al-Khāliq

The Creator, who determines and brings into being

Begin the series ↓

Recited as it sounds in the Qur'an, 59:24.

Heard together with: al-Khāliq / al-Bāriʾ / al-Muṣawwir

Start with what we know

Then take away everything it needs. What is left is not a bigger version of us. It is the Name.

Episode 1

In us

we make by rearranging; human-made mass now exceeds living biomass (Elhacham et al., Nature 2020)

But: Needs prior material, tools, a template

Episode 2

In nature

Termite mounds, bowerbirds, beaver dams: builders from what is there

Episode 3

At our best

JCVI synthetic genome (2010) and minimal cell JCVI-syn3.0 with 473 genes (2016), 'booted up' in an existing cell

But: Needs existing cells, existing chemistry, existing laws; we have never made a law of physics

Episode 4

The Break

Take away prior material, tools, a template, trial and error.

We make by rearranging. He makes by bringing into being.

Read: Q 59:24; 13:16; 25:2

From the tradition: Nahj al-Balāgha Sermon 1: created 'without undergoing reflection, without making use of any experiment'. al-Ghazālī's architect sequence: khalq = planning, determining

On screen

Arishem makes worlds because he needs something from them. al-Khāliq makes, and needs nothing from what He makes (Q 112).

Where it shows up

In scripture: Q 59:24; 13:16; 52:35; 25:2. Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:28
The same thread in Jewish and Christian scripture: Strong. Genesis 14:19 'God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth'; Isaiah 40:28 'Creator of the earth from end to end'; John 1:3; Nicene Creed
In the universe: ESA Planck: the oldest light, from when the universe was 380,000 years old (esa.int, 2013)
In nature: 'Building a baby: the first two weeks' (Nature video), adults only
In people: Craft: a potter, a weaver; scientists building a 473-gene cell
In science: Physics: conservation of mass-energy; we never create, only transform