Religious views on the Creation of the world

• The Muslim perspective on the created world
• The christian perspective on the created world
• The Jewish perspective on the created world
• The Hindu Perspective on the created world
• The Buddhist perspective on the created world
• The Sikh perspective on the created world

The creation and the sustaining of the world- The Creator

• The quran followed by the Hadith and the sunnah of the prophet (saw) affirm that God is the creator and has power over all.
• The descriptions of the creation in the quran are not intended as dry historical accounts, but rather, to engage the reader in contemplating the lessons to be learned from.
• F.M Denny- in Islam, God is the ultimate holder of dominion over the created world and ultimately all this are returned to him.

• "Verily in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves, and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are signs for those of assured faith. And in the alternation of night and day, and that fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are signs for those who are wise" (45:3-5).

The creation and the sustaining of the world- The Big Bang

• When describing the creation of the "heavens and the earth," the Qur'an does not discount the theory of a "Big Bang" explosion at the start of it all.
•  In fact, the Qur'an says that "the heavens and the earth were joined together as one unit, before We clove them asunder" (21:30). Following this big explosion, Allah "turned to the sky, and it had been (as) smoke. He said to it and to the earth: 'Come together, willingly or unwillingly.' They said: 'We come (together) in willing obedience'" (41:11). 
• the elements and what was to become the planets and stars began to cool, come together, and form into shape, following the natural laws that Allah established in the universe.

• The Qur'an further states that Allah created the sun, the moon, and the planets, each with their own individual courses or orbits. "It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course" (21:33).

The creation and the sustaining of the world- The Six Days

• The Qur'an states that "Allah created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days" (7:54). - this might seem similar to the account related in the Bible, there are some important distinctions.
• The verses that mention "six days" use the Arabic word "youm" (day). This word appears several other times in the Qur'an, each denoting a different measurement of time. In one case, the measure of a day is equated with '50,000 years' (70:4), whereas another verse states that "a day in the sight of your Lord is like 1,000 years of your reckoning" (22:47). The word "youm" is thus understood, within the Qur'an, to be a long period of time.
• Therefore, Muslims interpret the description of a "six day" creation as six distinct periods. The length of these periods is not precisely defined, nor are the specific developments that took place during each period.

The creation and the sustaining of the world- The Six Days Cont.

• After completing the Creation, the Qur'an describes that Allah "settled Himself upon the Throne" (57:4) to oversee His work. 
• Allah is never"done"with His work, because the process of creation is ongoing. Each new child who is born, every seed that sprouts into a sapling, every new species that appears on earth, is part of the ongoing process of Allah's creation.
• "He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself on the Throne. He knows what enters within the heart of the earth, and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven, and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees well all that you do" (57:4).

The creation and the sustaining of the world- Life came from Water

• The Qur'an describes that Allah "made from water every living thing" (21:30). Another verse describes how "Allah has created every animal from water. Of them are some that creep on their bellies, some that walk on two legs, and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills, for truly Allah has power over all things" (24:45). These verses support the scientific theory that life began in the Earth's oceans.

The creation and the sustaining of the world- Creation of Adam & Eve

• While Islam recognizes the general idea of the development of life in stages, over a period of time, human beings are considered as a special act of creation.
• Islam teaches that human beings are a unique life form that was created by Allah in a special way, with unique gifts and abilities unlike any other creatures. These gifts and abilities are soul, conscience, knowledge, and free will.
• In short, Muslims do not believe that human beings randomly evolved from apes, they believe that the life of human beings began with the creation of two people, a male and a female named Adam and Hawwa (Eve).
• The Qur'an describes how Allah created Adam: "We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape..." (15:26). And, "He began the creation of man from clay, and made his progeny from a quintessence of fluid" (32:7-8). 

The creation and the sustaining of the world- Creation of Adam & Eve cont.

• While the creation of Eve is not described in detail, the Qur'an does make it clear that a "mate" was created with Adam, from the same nature and soul. "It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her in love" (7:189). 
• She is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, but in Islamic tradition she is known as "Hawwa" (Eve).
• From these two individuals, generations of human beings have inhabited the earth. "Oh humankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know each other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured among you in the sight of Allah is the who is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)" (49:13).

The status of the Non-Human World

• Creation is a sign of God's existance and his power over all.
• The diversity (different) and complexity of creation reflects in many ways God's power, wisdom and Majesty. 
• The Universe and its various elements fulfill human welfare and are evidence of the creator's greatness.
• God has created and determined all things in the world and there is not a thing that he has created but glorifies God.

“Have you not seen that God is glorified by all in the heavens and on the earth - such as the birds with wings outspread?  Each knows its worship and glorification, and God is aware of what they do.” ( 24:41) This implies that All the creations in the heavens such as the angels, all the creations on earth, such as animals, insects, fishes, plants etc. and all the creations of the air such as birds, all praise Allah. where each has its own mode of prayer and praise which is not expressed in human language, but with the actions and other modes of self expression.

The status of the Non-Human World-cont.

• Over 200 verses in the Qur'an deal with animals and six chapters of the Qur'an are named after the animals.
• It is forbidden to beat animals unnecessarily, to brand them on the face, or to allow them to fight each other for human entertainment. "They must not be mutilated while they are alive." (Hadith)
• Not only animals that should not be destroyed but all God's Creation. There are many signs of Allah in this world, these signs are Gods Creation and the destruction (Destroying/bad treatment) of the signs of God is a destruction of the things that show God's Greatness.
• "Verily in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves, and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are signs for those of assured faith. And in the alternation of night and day, and that fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are signs for those who are wise" (45:3-5)