Quick or slow creation
The Quranic quotes used were....
Quran 7:54
"Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, ..."
VS.
Quran 2:117
"The Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: "Be!" And it is." First of all I would like to ask a question. When God said, "Be And it is", were the heavens and the earth instantly created in COMPLETE/FINISHED FORM or were they instantly created in INITIAL/FOUNDATIONAL/BEGINNING FORM? I think this is a good question to start with! The major problem with the Christians(Mr.Katz) claims is that he seems to think that the divine command (Be, And it is) means instantaneous and "complete" creation of the heavens and the earth. Mr. Katz said while speaking of 2:117: "Does this aya not say that God creates instantaneous? Does this really leave room for billions of years of development?" Mr. Katz thinks Ayah 2:117 says the heavens and the earth are fully developed at this point! Mr. Katz's also tries to figure out the "speed" of Gods creation and this is where he is lacking in understanding, the Quran mentions nothing about the "speed" of Gods creation in verse 2:117. Concerning this verse he said: "Yet the Qur'an makes another statement about the speed of Allah's creation:" He is wrong! Here I would like to thank you Osama as you mentioned correctly t! hat the Arabic "Kun Fayaku'n" (Be And it is) also translates as (Be and it happens). I agree !!!
My point is, even if "Be And it is" means "instantaneous"(I have no problem with this), there is still no contradiction in the Quran because this does not mean the heavens and the earth were instantly created IN FULL/FINISHED OR COMPLETED FORM!!! NO, as a SW (a Muslim) also said in his response............. "the following definition of word [Be] in American Heritage Dictionary:
....."1. Used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice: The mayoral election is held annually. 2. Used with the present participle of a verb to express a continuing action: We are working to improve housing conditions...."
This is also my point, that "Be And it is" means simply God is starting, or commencing/initiating/beginning His creation, which would be a continuing creation. The creation of the heavens and the earth are instantly started here but not completed yet. Yes Gods command is instantaneous but the completion of the heavens and the earth was to follow much later, as the earth formed by Gods power and evolved and adapted into what we know it today, possibly billions of years later(God knows His plans). This is not to say that the heavens and the earth did not obey God by creating much later, God simply decreed it that way(and I am not saying the heavens and the earth created itself, God did!!). So yes the command (Be And it is) is instantaneous and the commencing of the creation of the heavens and the earth is instantaneous but the final completion of the world was much later(SIX PERIODS LATER 7:54).
The problem with Katz is that he thinks that when God said "Be And it is" the heavens and the earth were not only formed but were also TOTALLY COMPLETED AND FINISHED/DEVELOPED(this is pure speculation on his part), the Quran does not say that at all!! It was formed instantaneously but not instantly created in its completed form!! Or in other words, not instantaneously formed as complete(we see this by comparing other verses on the subject in the Quran, just like 7:54 which says, "6 days"). Some additional thoughts...... One can also ponder the verse 2:117 again, "The Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: "Be!" And it is!" The word Originate also means: "to come or bring into existence, begin" (Webster's Dictionary of Modern English p.374, 1987). We see here that to originate does not necessarily mean "to complete", but rather "to begin". Something can "exist"(i.e. earth) without being complete!
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