God as the Shaper of Beauty has planned, created, and continues to develop all of creation. All of creation is in a continuous state of motion and as such the process of creating and bringing forth new things into being continue.
Musawwir comes from the root word Sawwara which means, "to shape, form, fashion, mark, picture, adorn, prepare, make” (Omar pg 325) Musawwir thus means former or shaper. Al-Musawwir is therefore as a name for God means The Shaper or Fashioner.
In understanding this concept humanity has come a long way in appreciating the magnificence of what God has, and continues to manifest.
Nature as a Work of Art
In nature Muslims believe in the perfection of the grass, trees, mountains and sky. All are purposefully created to perform a certain task. So simple a substance as grass has the quality of a glass like substance called silica; as such it will bend, and not break, when light pressure is applied. It acts as if it knows that it was created to be a cushion for other life forms to walk upon.
Do they not look at the sky above them? How We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it? And the earth- We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs)- (Quran 50: 6-7)
The sky has the quality of unfathomable beauty. From it has developed the sciences astronomy and astrology. Furthermore, it has given humanity the concept, and the ability, to calculate the passage of time.
Organisms as a Work of Art
Every creature innately knows its beauty, diet, and place of rest. Instinctively they draw from their own self the excellence provided for them by God to survive in their given environment
“And Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things.” (Quran 24:45)
Thus, do the creatures in existence, in their variety and nature, benefit from the gifts of beauty inherit within them placed there and accessed through the genetic code engineered by God.
Human Beings as a Work of Art
God has named man his special creation by calling him/her Al-Ard Khalifah (Vicegerent on earth). As such, a special creature was created. However, with this special nature of being able to process information, and to creatively use such knowledge, man is to act as God’s representative on earth.
“We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape” (Quran 15:26)
The word for molded into shape used in this verse is “masnubeen” and comes from the root word sanna which carries the meanings of “To clean, form, polished, made into shape.” (Omar pg 274) Thus, incorporated into the nature of human beings is to continue to evolve, and become a representative of God on Earth.
Human beings, through trial and error, all the while fighting the lower selfish instincts of their souls, are created to learn how to use their God given capacity as shapers and formers on earth. In order that they may create a beneficent world free of terror, greed, and selfish acts.
Sources:
Abdullah Yusef Ali, The Holy Quran; With Arabic Text.
Abdul Mannan Omar, Dictionary of The Holy Quran.
Khalil Green - Khalil Green has obtained a Bachelors Degree with Departmental Honors in Religious Studies from Washburn University in Topeka Ks. His ...
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