Surah At-Tur (The Mount): Verse 35

أم خلقوا من . . . . . (Or were they created from nothing?...)

There are several issues concerning this:

When they accused the Prophet (peace be upon him) of being a soothsayer, possessed by jinn, or a poet, and God exonerated him from that, He mentioned the proof of his truthfulness to invalidate their accusations. He began with themselves, as if saying: "How can they deny him when in their own selves lies the proof of his truthfulness?" This is because his message concerns three matters: Monotheism (Tawhid), Resurrection (Hashr), and Prophethood (Risalah).

1. Regarding Tawhid: In their very existence, there is a sign indicating that God is One, as we have explained repeatedly that everything contains a sign pointing to His Unity.
2. Regarding the Resurrection: The first creation is proof of the possibility and permissibility of the second creation (Resurrection). This is supported by God concluding the series of interrogations by saying: {أم لهم إلاه غير الله سبحان الله عما يشركون} (Or is there a god other than Allah? Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him) (At-Tur: 43).

If the matter is as mentioned, why was the phrase Amā khuluqū (Are they created?) omitted?

We say: Because the negation of that (i.e., the fact that they were created) is so evident that there remains no room for dispute.

If it is asked: Why did He not start with Amā khuluqū and then say, Am khuluqū min ghayri shay’ (Or were they created from nothing?)?

We say: This is to indicate that what preceded this statement was an obviously negated matter, and what is mentioned here is close to it in the obviousness of its falsehood.

If it is argued: The statement {أم خلقوا من غير شىء} (Or were they created from nothing?) is also obviously false, because they know they were created from dust, water, and a sperm-drop.

We say: The first negation (that they were not created at all) is more obvious, because the claim that they were not created is a denial of a self-evident necessity (ḍarūrah). Whoever denies this denies a necessary truth.

We say there are several interpretations:

1. That they were created without a Creator.
2. That they were created aimlessly (ʿabathan).
3. That they were created without a father and mother.
4. It is possible that {أم خلقوا من غير شيء} means: Were they not created from dust or from water? The evidence for this is God's statement: {ألم نخلقكم من ماء مهين} (Did We not create you from a lowly fluid?) (Al-Mursalat: 20).
5. It is possible that the second interrogation is not meant as a negation but as an affirmation. This is similar to His statement: {ءأنتم تخلقونه أم نحن الخالقون} (Is it you who create it, or are We the Creators?) (Al-Waqi'ah: 59), and similar verses where the first part is negated and the second affirmed. Similarly here, God says: {أم خلقوا من غير شىء} (Or were they created from nothing?), meaning the true statement is the second one (that they were created from something). This is like His statement: {هل أتى على الإنسان حين من الدهر لم يكن شيئاً مذكوراً} (Has there not come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?) (Al-Insan: 8).

If it is asked: How can this be an affirmation when man was created from dust?

We say: The dust itself was created from nothing. Thus, when you look at the creation of man and trace it back to its origin, you find it created from nothing. Or, we say the meaning is: Or were they created from nothing mentioned or considered (i.e., not from the lowly fluid)?

These three matters are sequential, and each one prevents the acceptance of Monotheism and Resurrection:

1. {أم خلقوا} (Or were they created [at all]?): This denies the existence of the Creator, which is the basis of denying Monotheism.
2. {أم خلقوا من غير شىء} (Or were they created from nothing?): This implies they were created aimlessly, thus denying the need for a return (Resurrection), as in: {أفحسبتم أنما خلقناكم عبثاً} (Then did you think that We created you in vain?) (Al-Mu'minun: 115).
   • If we take the meaning as "created without dust or water," it has a clear implication: If creation were from nothing, the manner of creation might be obscure to some ignorant people. This is why some said the heavens were raised by chance and came into existence without a Creator. However, regarding man, whose stages—from a drop to a clot, then a piece of flesh and bone—are observable, no one can deny his creation after witnessing the changes in his state. Therefore, God says {أم خلقوا} in a way that obscures the manner of their creation—that they were created initially without any preceding state (like dust or water or a drop). Rather, they were something from which they were created. Thus, they were not created from nothing, so they cannot deny Monotheism. This is why God says: {يخلقكم فى بطون أمهاتكم خلقا من بعد خلق} (He creates you in your mothers' wombs, creation after creation) (Az-Zumar: 6). This is why God frequently mentions: {خلقنا الإنسان من نطفة} (We created man from a sperm-drop) (Al-Insan: 2) and {ألم نخلقكم من ماء مهين} (Did We not create you from a lowly fluid?). This latter verse covers both points mentioned here, as saying "Did We not create you from water?" can imply a negation of the whole process if it is taken as: "Were you created not from water?"
   • According to the view that it means "created without a Creator," there is also a good sequence: Denying the Maker either happens by denying that the world is created (thus denying possibility), or by affirming possibility but claiming the possible requires no agent, which is impossible.
3. {أم هم الخالقون} (Or are they the creators?): This means: Are they the ones who create? If so, the Creator is exhausted by the abundance of work, as humans typically tire from creation.

So, what is their position? They either deny the existence of a God altogether, or they affirm creation but deny the manner of creation (obscuring the Creator's method), or they equate the Creator with themselves, attributing inability to Him. This relates to the Resurrection, as in: {أفعيينا بالخلق الأول} (Were We then fatigued by the first creation?) (Qaf: 15).

As for Monotheism, it is a refutation of their claim that things are diverse, and the diversity of effects indicates a diversity of agents. They said: {أجعل الالهة إلاها واحدا} (Will he make the gods [many] into one God?) (Sad: 5). God replied: {أم هم الخالقون} (Or are they the creators?), since the baker cannot tailor, nor the tailor build; each occupation distracts one from another.

{ أم خلقوا السماوات والأرض بل لا يوقنون }

(Or were the heavens and the earth created from nothing? Nay, but they have no certainty.)