Creation of the world: beginnings, dependence, and renewal

For instance, it is said in the Old Testament that certain things were created in the first day. The narrative shows that at that time the sun was not yet created. How could we conceive of a day if no sun existed in the heavens? For the day depends upon the light of the sun. Inasmuch as the sun had not been made, how could the first day be realized? Therefore, these statements have significances other than literal.

As regards thine assertions about the beginning of creation, this is a matter on which conceptions vary by reason of the divergences in men's thoughts and opinions. Wert thou to assert that it hath ever existed and shall continue to exist, it would be true; or wert thou to affirm the same concept as is mentioned in the sacred Scriptures, no doubt would there be about it, for it hath been revealed by God, the Lord of the worlds.

The world of existence is contingent, inasmuch as it is preceded by a cause, while essential preexistence hath ever been, and shall remain, confined to God, magnified be His glory. This statement is being made lest one be inclined to conclude from the earlier assertion, namely that creation hath no beginning and no end, that it is preexistent. True and essential preexistence is exclusively reserved to God, while the preexistence of the world is secondary and relative.

As for what was asked about creation, know that creation hath ever been and shall ever be. No beginning can be imagined for its beginning, nor any end for its ending. The name "Creator" itself requireth a creation, just as the name "Lord" necessiteth that which is lorded over.

Question: What is the nature of the connection between God and His creation, between the Absolute and Inaccessible One and all other beings?

Answer: The connection between God and His creation is that of the originator and the originated, of the sun and the dark bodies of the universe, of the craftsman and his handiwork.

As to what thou asked about the beginning of creation, know that the True One has always existed and creation has always existed - there is no beginning for the True One and no beginning for creation. This refers to physical bodies in the contingent world. However, the "beginning" mentioned in the Holy Books refers to the beginning of Manifestation, and "creation" refers to the second spiritual birth, as Christ said, "Ye must be born again."

What is intended by the creation of heaven and earth in six days is a spiritual creation and a divine day, as prior to the creation of this heaven and earth there were no days and nights.

Creation is good. "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good."

All things proceed from God and unto Him they return. He is the source of all things and in Him all things are ended.

The Creator of all is One God. From this same God all creation sprang into existence, and He is the one goal, towards which everything in nature yearns.

God is the Creator. The word creator presupposes or connotes creation. … If we should say that there was a time in past ages when God was not possessed of His creation or that there was a beginning for the world, it would be a denial of creation and the Creator.

Among the bounties of God is revelation. Hence revelation is progressive and continuous.

The divine sovereignty is an ancient sovereignty, not an accidental sovereignty.

If we imagine this world of existence has a beginning, we can say the divine sovereignty is accidental -- that is, there was a time when it did not exist.

The Kingdom of God is pre-existent and, since He is the Creator, without doubt He has always had a creation.

Then he became serious, and said: "All these majestic scenes of nature, in reality, prove the greatness of the Creator and the antiquity of the world. This globe is indeed millions of years old, and its Creator has had no beginning and will have no ending. He has been, is and will be the Alpha and Omega. A creator presupposes creatures, just as light presupposes the existence of the sun."

Baha'u'llah, the Blessed Perfection, the Greatest Light of the present time, attributes the preexistence in time of God before the world to the logical preexistence of the causal relationship of God to the world; or in other words: Baha'u'llah ties the idea of emanation of the philosophers and learned to the idea of creation of the prophets and founders of religion. He reconciles and unites science and faith, recognition and will; knowledge and ability; wish and accomplishment.

… God did not create the world out of nothing. The early Christian church teachers have spoken in incorrect interpretation of the bible, of a "creatio ex nihilo", that is "creation of out nothing". That is an error.

Similarly the wise and reflecting soul will know of a certainty that this infinite universe with all its grandeur and perfect order could not have come to exist by itself.

The change in the outward form of the smallest thing proves the existence of a creator: Then how could this vast, boundless universe have created itself and come to exist solely through the mutual interaction of the elements?

Furthermore, it is a philosophical principle that the existence of phenomena implies composition and that mortality, or nonexistence, is equivalent to decomposition.

… Then what have we left as a form of composition? It is the voluntary form of composition, which means that composition is effected through a superior will, that there is will expressed in this motive or action. It is thus proved that the existence of phenomena is effected through the eternal Will, the Will of the Living, Eternal and Self-subsistent, and this is a rational proof concerning composition whereof there is no doubt or uncertainty.

When we look upon all forms of phenomena we observe that they are the results of composition. For example, certain single atoms are brought together through the inherent law of elective affinity existing between these various particles, the result of which is the human being. A number of primordial atoms have gone into the makeup of a plant, the result of which is the flower.

This universe is not created through the fortuitous concurrences of atoms; it is created by a great law which decrees that the tree bring forth certain definite fruit.

Do we not see the signs and traces of God - the Unknowable, primal Cause - scattered all about us? Are not these "effects" sufficient reason to demonstrate to us that there is behind all of them, a Creative Cause?

In the creation and the preservation of the world, God is the sole Cause, all that happens in the world derives from Him, originally and continuously.

Nature did not originate of itself - by accident, - but it sprang from a divine act of creation.

It is therefore evident that the original matter, which is like unto the embryo, initially took the form of composed and combined elements, and that composition gradually grew and developed over a myriad ages and centuries, passing from one shape and form to another, until through the consummate wisdom of God it appeared with such completeness, order, arrangement and soundness.

The material philosophers insist upon their belief, and the divine philosophers reply: "Is this terrestrial globe eternal or was it originated?" The material philosophers answer that, according to well-established scientific findings, it is proven to be originated; that in the beginning it was a molten sphere and gradually became temperate; that a crust was formed around it; and that upon this crust plants came into being, then animals, and finally man.

This world is the plane of creation and disintegration. The process never stops: On one side it creates new people, and on the other it destroys what she has created. The world will not grow tired.

When thou dost contemplate creation, thou wilt observe the signs of ancient wisdom and power. "God hath perfected the creation of all things."

Thou art that Omnipotent One Who through a single word hath fashioned the heavens and the earth and caused them to be the emblems of Thy Might, Thy Power and Thy Majesty; of Thy Grace, Thy Bounty and Thy Generosity, that the possessors of vision may behold the signs of Thy power and greatness in all things and bear witness to Thy grandeur.

All the saplings of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being.

A drop of the billowing ocean of His endless mercy hath adorned all creation with the ornament of existence, and a breath wafted from His peerless Paradise hath invested all beings with the robe of His sanctity and glory. A sprinkling from the unfathomed deep of His sovereign and all-pervasive Will hath, out of utter nothingness, called into being a creation which is infinite in its range and deathless in its duration. The wonders of His bounty can never cease, and the stream of His merciful grace can never be arrested.

He hath brought creation into being from nothing, caused existence to exist from naught, made things from no-thing, created innovation without basis, and originated origination without means - all as a token of His wisdom's handiwork and as proof of His Lordship's craft.

The philosophers' statement that the cause of things is the Essence is false due to impossibility of association, change, and the requirement of similarity between cause and effect. The truth is that Causation is the handiwork of God -- the act which He hath wrought by Himself for Himself -- and He hath made it the cause of all His creation; even as the Imam hath indicated: "The cause of all things is His workmanship, while He Himself hath no cause."

Praise be to God Who originated creation without any prior origination, Who invented invention without any prior invention, then placed destiny as an isthmus between them for its geometry.

There was no cause for Thy creation save Thy bringing it into being, and no reason for Thy invention save Thy origination of it.

Thou art the Everlasting Sovereign and the Eternal, Self-Subsisting Lord Who hath originated creation through Thy Will, an origination without previous example in the realm of possibility. Then Thou hast established all things in the path of Command and the manifestations of the Seal, that all atoms in their essential stations might know what Thou didst will in the station of origination and ordain in the decree of invention.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou art the Creator of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them by Thy command, not through any means, and Thou art the Fashioner of all things by Thy command, not through any instrument.

Verily, Thou art the Creator of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them by Thy command, not from anything. And verily Thou art the Fashioner of all things by Thy command, not from anything. Thou hast ever been, existing before all things, and Thou wilt ever be, existing after all things, and Thou art at all times the Maker of all things.

From everlasting Thou hast been God -- One, Single, Self-Subsisting, Unique, Living, Ever-Abiding. Thou hast taken unto Thyself neither consort nor child; Thou hast had no partner in what Thou hast created, nor any helper in what Thou hast wrought. Thou didst rear up the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them out of nothing, by Thy command; then didst Thou create the creation of all things through Thy power, and didst provide sustenance for the creation of all things through Thy will.

Thou art He Who hath brought all things into being out of nothing, and hath upheld all things with nothing; Who hath sent down the stations of all things through Thy power; Who hath made known all things through the risings of Thy power; and Who hath caused all things to witness the settings of Thine eternity -- so that nothing may be veiled from Thy dawning-place.

Thou didst create all things from nothing by Thy power, and provided for all in the kingdom of command and creation by Thy will. Thou didst cause to die whom Thou didst will among Thy creation by Thy might, and didst give life to whom Thou didst desire among the dwellers of Thy heaven and earth by Thy mercy and the sublimity of Thy grandeur.

Thou hast created all things by Thy power and ordained them by Thine ordinance, and Thou hast formed all things by Thy will and fashioned them by Thy forming.

Verily Thou art the Creator of all things and their Ordainer, the Provider of all things and their Fashioner, the One Who causeth all things to die and bringeth them into being, Who giveth life to all things and taketh account of them.

No being hath place within the court of His holiness; He is exalted above the qualities of whatsoever is beneath Him. By the manifestation of His might and His dominion He hath brought the contingent world into being from utter nothingness through His Will; and through its six effulgent emanations He hath so irradiated all atoms that they shine with the light of His invention, yearn to behold the vesture of the beauty of His Countenance, and stand in awe before the justice of His decree.

Thou didst create the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them in truth, and didst favor them that know Thee with Thy knowledge.

This is God, your Lord, and unto Him shall ye return. Is there any doubt concerning God? He hath created you and all things. The Lord of all worlds is He.

His is the creation and the command, in the past and in the future. He giveth life and causeth death, then causeth death and giveth life, and verily He is the Ever-Living Who dieth not.

He it is Who createth what He willeth through His command "Be" and it is. He it is Who determineth the measures of all things in the Book.

… Say: God giveth life and causeth death, then causeth death and giveth life, and ye have no god but God, the Lord of all the worlds.

… He originateth creation, then causeth it to return. Will ye not see?

The likeness of creation before God is as the likeness of Our Command: when We will a thing, We but say unto it "Be!" and it is -- thus recorded in God's Praised Book round about the Fire.

… "Dost thou disbelieve in Him Who created thee from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man with limits?"

… Verily God created Joseph and his brethren in the realms of holiness from a sprinkling upon a name from the drop of creation, from that water brought into being.

Splendor belongs to God alone, who ordains the creation of all things by His command "Be" and it is. Splendor and beauty belong to God alone, the creator of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lies between them, the Lord of the worlds.

He is the One Who calleth into being whatsoever He willeth through His command "Be" and it is. This is God, your Lord. His is the creation and the command.

Praise be to God Who created the heavens and the earth and what lies between them by His command "Be!" and it is.

Know thou, moreover, that He it is Who hath, by His own behest, created all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth.

It is He Who hath called into being the whole of creation, Who hath caused every created thing to spring forth at His behest.

Say: God is the Creator of all things, and We, verily, are witness unto this. Say: God is the Provider of all things, and We, verily, are cognizant of this. Say: God is the Quickener of all things, their Maker, the Sovereign over all things and their Creator, and He, verily, encompasseth all things.

Lauded and glorified is He Who hath called the creation into being.

Praise and glorification befit the Peerless Object of all desire Who, by one exalted Word, brought all things from utter nothingness into the realm of existence and adorned that which was non-existent with the ornament of being.

Praise befitteth and is meet for the [Creator] of the world Who, through His [all-encompassing] grace and penetrating will, brought creation from nothingness into being.

He has created all contingent beings from nothing by His power.

Glorified be He! There is none other God but Him. How wondrous His handiwork! How mighty His creation! He hath made manifest, in the arena of existence, a vast creation out of nothing; He hath brought into being, by the hand of His power, an atom from no thing, and made it to speak; He hath bestowed, through His theophanies, pure being upon sheer non-existence, and granted absolute existence; and upon them hath He revealed Himself by His most holy Self, through the dawning of the Sun of His Lordship.

Thereafter, Thou didst move the thread of pre-existence through the garments of nothingness, and breathed the spirit of life into the essence of sublime glory, that thereby the countenance of Thy names might be revealed in the kingdom of Thy attributes, and the beauty of Thy face might be made manifest in the realm of Thy grandeur.

Praise be unto the Desired One Who, through His absolute Will which is the station of the Most Exalted Word, brought the world from nothingness into being, made absolute existence manifest from pure non-existence, and through two letters brought forth the means of heaven and earth from annihilation to the realm of immortality.

Thou art He Who bestowed the ornament of existence upon absolute nothingness, and conferred the robe of being upon sheer non-existence.

Praise and glory befit the Lord of Names, Who through His conquering power adorned the world from sheer nothingness with the ornament of existence.

All things were created by His command and by His word "Be!" and it is.

He hath created all things out of nothing by His Will, and brought forth all beings out of non-existence by His Word. Blessed, then, be God, the Best of creators!

Praise sanctified from mention and utterance befitteth the Goal of all contingent beings, Who through a single drop from the ocean of His bounty brought the world of existence into being, and adorned absolute nothingness with the ornament of being.

Praise be to God Who created water through His utterance manifest in the Kingdom of immortality. Then He gazed upon it, and it trembled within itself, and a portion of it was frozen. Thereupon the dusty earth appeared through His decree established in the realm of origination. When they separated and divided, the Tongue of Grandeur spoke another word. Then that water, brought into being through the Will manifest in creation through the essence of possibility, moved upon that earth brought into existence through the will of the All-Merciful. And there rose from them both a subtle, spiritual, luminous heat by its power to the highest rank, that it might attain to that station wherein the tongue of its Lord, the Most Glorious, speaks. When it reached the ultimate station, it paused in that most exalted place which is mentioned in creation as the highest sphere. Then the water mixed partially with the earth, and another heat rose from them both, and due to its weakness it did not reach the first one and halted at another station which is known as the second sphere. And likewise heat rose from them time after time until the stations known as the spheres were complete. Then the Tongue of Grandeur spoke another word, and thereby the stations and spheres began to revolve, and from the intensity of revolution a light shone forth and was transformed into a dome over the face of heaven. Then brilliant stars and luminous planets appeared. When the dominion of His Name, the Self-Subsisting, encompassed them from all directions, each one of them became circular as can be seen in the sun and moon. Exalted is the All-Powerful, the Wise Creator Who made His exalted Word the source of creation of all things above and below, the four elements, and the sublime natures brought into being.

As to the indication from the paths of the limits, know thou that God hath created all things from the water of two seas: one the water of the cause, and the second the water of the caused. He hath merged these two seas in this world that they might meet through the mystery of the two choices from the water of these two seas.

Praise be to God, Who, by His command, upraised the heaven; Who, by His revelation, established the Throne upon the waters; then rent asunder the firmaments, cleft the air, and pierced the veils through the Word "Kaf" and "Alif"; Who raised the leaves upon the trees, the earth by the mountains, the seas by the rains, and the eyes by the similitudes. There is no God but He, the Ancient, the All-Bountiful.

Through one line He created the realm of divinity and through another the kingdom of might, until the four worlds were completed. The first letter that told of these was indeed the standing 'Alif', and when it revolved around itself, the letter 'Kaf' appeared, from which He created the greater world and then the lesser world.

Praise be to God Who hath made the line, formed from the Primal Point manifest in the letter B, the ornament of His Name, the All-Subduing above all names. Then He divided it in two through the mystery concealed between the two commands, and joined the one with the other through the wisdom hidden beneath the veil of destiny.

Meditate upon these words and pay attention to the tissue in all existing substances, either plant, animal or man, and thou wilt see that they all are formed of the cross figure or two crosswise lines. Consider this intently with true meditation. Then thou wilt be taught by the Holy Ghost that it is for this reason that God hath chosen this symbol to be displayed as the token of sacrifice in all periods of ages.

And when We desired to manifest the Cause in the kingdom of creation, We took a handful of clay in the grasp of Our power, the Mighty, the Powerful, the Wise. Then We kneaded it with the waters of holiness and breathed into it a spirit from the spirits We had created in the heaven of eternity, and We fashioned it according to a temple from among the temples of holiness, and We named it Adam in the heaven of names, if thou be of them that know.

Praise be unto Him Who, through His effulgent grace, created the Primal Origin of existence and made It the centre of the seat of glory. From this human Temple, He hath caused to emanate all the tribes, kindreds, and nations of the earth. Whereupon He created all things -- whether plants or animals or intelligent and rational beings -- in joyous, connected pairs, in order that they might flourish, multiply, and worship their Lord with radiant devotion, treading the path of guidance with heart and soul.

He honored and established the darkness of the existence of created things through the encounter with absolute existence, that all beings, both seen and unseen, might not be deprived of His all-encompassing mercy nor be excluded from the ascendancy of the throne of justice.

In every existence He ordained a symbol, and from every symbol He established a command, that the pure essences of the abstract realities of all created things might move with diverse motions, so that His celestial dominion might become manifest and evident in the realm of earthly existence.

And when this luminous reality appeared in the realm of existence with all its stations, distinctions, determinations, characteristics, mysteries and phases, that all-encompassing Word was explained and interpreted. The world of creation became illumined with the realities of existence, the ordinances and manifestations of the universal truth and all-encompassing identity.

I have created what I have created in such wise that none besides Me can comprehend it. How then can ye hope to understand the extent of the worlds set forth in the Book until the time of Adam? Until this moment, what ye would enumerate hath been ordained. Creation reached its culmination at the appearance of Muhammad, the Apostle of God, and We sent down the Furqan (Qur'an) unto him that ye might be assured of the signs of God, that the fruits of your faith might be manifested on the Day of My Manifestation.

When the Truth shall reveal it, the possessors of minds shall be unable to bear it; they shall tremble before the justice of God, and turn unto God, the All-Compelling. But since God hath created their hearts from the Light of lights, they love [that which leadeth] unto God, the One, the All-Compelling.

O divine friends and true companions of the Lord of the Worlds! Through His all-embracing mercy, He brought all created things from the realm of nothingness into existence, and from the treasury of the unseen into the visible world. He endowed each reality among created things with excellences and perfections befitting its station and realm, such that these characteristics, excellences and perfections would become its eternal felicity and true paradise.

O Lord my God, my King! Praise and thanksgiving beseem Thee, for Thou didst create mankind from a handful of clay and didst bestow upon them the gem of insight and knowledge.

He created all things for the knowledge of His Own Self, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

Praise befitteth and is meet for the Purpose of the world and the Object of worship of all peoples, Who through His most exalted Word created earth and heaven and brought them forth from nothingness into being for the recognition of His sanctified Self.

When the waves of the ocean of bounty appeared, He brought forth creation from sheer nothingness through His most exalted Word, that all might be adorned, according to their capacity, with the knowledge of His sacred Being.

O Yari! The One Incomparable Friend declares:

The whole world hath been created for the recognition of the Ancient Lord in this Most Great Announcement, and hath been brought from nothingness into being.

The world was brought from nothingness into being for the knowledge of God.

God, the Exalted Truth, brought creation into being from nothingness specifically for this Day, and afterwards caused the sun of grace to shine forth equally upon all, that all might attain to the recognition of the true Friend.

Then when the ocean of Thy giving surged forth, Thou didst create creation through Thy bounty and grace, and didst send unto them One Who would manifest Thy names and attributes, reveal Thy Self, and proclaim Thy commandments and ordinances.

Say: My God, my God! I testify that Thou hast created all creation as a manifestation of Thy bounty and bestowal, as an expression of Thy generosity and mercy, as an affirmation of Thy unity and oneness, and as an acknowledgment of Thy grandeur and sovereignty.

A mention from the Leaf of Paradise unto His servant, that he may be among those who remember God Who created him and created all things, and all unto Him shall return.

And if a holy fire, sanctified from the divine Tree, free from flame and smoke, appears in a breast, no other cause for existence would be considered. Thus has the time of causation been completed, if you would but witness the Causer in the garment of holiness.

In the day of every Universal Dispensation two great events occur; one is collection and the other is separation.

Praised be to He Who hath brought into being a new creation and given life to the lifeless! Praised be to He Who hath gathered His creatures and scattered them abroad!

O my God! Verily, Thou hast created the universe and fashioned the human soul. Thou hast brought forth the entire creation and hast raised up all beings by the influence of Thine all-penetrating might. The Sun of the world of existence rose, with manifest splendour, above the horizon of the All-Praised. Ages passed and cycles rolled away, until the heaven of knowledge was again raised up and the earth of certitude was outstretched unto all, the ocean of bounty surged and the Luminary of the world shone resplendent, the stars of the world of creation gleamed brightly, the breeze of the All-Merciful wafted, and the full and brimming clouds of Thy grace and generosity rained down.

My God, my God! Through Thy power Thou hast brought into being a new creation, and created and fashioned and brought forth an unerring age. Thou hast created the heaven and adorned it with the lights of guidance, and prepared a luminous white earth and blessed spot, and embellished it with dense gardens. Thou hast made the seas to surge and the rivers to flow and the clouds to rain, and hast purified the meadows and made the herbs and sweet-basils to grow until there appeared of every fruit two kinds.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

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He, the invisible, the lofty and the incomprehensible, is preceded by no cause but rather is the Originator of the cause of causes.

Catalogue reference: AB01382 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

This entire compound he divided lengthwise into two parts which he joined to one another at the center like the letter X, and bent them into a circular form, connecting them with themselves and each other at the point opposite to their original meeting-point, and, comprehending them in a uniform revolution upon the same axis, he made the one the outer and the other the inner circle.... (Plato, Timaeus, Jowett translation, 36b-c) cf. Cornford translation: "This whole fabric, then, he split lengthwise into two halves; and making the two cross one another at their centers in the form of the letter X, he bent each round into a circle and joined it up, making each meet itself and the other at a point opposite to that where they had been brought into contact. He then comprehended them in the motion that is carried round uniformly in the same place, and made the one the outer, the other the inner circle." See also M. Wright's paraphrase: "In the myth, the Demiurge, after forming the ingredients necessary for the world-soul into a strip, divided the strip in half, crossed the two halves one over the other, and finally bent them round so as to form circles. He then caused these two circular strips to rotate in opposite directions in such a fashion that the one carried the other about beneath it; the underlying one was then further subdivided into seven unequal circles, in which were set the planets. This scheme allowed Plato to attribute at least two circular movements to each of the planets - one corresponding to the diurnal westward movement of the outer sky and the other to the eastward movement of the planets - so that the apparent movement of each planet was like that of the sun."

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Know, then, that God, praised and glorified be He, took a line, split it lengthwise in two, rotated the one about the other, and so made from them the universe. The line, however, formeth only from the point when you move it. Conceive ye then our meaning.

Catalogue reference: BH00212 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

Praise be to God, Who made the line generated from the Primal Point manifest in the letter Ba the ornament of the seal for His name overshadowing all names, Who then split it into two by the secret hidden between the two commands [Will (mashiyah) and Purpose (Iradah)], and took one up with the other under the veil of predestination [qadar]. Thereupon, the Most Great Book was completed and all who dwell in earth and heaven became adorned therewith so that the dawning-places of affirmation, subsequent to negation, might testify to that which the tree of fate [qada'] hath testified in the luminous Spot and turn toward the Dayspring of Alteration [bada'] at the scene of sacrifice.... (Abdu'l-Baha, commentary on the Qayyumu'l-Asma,

Catalogue reference: AB00017 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

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