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wa-la-qad khalaqnā s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa wa-mā baynahumā fī sittati ʾayyāmin wa-mā massanā min lughūbin
Certainly We created the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, in six days, and any fatigue did not touch Us.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Qaf - Verse 38
38. And verily We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days and nothing of pain or fatigue touched Us.
There are secrets and acts of wisdom in the creation of creatures in time, but neither frailty nor fatigue may penetrate Divine Omnipotence. If God Almighty wills, He may create all things in one single moment. Thus, the blessed Verse in question says:
“And verily We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days and nothing of pain or fatigue touched Us.”
The Arabic word lughub designates fatigue and weariness. It goes without saying that a being with limited power and strength will be encompassed with fatigue and weariness if it exerts itself beyond its limit, but such thing is not applicable to the Being whose Omnipotence is infinite. Therefore, the Being Who is Able to create the enormous heavens and the earth with so many planets and galaxies is Able to give life anew to man following his death.
A number of Qur’anic exegets make mention of an occasion of Revelation for the blessed Verse in question saying that Jews imagined that God Almighty created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on Saturday and put one leg on the other as a consequence of which they regard such posture solely belongs to God Almighty and human beings are not supposed to assume such posture. Thus, the blessed Verse in question was revealed and put an end to such hilarious superstitions.15
However, such occasion of Revelation is not inconsistent with the question of Resurrection treated herein. It also serves as an argument substantiating Unity, Omniscience, and Omnipotence of God Almighty Who created the heavens and the earth with so many wonders and billions of living creatures and wondrous secrets and orders. Reflection upon one instance of creation may lead us toward the Omnipotent Creator Whose Omnipotence has set this enormous wheel to motion and has shed the light of life everywhere.
The motif of the creation of the heavens and the earth in ‘six days’ is repeatedly mentioned in Qur’anic Verses. The Arabic word yawm, as mentioned above, denotes ‘day’ but it connotes ‘era’ in many an instance rather than the twenty four hour span of time. For instance, it is said:
“One day [once] people lived under the auspices of the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) and another day, the tyrannous Umayyads and ‘Abbasids wielded sway.”
It goes without saying that ‘day’ in such expressions connotes span of time be it one year, one hundred, thousands, or millions of years. For instance, it is said the globe was set ablaze one day and it became cold the other day, ready to accommodate life. All these expressions make a reference to spans of time. Therefore, the blessed Verse in question reflects that God Almighty created the heavens, the earth, and all creatures in six spans of time. Thus, there remains no room for the question as per which there were no days and nights prior to the creation of the sun and the earth so that Creator of the world could be Able to create it in six days.
Footnotes