Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The apparent meaning of the Qur’anic texts, as explained by a number of leading Sunni scholars, is that when Allah Almighty wills to create something, He says to it, “Be,” and it comes into existence exactly as He wills. This does not contradict the perfection of His power, nor does it mean that Allah needs a means external to Himself, because His saying “Be” is part of His Speech, and His Speech is one of His Attributes. Allah may also combine more than one aspect of creation in some creatures, as He created Adam with His two Hands and then said to him, “Be,” and he came into being.
This meaning appears in several places in the Qur’an.
Allah Almighty says:
“The Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”
[Al-Baqarah 2:117]
And He says:
“Our word to a thing when We intend it is only that We say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”
[An-Nahl 16:40]
And Allah says:
“His command, when He wills something, is only to say to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”
[Ya-Sin 36:82]
These verses demonstrate the perfection of Allah’s power and that creating things does not require effort, difficulty, or time on His part in order to accomplish them. Whatever He wills comes to be.
Al-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him), commenting on the verse in Surah An-Nahl, explained that when Allah wills to create and bring something into existence, He says to it: “Be,” and it comes into existence without hardship or effort.
The verses certainly demonstrate Allah’s absolute power and the immediate execution of His command, but their meaning is not limited to that.
They also inform us that Allah Almighty says to the thing, “Be,” and it comes into existence.
For this reason, Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has informed us that He brings every created thing into existence by His saying: ‘Be.’”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) also explained that Allah’s statement:
“When He wills something”
is general and includes everything Allah wills. Allah has created nothing except that He willed it, so the apparent meaning is that He created nothing except that He said to it: “Be.”
According to the apparent meaning of the texts: yes.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about this and stated that the apparent meaning of the texts is that everything Allah creates, whether small or great, He says to it: “Be.”
He also cited Allah’s saying:
“Say: If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, the sea would surely be exhausted before the Words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought another like it as additional supply.”
[Al-Kahf 18:109]
The Words of Allah are never exhausted.
There is no contradiction.
The texts indicate that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) with His two Hands, and they also indicate that He said to him: “Be.”
Allah Almighty says:
“Indeed, the example of Jesus before Allah is like that of Adam. He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was.”
[Aal ‘Imran 3:59]
The creation of Adam took place through stages, and among his special distinctions was that Allah created him with His two Hands as an honor to him, then said to him: “Be,” and he came into existence.
Therefore, the fact that something is created by Allah’s word does not require denying any other act that Allah has informed us He performed in creating it.
It is not correct to describe the matter in this way.
Allah’s saying “Be” is not something separate from Him that He uses as an external aid in creation. Rather, it is part of Allah’s Speech, and His Speech is one of His Attributes.
Just as one does not say: Does Allah need His power in order to create? Or does He need His knowledge in order to know? Likewise, one should not say: Does He need His Speech in order to create?
Allah is absolutely self-sufficient, and His Essence is characterized by the Attributes of perfection, including power, knowledge, speech, and will.
Therefore, describing Allah as creating by His word does not imply deficiency or dependence on anything outside Himself.
In this matter, it is better to stop where Allah has informed us about Himself.
Allah has told us that when He wills something, He says to it: “Be,” and it comes into existence. He has not required us to speculate about hypothetical questions such as whether He could create in a manner different from the way He has informed us that He acts.
Such questions do not increase a believer’s knowledge of his Lord and may lead to delving into matters about which revelation has given us no information.
A Muslim knows with certainty that Allah has power over all things and that nothing can render Him incapable. At the same time, he believes Allah’s statements about the manner of those actions He has chosen to inform us about.
It is important to understand that the word “Be” is from the Speech of Allah Almighty.
Allah’s Speech is one of His Attributes, and Allah has always possessed the Attributes of perfection.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between saying:
Allah has power over all things.
Allah creates whatever He wills.
And when He wills something, He says to it: “Be,” and it is.
All of these meanings are consistent and do not contradict one another.
The apparent meaning of the Qur’an, together with what the Sunni scholars mentioned in the fatwa have explained, is that everything Allah Almighty creates, He says to it, “Be,” and it comes into existence exactly as He wills.
The phrase “Be, and it is” is not merely a figurative expression of power. It also indicates the reality that Allah says to the thing: “Be,” while simultaneously demonstrating the perfection of His power and the immediate fulfillment of His command.
This does not mean that Allah needs His Speech or any external means in order to create. His Speech is one of His Attributes, and Allah is self-sufficient in Himself and His Attributes.
Allah may combine several aspects in the creation of certain beings, as He created Adam with His two Hands and then said to him: “Be, and he was.”
What is required is to affirm what Allah has informed us about Himself, while believing in the perfection of His power and avoiding unnecessary speculation about matters Allah has not informed us about.
And Allah knows best.