We see, then, at the outset, that according to the language of the Qur'an 'to create' does not necessarily mean 'to form out of nothing'. To bring into existence something which did not before exist in the form which it now has, though it be composed of elements which previously existed, is, in the Qur'anic use of the word, 'Creation'.

Further, in the Qur'an, the verb 'to create' (khalaqa) is employed to express not only the acts of God, but also, the actions and productions of men. 'Hast thou not considered how thy Lord dealt with 'Ad (the people of) Irem, adorned with lofty buildings, the like whereof hath not been created in the land?' [Suratu'l-Fajr (lxxxix) 5-7]. To erect buildings from pre-existent materials is 'creation'. Indeed, the word 'khalaqa' may be used figuratively to express the arising in the mind of man of any idea or conception. 'Ye only worship idols besides God, and forge a lie (literally, create a lie) [Suratu'l-'Ankabut (xxix) 16]. That the idea of 'creation', as the word is employed in the Qur'an, does not mean creation in the strict sense of the word, that is, the making of something out of nothing, is also borne out by those passages in which the verb 'ansha'a' (to produce) is employed to describe what we would expect more particularly to be described by the terns 'khalaqa'. For example, in Suratu Ya Sin (xxxvi) 79, we find, 'He shall restore them to life who produced them (Ansha'aha) the first time: for He is skilful in every (kind of) creation.' And this is further supported by the fact that in many passages in the Qur'an the creation of man is spoken of in connexion with the resurrection, which is regarded as being, in a

certain sense, a 'second creation' [cf. (xxii) 5, and many other passages].

This conception of 'creation', and this use of the word 'to create' must ever be kept in mind in studying the Qur'an and its teaching concerning the relation of God to His universe. Want of attention to this distinction in the use of this and similar words in the Qur'an has been the cause of much misunderstanding on the part of Muhammadan theologians and of western writers on Muhammadanism.

Again, the idea of 'creation' which is found in the Qur'an does not dispense with means and processes. Creation is no magic art. It is, when used to describe the acts of God, simply the accomplishment of an omnipotent will directed by omniscience. That the purpose of the omnipotent will is worked out by means and methods does not, in the eyes of Muhammad, detract from the majesty and grandeur of the act, or from the unsearchableness of its manner of occurrence, which awes and humbles the human mind when it contemplates the result.

We are here somewhat forestalling the results of our study of the teaching of the Qur'an on the creation of the individual members of the human race. What we have said will, however, be seen to be fully borne out by those passages which speak of the creation of Adam's descendants.

It might, at first sight, be thought that such passages as, Suratu Ali 'Imran (iii) 42, or Suratu'l-Qamar (liv) 49 militate against this conception of creation. In the former of these two passages we read, 'So God createth that which He pleaseth: when He decreeth a thing, He