At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Global / Diaspora
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Summary
The human maker and the mould
He compares human craft with God's making: a maker needs a mould into which the material is poured, and cannot reach perfect likeness. Creation from Adam to the Hour came by command, not by a mould. 1
Distinctness within likeness
Sha'rawi notes that each person has a fingerprint, a voice print, a smell and a bodily code by which the body recognises its own cells, which tell one person from another, and reads this difference as a sign of God's full power. 2 He says that resurrection restores each person with the same elements and form he had in this life. 5
Senses of qada'
Limits of this block
These are Sha'rawi's views alone. The positions of exegetes and theologians on «be», qada' and qadar, the academic view and other views are not yet entered.
Opinions on the question
The question: How is creation by the word «be» understood, given that created beings are alike yet differ, and what does qada' mean?
First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
Creation is by command without a mould; likeness in form with difference between persons
Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi
More opinions (2)
Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
Qada' has several meanings, unified by judgment; the matter exists in God's knowledge before it appears
Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi
Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
Classical positions on power, creation and qada' are not yet entered from a source
Connections
- Based on
- Qur'an 2:117
People and things also explored
The people of the qibla and not declaring takfir for sin· The hereafter: the grave, resurrection and reckoning· Islamic eschatology· Reason and heart· The Throne (al-Arsh)· Al-din al-qayyim (the upright religion)· Absolute unseen (al-ghayb al-mutlaq)· God's sovereignty and human ownership (al-mulk wal-tamalluk)
Sources
- Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.549
- Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.550
- Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.552
- Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.553
- Sha'rawi's Tafsir (al-Khawatir), scanned copy , p.551
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “«Be, and it is» (kun fa-yakun): creation by command, not by a mould”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-kun-fa-yakun/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.