6-8 days of creation rebuttal

[ThatMuslimGuy]

AsalamuAlaikum,

I found an awesome rebuttal on Islamqa by a scholar. It should be added to the rebuttal section insha'Allah.

Source:
http://islamqa.info/en/ref/31865/heaven%20and%20earth


Praise be to Allaah. 
This is an issue which confuses some people, and some of them think that Allaah created the heavens and the earth in eight days as Allaah says in Soorah Fussilat (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): Do you verily disbelieve in Him Who created the earth in two Days? And you set up rivals (in worship) with Him? That is the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists).

He placed therein (i.e. the earth) firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance (for its dwellers) in four Days equal (i.e. all these four ‘days’ were equal in the length of time) for all those who ask (about its creation).

Then He rose over (Istawa) towards the heaven when it was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: ‘Come both of you willingly or unwillingly.’ They both said: ‘We come willingly.’

Then He completed and finished from their creation (as) seven heavens in two Days and He made in each heaven its affair. And We adorned the nearest (lowest) heaven with lamps (stars) to be an adornment as well as to guard (from the devils by using them as missiles against the devils). Such is the Decree of Him, the All-Mighty, the All-Knower”

[Fussilat 41:9-12]

because this seems to contradict the other verse which says that He created them in six days.

This is a misunderstanding, and the answer to it is as follows:

There is no contradiction between the time period mentioned in these verses and the other verse which says that it was six days.

In these verses – from Soorah Fussilat – we see that Allaah is telling us that He “created the earth in two Days”. 

Then He “placed therein (i.e. the earth) firm mountains from above it, and He blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance (for its dwellers)” in four days equal– i.e., in two days that were added to the two days in which He created the earth, so the total is four days.  It does not say that the creation of the mountains and the measuring of the sustenance took four days.

Perhaps the confusion which is mentioned in the question stems from this, i.e., from thinking that the four days are added to the two days in which the earth was created, equaling six, and then adding the two days in which the heavens were created (“Then He completed and finished from their creation (as) seven heavens in two Days”) – making a total of eight days, not six days. But this confusion can be dispelled by dealing with this mistaken notion.  So the earth was created in two days, and the mountains were created and the sustenance measured in two more days which makes a total of four, i.e., this took the other two days. Then the creation of the seven heavens took two days. So the total is six days of the Days of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.

The mufassireen commented on this fact which deals with the mistaken notion. Al-Qurtubi said:

“in four days” – this is like someone saying, “I set out from Basra to Baghdad in ten days and to Kufa in fifteen days, i.e., a total time of fifteen days.” (al-Jaami’ li Ahkaam al-Qur’aan, vol. 15, p. 343).

Al-Baghawi said: “in four days” means the creation of what is in the earth. The measuring of the sustenance was on Tuesday and Wednesday, which along with Sunday and Monday add up to four days. This is like saying “I married a woman yesterday and today I married two” – one of whom is the woman whom he married the day before.

Tafseer al-Baghawi, 7/165

Al-Zajjaaj said: “in four days” means two days added to the previous two days.

Al-Kashshaaf, vol. 3, p. 444

These verses – from Soorah Fussilat – confirm the other verse, which says that the creation of the heavens and the earth was completed in six days. So there is no contradiction concerning the period in which Allaah created the heavens and the earth. There cannot be any such contradictions in the Qur’aan..

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A



 

[FARHAN_UDDIN]

Excellent, Brother

[ThatMuslimGuy]

They also deal with another issue.

Was iblis an angel or jinn?

Source:
http://islamqa.info/en/ref/8976/iblis

Praise be to Allah.

Iblis – may Allah curse him – is one of the jinn. He was not an angel for a single day, not even for an instant. The angels were created noble; they never disobey Allah when He commands them to do something and they do what they are commanded. This is clearly stated in the Quranic texts which indicate that Iblis is one of the jinn and not one of the angels. These texts include the following:

 1.                     Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And (remember) when We said to the angels: “Prostrate yourselves unto Adam.” So they prostrated themselves except Iblis (Satan). He was one of the jinn; he disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you then take him (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you? What an evil is the exchange for the Zalimoon (polytheists, and wrongdoers, etc).” [18:50]

 2.                     Allah stated that He created the jinn from fire, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire” [15:27]

“And the jinn He created from a smokeless flame of fire” [55:15]

And it was narrated in a saheeh hadeeth (authentic report) that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.” [Muslim, Ahmad, al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hibban].

One of the attributes of the angels is that they were created from light, and the jinn were created from fire. It was mentioned in the Quran that Iblis – may Allah curse him – was created from fire. This is what Iblis himself said when Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, asked him the reason for his refusal to prostrate to Adam when Allah commanded him to do so. He – may Allah curse him – said:

“ ‘I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay.’” [7:12, 38:76 – interpretation of the meaning]. This indicates that he was one of the jinn.

 3.            Allah has described the angels in His Book, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.” [66:6]

“And they say: ‘The Most Gracious (Allah) has begotten a son (or children).’ Glory to Him! They [whom they call children of Allah i.e. the angels, ‘Isa (Jesus) son of Maryam, ‘Uzair (Ezra)], are but honoured slaves. They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His command.” [21:26-27]

“And to Allah prostrate all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, of the moving (living) creatures and the angels, and they are not proud [i.e. they worship their Lord (Allah) with humility]. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.” [16:49-50]

So it is not possible for the angels to disobey their Lord, because they are protected from sin and they are naturally inclined to obey Allah.

4.                     The fact that Iblis is not one of the angels means that he is not compelled to obey Allah. He has freedom of will just as we humans do. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.” [76:3]

There are also Muslims and kafirs (non-Muslims) among the jinn. It says in Soorat al-Jinn (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘It has been revealed to me that a group (from three to ten in number) of jinn listened (to this Quran). They said: ‘Verily, we have heard a wonderful Recitation (this Quran)! It guides to the right path, and we have believed therein, and we shall never join (in worship) anything with our Lord (Allah).’” [72:1-2]

In the same soorah (chapter), it states that the jinn said:

“‘And indeed when we heard the Guidance (this Quran), we believed therein (Islamic Monotheism), and whosoever believes in his Lord shall have no fear, either of a decrease in the reward of his good deeds or an increase in the punishment for his sins.  And of us some are Muslims (who have submitted to Allah, after listening to this Quran), and of us some are Al‑Qasitoon (disbelievers those who have deviated from the right path)…” [72:13-14]

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his exegesis:

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: Iblis was not one of the angels, not even for a single moment. He is the father of the jinn, just as Adam (peace be upon him) is the father of mankind. This was narrated by al-Tabari with a saheeh isnad (authentic chain).

[ThatMuslimGuy]

Zakir Naiks rebuttals the best mash'Allah.

Source:

http://www.irf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=479%3Aiblis-angel-or-jinn&catid=72%3Amcq-who-have-some-knowledge-about-islam&Itemid=199

Iblis - Angel or Jinn?
Question
The Qur'an in several places says that Iblis was an angel, but in Surah Kahf it says that Iblis was a Jinn. Isn't this a contradiction in the Qur'an?

Answer
1.    Incidence of Iblis and Angels mentioned in the Qur'an
The story of Adam and Iblis is mentioned in the Qur'an in various places in which Allah (swt) says, "We said to the angels bow down to Adam: and they bowed down: not so Iblis".

This is mentioned in:

Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2 verse 43
Surah Al Araf chapter 7 verse 17
Surah Al Hijr chapter 15 verses 28-31
Surah Al Isra chapter 17 verse 61
Surah Ta Ha chapter 20 verse 116
Surah Sad chapter 38 verses 71-74

But in Surah Al Kahf chapter 18 verse 50 the Qur'an says:

"Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam." they bowed down except Iblis He was one of the Jinns."
[Al-Qur'an 18:50]

2.    Arabic Rule Of Tagleeb

The English translation of the first part of the verse - We said to the angels bow down to Adam: they bowed down except Iblis, gives us the impression that Iblis was an angel. The Qur'an was revealed in Arabic. In Arabic grammar there is a rule known as Tagleeb, according to which, if the majority is addressed, even the minority is included. If for example, I address a class containing 100 students of whom 99 are boys and one is a girl, and if I say in Arabic that the boys should stand up, it includes the girl as well. I need not mention her seperately.

Similarly in the Qur'an, when Allah addressed the angels, even Iblis was present, but it is not required that he be mentioned separately. Therefore according to that sentence Iblis may be an angel or may not be an angel, but we come to know from Surah Al Kahf chapter 18 verse 50 that Iblis was a Jinn. No where does the Qur'an say Iblis was an angel. Therefore there is no contradiction in the Qur'an.

3.    Jinns have free will and can disobey Allah

Secondly, Jinns have a free will and may or may not obey Allah, but angels have no free will and always obey Allah. Therefore the question of an angel disobeying Allah does not arise. This further supplements that Iblis was a Jinn and not an angel.