human endeavours for unfolding one's good potential are in a delicate cooperation with the Creator's actions.
The second name is al-Bâri, who brings things forth from something else, translated here as the Evolver for lack of a better word. Already the Ikhwân as-Safa in the third century after the Hijra described creation as a gradual development of the species under the Creator's guidance and care. Reading the numerous Qur'anic accounts of how God brings forth the variety of species from the same earth, nourishing all the different plants and animals from the same water and pointing out the human differences in colours, languages and even forms of worship, we can almost feel the Creator's joy in His work.
The word al-Bâri is derived from a root that means to bring forth, to liberate. By being brought forth from the earth, from the bud, from the egg, from the womb, each living being is as it were set free into existence, empowered to decisions and activities of its own within its owm framework and to interaction with other living beings.
Compared to al-Khâliq, the name al-Bâri is used less frequently in the Qur'an. In fact, it is mainly used in the context of repentance, e.g. in Surah 2:54 where, after the incident with the Golden Calf, Moses says to his people, "Return to your Creator (li-Bâri'ikum)." Repentance is basically the insight of being on the wrong path and the return to the path of the Source of all being who heals, shows ways out of the prison of one's past and the slavery of one's selfishness and makes a new beginning possible.
The third name, al-Musawwir, the Fashioner, is linked with the idea of molding, picturing, illustrating. Living beings are not just created as functional and suitable for their environment but shaped with loving care and in a beautiful way. Wary of the dangers of anthropomorphism, Muslim theology usually avoids speaking of human beings as "created in the image of God" although the Prophet did use this expression. Authors like al-Ghazzâli prefer, instead, to discuss how the potential of "God's Names" is planted into every human being, waiting to be unfolded in time and space and to be made visible in a meaningful way.
In this context there have been extensive debates on how far "God's trustee on earth" can possibly be a "Creator". Eager to avoid all snares of idolatry, scholars tended to be critical of sculptures and pictures beyond the classical book paintings. One concern was that the pictures and statues themselves might become objects of worhip - a danger that might still have a role in the context of personality cult. The other argument, that lifelike representations of people or animals might tempt the artist to feel like the Creator's competitor, has surprisingly enough not been used in the debates about genetic enginering and artificial intelligence. Perhaps the fear that is widespread in human society in general today is not so much based on a real fear of each other but, on the background of the nuclear overkill and the damages to the natural environment, a hidden fear of our own potential that, instead of working on it, we project on the "other". Yes, we have all these abilities and we are meant to unfold them and to use them in a way that is worthy of "God's trustee on earth", preserving and cultivating creation. It is time to rethink Islamic ethics from this perspective.
Knowing ourselves in our relationship with our Creator , becoming aware of our potential, our possibilities and our limitations and the responsibility that goes with it gives new impulses to our understanding of ethics and law. It would give new life to our community like springtime and hope for good fruits in the future.
You who have faith, respond to God and His messenger when they invite you to what gives you life ... (8:24)
With mountains, with rocks I call You, my God.
With birds at dawn I call You, my God.
With the fish in the river, the deer of the plains,
Wordless in amazement I call You, my God.
With Jesus in the Spheres and Moses at the mountain,
The rod in my hands I call You, my God.
With Job's suffering and Jacob's tears,
The world lies in shards. I leave it alone.
Barefoot and bareheaded I call You, my God.
With Yunus's voice, with a nightingale's tongue,
With all those who love I call You, my God.
The supplication is a poem by Yunus Emre.
(c) Halima Krausen, 2006