Pondering Creation: Science and the Qur’anic Perspectiv

Science is a systematic methodology for understanding natural and social phenomena through structured inquiry. It operates by formulating hypotheses, subjecting them to observation and experimentation, and establishing theories or laws only after rigorous validation. The universe, as explored by science, functions according to well-defined laws—physical, biological, chemical, and cosmological—which operate with remarkable precision and consistency, enabling the ordered existence of all natural processes.¹

These laws themselves do not appear to be products of gradual evolution. Rather, they are fixed, universal, and intelligible, pointing toward an originating source that is eternal, all-knowing, and unrestricted by the limitations of created reality.²

Modern cosmology points toward the Big Bang—an initial state marked not merely by chaos, but by extraordinary order and precision. The fine-tuning of physical constants, governing laws, and initial conditions raises profound questions concerning contingency and dependence.

This ordered beginning resonates with the Qur’anic notion of a unified origin of existence:

“Have those who disbelieve not seen that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, then We separated them? And We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?”(Qur’an 21:30)

Al-Rāzī explains ratq (joined) and fatq (separated) as indicating origination from non-differentiation to differentiation, not a physical tearing of matter. He stresses that the verse establishes ḥudūth (createdness) and contingency, directing the intellect to the necessity of a First Cause rather than to a description of material processes.

Al-Qurṭubī similarly rejects literalist cosmology, stating that the verse is an āyah of divine power (dalīl al-qudrah) meant to awaken reflection on dependence and origination, not to teach astronomy.

Classical exegetes treat this verse as a metaphysical sign (āyah) pointing to origination and differentiation, not a physical cosmological model.³

At the atomic level, the determination of valency allows stable molecules to form. Chemical bonding operates through precise laws, without which complex material and biological structures could not exist.

The Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes measure and determination:

 “Indeed, We have created everything in measure,”(Qur’an 54:49)

“And He created everything, then He ordained it with a perfect measure/design,”(Qur’an 25:2)

In his commentary on qadr, al-Qurṭubī defines it as placing every thing in the measure most fitting for its purpose (waḍʿ al-shayʾ fī miqdārihi al-lائق bihi). He explicitly distinguishes this from blind necessity, emphasizing ḥikmah (wisdom) and taʿyīn (specification).

Exegetical Note (al-Rāzī):

Al-Rāzī argues that precise proportion in creation invalidates chance as an explanation, since randomness cannot yield universal regularity. For him, order is not accidental but a rational sign pointing beyond nature.

Exegetically, qadr signifies proportion, suitability, and wisdom rather than mechanical determinism.⁴

One of the most critical transitions in natural history is the emergence of life. Biology identifies water as indispensable for all known living systems.

The Qur’an affirms this dependency:

“And We made from water every living thing, “(Qur’an 21:30)

Life’s complexity is further framed as part of perfected creation:

 “The work of Allah, who perfected all things,”(Qur’an 27:88)

Exegetes emphasize harmony and purposeful arrangement rather than chemical explanation.⁵

Commenting on “We made from water every living thing”, al-Rāzī clarifies that the verse establishes dependency, not mechanism. Life’s reliance on water is presented as a sign of designed interdependence, not a reduction of life to chemistry.

On itqān (perfection), al-Qurṭubī notes that perfection implies intentional arrangement toward an end (ghāyah). Perfection without purpose, he argues, is a contradiction in terms.

Scientific models describe development as occurring through extended phases rather than instantaneous completion.

The Qur’an similarly emphasizes staged creation:

“He created the heavens and the earth in six days,”(Qur’an 7:54)

“While He has created you in stages?” or “Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages?” (Qur’an 71:14)

Al-Qurṭubī explicitly states that ayyām are not bound to human temporality, since time itself is created. He interprets them as ordered stages, reinforcing divine deliberation rather than haste or limitation.

Exegetical Note (al-Rāzī):

Al-Rāzī adds that staged creation refutes the idea of necessity (ḍarūrah) and affirms choice (ikhtiyār), since what proceeds in stages could have been otherwise.

Classical tafsīr affirms that ayyām may denote ordered phases rather than human-length days, emphasizing divine wisdom over temporal duration.⁶

While evolutionary mechanisms explain adaptation and variation, the Qur’an raises philosophical questions regarding causality and self-existence:

“Were they created from nothing, or are they their own creators?”(Qur’an 52:35)

This verse functions as a logical disjunction eliminating all possibilities except a Necessary Creator.⁷

Al-Rāzī treats this verse as one of the Qur’an’s strongest rational syllogisms. He explains that it exhausts all logical possibilities:

1. self-creation (impossible),

2. creation from nothing (absurd),

3. necessary creation by an external agent (true).

This is not rhetorical flourish but formal metaphysical reasoning.

Human beings are distinguished by cognitive, moral, and reflective capacities.

The Qur’an affirms this distinction:

“And He taught Adam all the names (of everything)”(Qur’an 2:31)

“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam,”(Qur’an 17:70)

“Then He proportioned him and breathed into him of His Spirit”(Qur’an 32:9)

On al-asmāʾ, al-Qurṭubī explains that Adam’s knowledge refers to conceptual and symbolic cognition, enabling abstraction, moral reasoning, and transmission of knowledge—qualities absent in animals.

Al-Rāzī explains rūḥ as a non-material principle enabling consciousness and moral responsibility, not a physical substance.⁸

The Qur’anic expression kun fa-yakūn affirms divine sovereignty:

 “Be, and it is!” (Qur’an 36:82)

This formulation expresses absolute authority, not temporal speech, and does not negate intermediary causes.⁹

The Qur’an explicitly rejects purposeless creation:

“Did you then think that We created you in vain (or without purpose), and that you would not be returned to Us?”(Qur’an 23:115)

Human beings are entrusted with moral responsibility:

 “Indeed, We offered the Trust (Amanah) to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and feared it; but man undertook it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant”(Qur’an 33:72)

Classical tafsīr identifies amānah as moral accountability grounded in free will.¹⁰

The Qur’an affirms continuity and order in creation:

 “You will never find a change in the way of Allah (God), nor will you find any alteration in His established law/custom”

(Qur’an 35:43)

Change and development are therefore law-governed and meaningful, not metaphysically random.¹¹

Science explains how processes occur; the Qur’an addresses why they exist:

: “And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them in play (or for amusement/sport)”

(Qur’an 44:38)

A reflective engagement with both domains fosters intellectual humility and a deeper understanding of existence—one that respects empirical inquiry while remaining attentive to meaning, purpose, and moral responsibility.

1. Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Tafsīr al-Kabīr, on rational intelligibility of creation.

2. al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qur’an, discussion on divine wisdom (ḥikmah).

3. al-Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr, commentary on Qur’an 21:30.

4. al-Qurṭubī, commentary on qadr (Q. 54:49).

5. al-Rāzī, commentary on itqān (Q. 27:88).

6. al-Qurṭubī and al-Rāzī on ayyām as stages.

7. al-Rāzī, commentary on Qur’an 52:35 (metaphysical proof).

8. al-Qurṭubī on asmāʾ; al-Rāzī on rūḥ.

9. al-Qurṭubī, commentary on kun fa-yakūn.

10. al-Rāzī, commentary on amānah (Q. 33:72).

11. al-Qurṭubī on sunnat Allāh (Q. 35:43).

      Author  is Retired Principal, Deptt. of Education Kashmir and has been a student of Islamic Studies