Al-Qamar (The Moon): (50) And Our Command is None Except...

This means nothing except one word, which is His saying to it: (Be). This is the famous and apparent meaning.

Based on this, when Allah wills something, He says to it: (Be). Thus, there are two things: the Will (Irādah) and the Command/Utterance (Qawl). The Will is the decree (Qadar), and the Utterance is the judgment/enactment (Qaḍā').

The phrase {One} (Wāḥidah) admits of two interpretations:

1. It clarifies that there is no need to repeat the utterance, indicating the immediate execution of the command.
2. It clarifies the uniformity of the situation: His command when creating the great Throne is the same as His command when creating the small ant. His command is one for everything.

The phrase {Like the blink of an eye} (Kalamaḥi bi-l-baṣar) is a simile for the coming into being (kawn), not a simile for the command itself. It is as if He is saying: "Our command is one, so the commanded thing comes into being like the blink of an eye." If the simile referred to the command itself, it would not be a description of praise worthy of Him, as the word (Be) itself comes into being like the blink of an eye.

This is the apparent and famous interpretation.

There is another apparent view adopted by the wise (Hukamā'): that the things God makes possible (Maqdūrāt) are the contingent beings (Mumkināt) which He brings into existence by His Power. There is a debate regarding their non-existence, which is too lengthy to detail here, not due to any other reason.

The contingent beings God brings into existence are of two types:

1. Things with composite parts: Their existence is completed upon the assembly of their parts, such as humans, animals, vegetative and mineral bodies, the four elements, the heavens, and all other bodies and the accidents (A‘rāḍ) that subsist in them. These are all decreed (Muqaddarah) and emergent (Ḥawādith). Their parts come into existence first, and then the composition and assembly occur in them. Thus, they involve estimations (Taqdīrāt) concerning their parts, composition, and accidents.
2. Things without parts, joints, or extensional measures: These are the noble, luminous souls that animate the bodies. All philosophers (except a few) affirm them, and many theologians agree with them. Many practitioners of spiritual striving (Riyāḍāt) and asceticism (Mujāhadāt) are certain of them. The existence of these things is singular; they do not come into existence first as parts, and then those parts are realized, unlike bodies and their accidents.

Having established this, they say: Bodies are created by decree (Khalq), while souls are brought forth by command (Amr). They point to the verse: {Is not His the creation and the command?} (Al-A‘rāf: 54). Thus, Khalq applies to bodies, and Amr applies to souls.

They further state that this distinction should not lead one to believe it contradicts the narrations (Akhbār). The Prophet (PBUH) said: "The first thing Allah created was the Intellect (Al-‘Aql)," and it is narrated that he said: "Allah created the souls two thousand years before the bodies." Also, Allah says: {Allah is the Creator of everything} (Az-Zumar: 62).

The term Khalq is used for the origination of souls and the Intellect because applying Khalq to what Amr applies to is permissible. The entire universe is emergent (Ḥādith), and applying Khalq to mean origination (Iḥdāth) is permissible, even if the linguistic root of Khalq implies estimation/measurement. This is unlike Iḥdāth. If there were no difference between the two terms, a philosopher would not find it objectionable to say a Makhlūq (created thing) is eternal, just as it is objectionable to say an Muḥdath (newly originated thing) is eternal.

Therefore, the Prophet's saying, "Allah created the souls," means He originated them by His Command. There is a great benefit in this usage: if the Prophet (PBUH) had changed the wording and said the souls exist by Amr and bodies by Khalq, the one whom Allah has not granted vast knowledge might think the soul is not Makhlūq (i.e., not originated/newly created), leading him astray. The Prophet (PBUH) was sent as a mercy.

They also consider the verse: {And they ask you about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord"} (Al-Isrā’: 85), alongside verses like: {He created the heavens and the earth in six days} (Al-Ḥadīd: 4), and {Then We created the drop a clinging mass, then We created the clinging mass a chewed lump, then We created the chewed lump bones} (Al-Mu’minūn: 14).

Here, you find the difference between Amr and Khalq, and between souls and bodies (Ashbāḥ): He assigned an extended time—six days—to the creation of some bodies, and He mentioned sequence and delay using {Then We created} and {So We created}. He did not assign this to the soul.

They add that one should not assume from this statement that bodies must require an extended time and days for God to create them. Rather, Allah is free to choose: if He wills to create the heavens, the earth, humans, animals, and plants in faster than the blink of an eye, He does so. However, even so, they do not cease to be entities whose existence involves parts, where the existence of the parts precedes the existence of the composition, and the whole exists after the parts and composition. Thus, it is six [stages] in three [sets of three], just as Allah creates fracture and breakage simultaneously, yet they have a conceptual sequence.

Therefore, however one posits the creation of the body, it involves the decree of existences, all brought about by God sequentially. The soul, however, has a single existence brought about by God. This is their view.

Let us mention the transmitted and rational interpretations regarding Khalq and Amr:

First: As mentioned, Amr is the word (Be), while Khalq is that which occurs through Power and Will.

Second: What they mentioned regarding bodies and souls (that souls are distinct from bodies).

Third: Allah possesses Power for origination and Will for specification. This is because a newly originated thing has an existence specific to a time and a definite measure. Its existence is by Power, and its specification to a time is by Will. That which is by His Power is Khalq, and that which is by His Will is Amr, as He specifies it by His command to a time. This is supported by transmission and reason.

• Transmission: His saying: {When He intends a thing, He says to it, "Be," and it is} (Yā-Sīn: 82). He linked (Be) to the attachment of the Will. Note that {Be} does not mean the literal letters (Kāf and Nūn), because existence is faster than the word "Be" if taken literally, as the Kāf and Nūn from a single speaker occur sequentially, meaning there is a time interval in Kun. The consequence is {and it is} (fa-yakūn) with the conjunction Fa (then), indicating sequence. If the literal letters and sound were meant, existence would follow after a time, which is not the case. If someone argues that the two letters can exist simultaneously, and God's speech is not like ours requiring time, we reply that a meaning other than our linguistic understanding of the letters has been intended.
• Reason: Specification to a time is not due to a meaning or a cause, although some people hold that creation and origination are for a wisdom (Ḥikmah), saying God created the earth to be a dwelling place for people, or similar wisdoms. However, He could not say: "He created the earth in that specific time to be their dwelling," because if He had created it at another time, it would still be their dwelling. Thus, specification is not for a meaning; it is purely for wisdom, resembling the command of an overpowering king who commands and is not asked, "Why did you command this or do that?" The intent of the commander is known only by him.

Fourth: Created things cannot be separated from three descriptions or two opposing descriptions. For example, a body, after its creation, must occupy space (be localized) and must either be stationary or moving. Bringing it into existence first is Khalq, and what it is in terms of motion or rest is by His Amr. This is supported by His saying: {Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days...} then {...subservient by His command} (Al-A‘rāf: 54). He made what it possesses of motion, stillness, etc., after its creation, by His Amr. This is also supported by the Hadith: "The first thing Allah created was the Intellect. He told it: 'Approach!' and it approached. He told it: 'Retreat!' and it retreated." Khalq is applied to the essence, and Amr to the attribute/state. Similarly, {He created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days}, then {He manages the affair from the heaven to the earth; then it ascends to Him in a Day the measure of which is a thousand years} (As-Sajdah: 4-5), which we have previously interpreted.

Fifth: God's creations are of two types:

1. Those He created in the fastest possible manner, like the Intellect and others.
2. Those He created with a period of delay, like the heavens, humans, animals, and plants. The quickly created entity is referred to by Amr, and the one created with delay is referred to by Khalq. This is similar to the second view.

Sixth: What Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī stated regarding His saying: {Then He said to it and to the earth, "Come willingly or unwillingly." They said, "We come willingly"} (Fuṣṣilat: 11). He said that Khalq is the estimation/measurement, and Ījād (origination) follows it with a sequence of order, not time. In God's knowledge, the heavens are to be seven heavens in two estimated days. So, He measured their creation, as He knew it, and that measurement is Khalq. The origination (Ījād) is Amr. He derived this from linguistic understanding, citing a poet:

This means they estimate first and then cut/separate second, like a tailor who estimates first and then cuts second. This is close to the language but distant from the usage in the Qur'an, because whenever God mentions Khalq, He intends origination, as in {And if you ask them, "Who created them?"} (Al-‘Ankabūt: 61) and {Has not man seen that We created him from a sperm-drop?} (Yā-Sīn: 77). The meaning is not "We estimated that he would be created from it," and so on.

Seventh: Khalq is initial origination, and Amr is what brings about the Resurrection (Re-creation). God created the creation initially with delay, then on the Day of Resurrection, He will resurrect them faster than the blink of an eye. Thus, {And Our Command is None Except One} is like His saying: {It is but a single blast} (Aṣ-Ṣāffāt: 19), {a single cry} (Yā-Sīn: 29), {a single blast} (Al-Ḥāqqah: 13). Under this view, {Indeed, all things We created with measure} (Al-Qamar: 49) refers to the initial creation (unity), and {And Our Command is None Except One} refers to the Resurrection (the final event). Thus, the verses delineate the first principle and the final principle.

Eighth: Origination (Ījād) is Khalq, and annihilation (I‘dām) is Amr. This means He commands the stern, mighty angels to destroy and act, and they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, nor do they delay compliance pending a repeated command. His command once is immediately followed by non-existence and destruction.

Ninth: Regarding the meaning of {Like the blink of an eye} (Kalamaḥi bi-l-baṣar), there are two aspects:

1. Looking with the eye: It is said, "I glimpsed him with my eye" (lamaḥtuhu bi-baṣarī), just as it is said, "I looked at him with my eye." The preposition Bā’ here is for assistance, like in "I wrote with a pen." This example was chosen because looking with the eye is the fastest movement found in humans. This is because the eye possesses features that aid in rapid movement:
   • The proximity of the mover: The motor nerve originates in the brain, and the eye is extremely close to it.
   • Its small size: It does not resist the mover or burden it, unlike bones.
   • Its spherical shape: Rolling a ball is easier than rolling a square or triangle.
   • The moisture present in the organ where it is located. This wisdom explains why visible things are so numerous compared to things tasted, heard, or intended by the feet. If the apparatus for perceiving sights did not move quickly, one would only perceive a fraction of them over a long time.

2. The blink of an eye means lightning: Lightning flashes across the sight and passes quickly. The Bā’ here denotes attachment, not assistance, like in "I passed by it." This is extremely fast. The phrase {with the eye} (bi-l-baṣar) signifies the utmost speed. If He had said, "Like the blink of lightning when it flashes," and it begins its movement from one place and ends at another in the shortest conceivable time, that would be correct. However, the distance covered by the eye's perception is less than the distance from its start to its end. Therefore, He said {Like a glimpse} (Kalamaḥi), not like the entire path from start to finish, but rather the portion that passes the eye, which is the utmost brevity and ultimate speed.

[51] {And We have destroyed your likes before; so is there any who will remember?}