attributes to God the power not only to create, but
also to create again. The resurrection of the dead is
portrayed as a new creation (Q 17:49–51).
The concept of creation by emanation was an
alternative belief expressed in later Islamic writ-
ings, but not in the Quran. It first developed in
pre-Islamic times among mystics known as Gnos-
tics and Neoplatonist philosophers. Both groups
exercised a profound impact on the religions of
the Middle East, especially among Christians
after the third century, and later among Muslims.
According to this belief, the manifest universe is
the product of a series of emanations issuing like
waves of light from a single absolute source or
godhead. In Islam, this belief was embraced by
illuminationist philosophers inspired by ibn sina
(d. 1037), mystics who followed the ideas of ibn
al-arabi (d. 1240), and certain schools of Shii eso-
teric thought, especially Iranian ones. Many who
supported this belief quoted a famous holy hadith
(hadith qudsi), in which God declares, “I was a
hidden treasure that desired to be known, then
I created the world so that I would be known.”
The infinite, eternal, unmanifest God desired to
become self-aware, so he created a cosmos that
reflected to a greater or lesser degree his attri-
butes. In other words, the universe was created as
God’s mirror. The human being was the highest
being in God’s creation because he, like God, was
capable of self-awareness and most fully reflected
his attributes, especially in the inner heart. With
knowledge of this hidden reality, Sufis believed
they could free themselves from the prison of the
created world, overcome the veils that separated
them from God, and return to the condition of
primal unity with him. They embellished this con-
cept with a doctrine of mystical love, saying that
God created the universe out of love, that human
existence was a painful separation from him,
and that sUFism provided the key for attaining a
reunion of the lover with the divine beloved. Also,
many followers of this school of mysticism con-
ceived of mUhammad as the most perfect human
being, created by God’s light at the beginning of
time, and through him the rest of creation became
possible. According to a 16th-century Hindavi
mystical poem written in northern india, “This
lamp of creation was named Muhammad! For him
the Deity fashioned the universe.... His name
is Muhammad, king of the three worlds. He was
the inspiration for creation” (Manjhan 5). More-
over, in india, the Islamic emanationist theory of
creation assimilated aspects of Hindu cosmology,
so that God was spoken of as a Hindu god: the
unmanifest Brahma, Vishnu the preserver of the
universe, and Shiva the destroyer of the universe.
His ability to create by speech was identified with
the sacred Hindu mantra of creation, Om.
Today Muslims hold to quranic and emana-
tionist beliefs about creation as matters of faith.
But many are also familiar with scientific theories
of cosmogony and the origin of humans. While
there are those who reject modern scientific theo-
ries, many have accepted them without feeling
that they undermine quranic truths. Indeed, Mus-
lim modernist thinkers in the tradition of sayyid
ahmad khan (d. 1898), Jamal al-din al-aFghani
(d. 1897), and mUhammad abdUh (d. 1905) have
sought to demonstrate not only that Islamic
beliefs are compatible with Western science, but
that medieval Muslim scholars actually contrib-
uted to the formation of modern science. Associa-
tions and institutes of Islamic science have arisen
that seek to demonstrate how Quranic cosmology
is compatible with modern scientific theories
about creation and other scientific topics.
See also aya; idolatry; names oF god; perFect
man; soUl and spirit.Further reading: Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Quran
and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light
of Modern Knowledge. Translated by Alastair D. Pannell
and Maurice Bucaille (Indianapolis: American Trust
Publications, 1979); Jan Knappert, Islamic Legends: His-
tories of the Heroes, Saints and Prophet of Islam. 2 vols.
(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1985), 1:23–41; Manjhan, Madhum-
alati: An Indian Sufi Romance (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2000); Thomas J. O’Shaughnessy, Creation andcreation 173 J