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The Qur’anic Chronology of Creation

By Sajid Mahmood Ansari
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Exploring the Qur’anic Chronology of Creation reveals a profound perspective on how our universe transformed from a single point into the complex world we live in today. While modern science focuses on the "how," the Qur’an describes creation in meaningful stages that highlight the purpose behind the heavens and the earth. This layered journey moves from the initial act of creation to the detailed shaping of the stars, planets, and life, finally culminating in the appearance of human beings. In this article, we break down these stages to show how the Qur’an presents a beautifully coherent and purposeful vision of the universe. 1. Chronology of Creation Allah Almighty says in Surah Fussilat: 9.  قُلْ أَئِنَّكُمْ لَتَكْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ وَتَجْعَلُونَ لَهُۥ أَندَادًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ 10.  وَجَعَلَ فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ مِنْ فَوْقِهَا وَبَارَكَ فِيهَا وَقَدَّرَ فِيهَا أَقْوَاتَهَا فِي أَرْبَعَةِ أَيَّامٍ سَوَىٰ لِلسَّائِلِينَ 11.  ثُمَ...

Hanbali Aqidah on Sifat Mutashabihat

By Sajid Mahmood Ansari
In the Name of Allah---the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Imam Ibn Qudamah (Rahimahullah)describes Hanbali Aqidah in his book Lumatul Etiqad and Dhamm at-Tawil in detail. He said in his book of Usul al-Fiqh Rawdha al-Nadhir, while explaining Al Imran:7:

والصحيح أن المتشابه: ما ورد في صفات الله -سبحانه- مما يجب الإيمان به، ويحرم التعرض لتأويله، كقوله تعالی: الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى ، بَلْ يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَان، مَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَي ، وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّك، تَجْرِي بِأَعْيُنِنَا، و نحوہ هذا اتفق السلف -رحمهم الله- على الإقرار به، وإمراره على وجهه وترك تأويله

He goes further:

ولأن في الآية قرائن تدل على أن الله -سبحانه- منفرد بعلم تأويل المتشابه، وأن الوقف الصحيح عند قوله تعالى وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا الله له لفظًا ومعنىً۔ أما اللفظ فلأنه لو أراد عطف الراسخين لقال ويقولون آمنا به بالواو وأما المعنى فلأنه ذم مبتغي التأويل ولو كان ذلك للراسخين معلومًا لكان مبتغيه ممدوحًا لا مذمومًا ولأن قولهم آمَنَّا بِهِ يدل على نوع تفويض وتسليم لشيء لم يقفوا على معناه

He says:

وَمذهب السّلف رَحْمَة الله عَلَيْهِم الْإِيمَان بِصِفَات الله تَعَالَى وأسمائه الَّتِي وصف بهَا نَفسه فِي آيَاته وتنزيله أَو على لِسَان رَسُوله من غير زِيَادَة عَلَيْهَا وَلَا نقص مِنْهَا وَلَا تجَاوز لَهَا وَلَا تَفْسِير وَلَا تَأْوِيل لَهَا بِمَا يُخَالف ظَاهرهَا وَلَا تَشْبِيه بِصِفَات المخلوقين وَلَا سمات الْمُحدثين بل أمروها كَمَا جَاءَت وردوا علمهَا إِلَى قَائِلهَا وَمَعْنَاهَا إِلَى الْمُتَكَلّم بهَا

(ذم التاویل)

He quotes Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (May Allah have mercy on him):


قَالَ وَأَخْبرنِي عَليّ بن عِيسَى أَن حنبلا حَدثهمْ قَالَ سَأَلت أَبَا عبد الله عَن الْأَحَادِيث الَّتِي تروى إِن الله تبَارك وَتَعَالَى ينزل كل لَيْلَة إِلَى السمآء الدُّنْيَا وَأَن الله يرى وَإِن الله يضع قدمه وَمَا أشبهه فَقَالَ أَبُو عبد الله نؤمن بهَا ونصدق بهَا وَلَا كَيفَ وَلَا معنى وَلَا نرد مِنْهَا شَيْئا ونعلم أَن مَا جَاءَ بِهِ الرَّسُول حق إِذا كَانَت بأسانيد صِحَاح وَلَا نرد على رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم قَوْله وَلَا يُوصف الله تَعَالَى بِأَكْثَرَ مِمَّا وصف بِهِ نَفسه أَو وَصفه بِهِ رَسُوله بِلَا حد وَلَا غَايَة

(ذم التاویل)

He says further:

وَهَذِه طَريقَة مُسْتَقِيمَة ومقالة صَحِيحَة سليمَة لَيْسَ على صَاحبهَا خطر وَلَا يلْحقهُ عيب وَلَا ضَرَر لِأَن الْمَوْجُود مِنْهُ هُوَ الْإِيمَان بِلَفْظ الْكتاب وَالسّنة وَهَذَا أَمر وَاجِب على خلق الله أَجْمَعِينَ فَإِن جحد كلمة من كتاب الله مُتَّفق عَلَيْهَا كفر بِإِجْمَاع الْمُسلمين وسكوته عَن تَأْوِيل لم يعلم صِحَّته وَالسُّكُوت عَن ذَلِك وَاجِب أَيْضا بِدَلِيل الْكتاب وَالسّنة وَالْإِجْمَاع ثمَّ لَو لم يكن وَاجِبا لَكَانَ جَائِزا بِغَيْر خلاف (ذم التاویل) وكل ما جاء في القرآن أو صح عن المصطفى عليه السلام من صفات الرحمن وجب الإيمان به، وتلقيه بالتسليم والقبول، وترك التعرض له بالرد والتأويل والتشبيه والتمثيل. وما أشكل من ذلك وجب إثباته لفظا، وترك التعرض لمعناه ونرد علمه إلى قائله (لمعۃ الاعتقاد)

1. CONTEXT: What Issue Is Ibn Qudāmah Addressing?

He is commenting on Āl ʿImrān 3:7, the verse distinguishing between:

  • Muḥkam: clear verses
  • Mutashābih: ambiguous verses known only to Allah

هُوَ الَّذِیْۤ اَنْزَلَ عَلَیْكَ الْكِتٰبَ مِنْهُ اٰیٰتٌ مُّحْكَمٰتٌ هُنَّ اُمُّ الْكِتٰبِ وَ اُخَرُ مُتَشٰبِهٰتٌؕ-فَاَمَّا الَّذِیْنَ فِیْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ زَیْغٌ فَیَتَّبِعُوْنَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَآءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَ ابْتِغَآءَ تَاْوِیْلِهٖ ﳘ وَ مَا یَعْلَمُ تَاْوِیْلَهٗۤ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ۔ وَ الرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِی الْعِلْمِ یَقُوْلُوْنَ اٰمَنَّا بِهٖۙ-كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَاۚ-وَ مَا یَذَّكَّرُ اِلَّاۤ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ

Here is a clear and faithful translation of the verse:

“He is the One who has sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are clear and decisive; they are the foundation of the Book. And others are ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is a deviation, they follow what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord and seeking its (own) meanings. But no one knows its true meanings except Allah. And those firmly grounded in knowledge say: ‘We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.’ And none take heed except people of understanding.”

His entire discussion aims to defend the Tafwīḍ-based stance of the Salaf against the Muʿtazilah and some later Ashʿarīs, and also against those who assign literalistic interpretations (Hashwiyya).

2. IBN QUDĀMAH’S PRINCIPLE: MUTASHĀBIH ARE BELIEVED IN WITHOUT INTERPRETATION

He says:

“والصحيح أن المتشابه: ما ورد في صفات الله … مما يجب الإيمان به، ويحرم التعرض لتأويله”

Meaning:

  • The Mutashābih includes verses of the Divine Attributes.
  • We must believe in them.
  • It is prohibited to attempt Ta’wīl (giving interpretive meaning).
  • They must be passed as they came without explanation.

This is the central principle of Tafwīḍ.

3. WHY THE SALAF DID NOT GIVE TA’WĪL

He gives three textual evidences:

A. The correct stop in the verse is “وما يعلم تأويله إلا الله”

He argues grammatically:

If Allah intended “the firmly-grounded in knowledge” (الراسخون) to know the Ta’wīl,
He would have said “وَيَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ” with a wāw joining them to Allah.

Since the verse structure breaks between “except Allah” and “and those firmly grounded in knowledge say: We believe in it,”
this shows only Allah knows the Ta’wīl.

B. The verse blames those who seek Ta’wīl

“He criticized the seekers of Ta’wīl”
so it cannot be knowledge belonging to the scholars.

If seeking Ta’wīl were a scholarly virtue, it would not be condemned.

C. The statement “آمَنَّا بِهِ” implies Tafwīḍ

  • They say “We believe in it”
  • Not “We understood it”
  • Not “We explained it”

This indicates humility and submission to a meaning they do not comprehend.

4. WHAT IS THE SALAFI-HANBALI POSITION ACCORDING TO IBN QUDĀMAH?

He states explicitly:

“مذهب السلف … الإيمان بصفات الله … من غير زيادة ولا نقصان ولا تجاوز لها ولا تفسير ولا تأويل لها بما يخالف ظاهرها”

Meaning:

  • We affirm the attributes that Allah used for Himself.
  • Without adding meaning.
  • Without subtracting meaning.
  • Without explaining their meaning (lā tafsīr).
  • Without Ta’wīl that changes the apparent wording.
  • Without likening to the creation.

He then states:

“بل أمروها كما جاءت وردّوا علمها إلى قائلها ومعناها إلى المتكلم بها”

This is the most important line:

✔ Affirm the wording (ithbāt al-lafẓ)
✔ Do not interpret the meaning
✔ Return the knowledge of the true meaning to Allah

This is the classical Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā stance.

5. TAFWĪḌ ACCORDING TO IBN QUDĀMAH = THREE PRINCIPLES

(1) ITHBĀT AL-LAFẒ (Affirmation of the wording)

The wording is from Revelation, so it is obligatory to believe in it.

(2) NAFY AL-KAYF (Denying the modality)

No attempt to imagine how, no conceptual form, no modality.

(3) TAFWĪḍ AL-MAʿNĀ (Consigning the meaning)

This is the crucial point:

Ibn Qudāmah says the meaning intended by Allah is unknown to us, so we consign it to Him.

He does not say:

  • that we affirm a literal meaning
  • nor that we affirm a figurative meaning
  • nor that we know the reality or the conceptual meaning

He says:

“Their meaning is referred back to the One who spoke them.”

This is unambiguous Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā.

6. HE STATES TAFWĪḍ EXPLICITLY AS THE SAFEST WAY

“وهذه طريقة مستقيمة ومقالة صحيحة سليمة ليس على صاحبها خطر”

Meaning:

  • This path is straight.
  • It is correct.
  • It is safe.
  • There is no danger or blame on the one who follows it.

Why?

Because:

“لأن الموجود منه هو الإيمان بلفظ الكتاب والسنة”

All it requires is:

  • Believe in the revealed wording
  • Without adding interpretation

Which is obligatory upon everyone.

“وسكوته عن تأويل لم يعلم صحته واجب”

Silence about Ta’wīl whose correctness cannot be known, is obligatory.

Thus, Tafwīḍ is not neutrality – it is an affirmative obligation.

7. THE FINAL STATEMENT (In “Lumʿat al-Iʿtiqād”)

He repeats the same doctrine:

“وكل ما جاء في القرآن أو صح عن المصطفى من صفات الرحمن وجب الإيمان به”

  • We must affirm and believe in every Attribute, without interpretation.

“وترك التعرض له بالرد والتأويل والتشبيه والتمثيل”

We must abandon:

  • Refutation of it
  • Interpretation of it
  • Likeness
  • Anthropomorphism

“وما أشكل من ذلك وجب إثباته لفظا، وترك التعرض لمعناه ونرد علمه إلى قائله”

This is the most direct formulation of Tafwīḍ:

✔ Affirm the wording (ithbāt al-lafẓ)
✔ Do not approach the meaning
✔ Return the knowledge of meaning to Allah

This is classical Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā.

8. SUMMARY: IBN QUDĀMAH’S HANBALI POSITION ON TAFWĪḍ

According to Ibn Qudāmah:

  1. The said Attributes in the Qur’an are Mutashābih
    – Their true meanings are known only to Allah.
  2. The Salaf’s method is Tafwīḍ, not literalism.
  3. Tafwīḍ consists of:
    • Affirming the wording of the verses
    • Rejecting any Ta’wīl
    • Not attempting to define their meaning
    • Consigning meaning and reality to Allah
    • Avoiding tashbīh and tajsīm
  4. Seeking interpretive meaning is condemned
    because Allah condemned “those who seek its Ta’wīl”.
  5. The correct stance is “آمنا به”
    meaning mere affirmation, not comprehension.
  6. The safest, correct path is silence about meaning
    – not asserting literalism
    – not asserting metaphorical interpretation

In short:

Ibn Qudāmah affirms Tafwīḍ al-Maʿnā and Tafwīḍ al-Kayf as the true Hanbali Aqidah.

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