Al-A‘rāf 7:54
The verse
Lo! your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then mounted He the Throne. He covereth the night with the day, which is in haste to follow it, and hath made the sun and the moon and the stars subservient by His command. His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds! — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
The verse describes the attribute of Allah that he has the right to create and command.
Based on this idea, the linguists said that the words of Allah are ancient (eternal),
not caused (or created). They declared that Allah “distinguished between creating and
commanding, and if the commanding was created, it would not be right to make a
distinction between the two.”
Traditional Sunnī scholars rejected this opinion. Therefore, a theological discussion
arose concerning the essence and nature of Allah’s word. This discussion can be found
in al-Rāzī’s commentary.
This verse is an example that shows the lack of clear vision regarding
the absolute oneness of Allah as portrayed in the Qur’ān.
Arabic text of this item
تقول الآية عن اللهَ إن <لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالأَمْرُ>، فتضع تمييزاً بين الخلق والأمر، وقد سمحت هذه الآية لأصحاب علم الكلام بالقول إن كلام الله قديم لا محدث، وإن الله «ميّز بين الخَلْقِ وبين الأَمْرِ، ولو كان الأمْرُ مخلُوقاً لما صحّ التمييز». وقد رفض أهل السنة هذه المقولة، فنشأت عن العبارة القرآنية مناقشة لاهوتية بخصوص كلام الله تجدها في تفسير الرازي.
إن الآية مثال على عدم صفاء تصور وحدانية الله في القرآن.
Sources cited
- الرازي 14: 128 -132.