The Qu'ran's Depiction of God's Control Over Creation and Man

Taking up the idea of creation, it is implied that everything within the world was created with the particular end goal in mind of a circular, flowing system in which different tasks are fulfilled by different entities. Through performing their assigned duties, these separate beings contribute to the perpetuation of life. Just as how all creatures have a specific role to play within our society, humans find themselves with a very specific set of obligations. Within the spiritual text of The Qur’an, these duties are laid out namely as remaining loyal to God, obeying his will, and holding sway over the creatures of the earth. It is implied that God, however, even as creator of all things, may not have complete control over mankind’s actions and thus resorts to language as a method of establishing his absolute power and to make man realize his responsibilities.

To begin, in the process of creating Adam, God is hoping to fashion a being who can rule over the creatures of the world while still recognizing that he is not above God himself. God is still the creator and thus he is the one who has named all of the beings of earth, but he relays these names to Adam who then relays them to the angels, who without the help of Adam or God were unable to identify them. As God asks the angels the names of the creatures, the passage reads, “‘Tell me the names of these if you truly [think you can].’ They said, ‘May you be glorified! We have knowledge only of what You have taught us. You are the All Knowing and All Wise!’ Then He said, ‘Adam, tell them the names of these.’ When he told them their names, God said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and that I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’” (Qur’an, 2:32-33). This passage suggests that God has elected Adam and the rest of his kin that will follow to live above the angels in the sense that he has allowed for Adam to be more knowledgeable than they. God makes it clear through his word choice, however, that Adam’s wisdom comes only from God allowing him access to it and therefore demonstrates that he has control over the information of the world. Along with this, by asking Adam to relay this knowledge to the angels, God is first introducing the responsibility of mankind to spread his word.

In addition to this, God makes in incredibly clear that the other main duty of man is to obey his will. He does so by immediately following his declaration of knowhow, ordering the angels to bow down to Adam. By doing so at this time, God is displaying to Adam his absolute control over the angels. He also says to Adam, however, “live with your wife in this garden. Both of you eat freely there as you will, but do not go near this tree, or you will both become wrongdoers” (Qur’an, 2:35). Here God elects not to inform them of what will happen should Adam and Eve disobey, but rather chooses to exercise his control over them and to test their loyalty. He emphasizes that they must obey but offers no explanation other than simply because it is what he wishes for them to do. God is attempting to show his omnipotence while defining the other main responsibility of man.

In conclusion, throughout this passage of the Qur’an God has made a point to demonstrate what he hopes mankind to believe is his absolute power. Additionally, he uses this control to reassert mankind’s responsibilities towards him as creator as well as towards the rest of the world. God establishes that man must spread his word as well as remain faithful to his maker and in doing so, must remember that he himself is not above God but rather is a vessel through which God can establish power on earth.