Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

The Quran states that Allah created the heavens and earth in six days. This is mentioned in multiple verses, including:

Allah created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days. (Al Qur’an 7:54)

He who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six days. (Al Qur’an 25:59)

He it is who created the heavens and the earth in six days. (Al Qur’an 57:4)

Surely your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six days. (Al Qur’an 10:3)

We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days. (Al Qur’an 50:38)

The Quran does not mean literal days but six eras. Other verses highlight that time is not absolute, rather relative, a fact that was unknown until Albert Einstein.

The Bible likewise talks about six days of creation and claims that God rested on the seventh day. The God of the Quran did not tire from this creative work:

We created the heavens, the earth, and everything between, in six Days without tiring. (Al Qur’an 50:38)

But, the greater epiphany is that the Quran describes the sequence of creation of the heavens and the earth. Before we dwell into this, let us read the opening chapter of the Bible:

And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. (Genesis 1:6-19)

The Bible describes the sky as a fixed vault or firmament around the earth. The earth is made on the second day, and plants and trees grow on the third day. On the fourth day, the sky is studded with sun, moon, and stars.

After this Biblical background read the account of the Quran pertaining to sequence of things:

أَأَنتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ السَّمَاءُ ۚ بَنَاهَا

رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا

وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا

وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ دَحَاهَا

أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا

وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَاهَا

مَتَاعًا لَّكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَامِكُمْ ‎

Which is harder to create: you people or the sky that He built, raising it high and perfecting it, giving darkness to its night and bringing out its morning brightness, and after that the earth, too, He spread out, bringing waters and pastures out of it, and setting firm mountains in it for you and your animals to enjoy? (Al Quran 79:27-33)

Here, the creation of the heavens is mentioned before the earth, and the verse about the earth clearly states the two words: بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ, which anyone with a very basic knowledge of Arabic can tell you mean: ‘after that.’

I do not blame Christians for not giving up on God, but should they not try a better scripture when there is a clear choice?

Currently, about three-in-ten U.S. adults (29%) are religious “nones” – people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religious identity. Self-identified Christians of all varieties (including Protestants, Catholics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Orthodox Christians) make up 63% of the adult population. Christians now outnumber religious “nones” by a ratio of a little more than two-to-one. In 2007, when the Center began asking its current question about religious identity, Christians outnumbered “nones” by almost five-to-one (78% vs. 16%).

Similar trends of increasing agnosticism and atheism exist in Europe and other Western countries. Could study of the Quran reverse the trend? My answer is loud: Yes!

For our collection of articles about the holy Quran: Please click here.