In Search of a Boundless Ocean and New Skies Human Creativity is a Matter of A‘mal, Jihad, and Ijtihad

Abstract

The stars tremble in their courses over man’s upward march lest
this fallen star should become the perfect moon!’
The central question this article addresses is whether human beings
can act creatively. I shall first tackle the related question of how God’s creativity
is distinguished from that of humanity and then move on to the
more complex question of the nature of human creativity.
God’s Creativity is Different from That of
Humankind
The Qur’an relates rubb (lord) to khalq (creation):
He said: “Our Lord [rubb] is He who gives to everythmg its . . .
[khalq] . . . and further gave (it) guidance. (Qur’an 20:50)’
The noun khalq is considered by lexicographers to be derived from the
root verb khaluqu (to create, to make, to originate). And if God (ul
Khaliq) created or orignated, then khalaqa is a verb that signifies His creative
ability. According to al Raghib, khalq is used to describe the creativity
(ibda) of a thing without imitation (ikhtiza’): He assigns this role
of khulq to God (al Khaliq). For a1 Tabataba‘i “the God of the universe is
one, He alone created and He alone manages it.“ In fact, the link between
God as rabb and khalq is accentuated by al Tabari, who considers rubb to
be “the owner to whom the creation . . . belongs.’“ Moreover, this...