Al-Khaliq (in Arabic: ٱلْخَالِقُ) He is the one who creates things from nothing with no precedents. He creates what He pleases and in a perfect manner. He is the only one who determines when, how, and what to create and does so from nothing.
Arabic Root:
From the Arabic root kha-lam-qaf (خ ل ق), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to measure accurately, to determine the proper measure or proportion for something, to proportion one thing according to another, to create something based on a pattern or model which one has devised, to bring a thing into existence from non-existence.
The names of creation:
The name Al-Khaliq is mentioned in the Qur’an 8 times. The three names of creation, Al-Khaliq (The Creator), Al-Bari (The Producer), and Al-Musawwir (The Fashioner). These names may seem synonymous with Allah’s ability to invent or create. But they are distinct names offering unique shades of meaning, bringing out different aspects to Allah’s creating of creation. For example, these three names are often said to represent an order to His creation. First, you have Al-Khaliq, The Creator.
He who produces something from nothing, i.e., He plans and creates. Secondly, He is Al-Bari, The Producer – the one who initiates and brings into existence. Lastly, He is Al-Musawwir, The Fashioner – He organizes and shapes the arrangement of the creation.
What’s amazing is these names are followed in this exact sequence based on their meaning in in the following ayah:
هُوَ اللّٰهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ لَهُ الْاَسْمَآءُ الْحُسْنٰی ؕ— یُسَبِّحُ لَهٗ مَا فِی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالْاَرْضِ ۚ— وَهُوَ الْعَزِیْزُ الْحَكِیْمُ
Huwal Laahul Khaaliqul Baari ul Musawwir; lahul Asmaaa’ul Husnaa; yusabbihu lahoo maa fis samaawaati wal ardi wa Huwal Azeezul Hakeem
English Translation:
“He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (Qur’an 59:24)
A useful analogy:
Imam al-Ghazali compares these three names to the process of constructing a house. You have the planner, the builder, and the designer who gives it its final shape. Similarly, Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ takes on the three roles – the creator, producer, and the fashioner. However, the difference is we are not really inventing. Only Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ creates and He does so on an unimaginable scale. He creates from nothingness, whereas we are merely finding ways to transform material from one form to another. We are limited in what we can make, whereas Allah’s creation is unbounded.
No single creation exists without His willingness for it to be. Every one of Allah’s creations has its origination with Him, and He gave it its form according to His divine knowledge and wisdom.
ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظٰمًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظٰمَ لَحْمًا ۗ— ثُمَّ اَنْشَاْنٰهُ خَلْقًا اٰخَرَ ؕ— فَتَبٰرَكَ اللّٰهُ اَحْسَنُ الْخٰلِقِیْنَ
Summa khalaqnan nutfata alaqatan fakhalaqnal alaqata mudghatan fakhalaq nal mudghata izaaman fakasawnal izaama lahman summa anshaanaahu khalqan aakhar; fatabaarakal laahu ahsanul khaaliqeen
English Translation:
“Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.” (Qur’an 23:14)
Note, in this verse it refers to Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ as ahsan al khaliqeen, meaning “the best of creators”. It’s also mentioned another time in Surah as-Saffat ayat 125.
Note how, in the following ayah, it pairs these two attributes of His, i.e., He is Al-Khaliq, and Al-Alim (the knower). It signifies His ability to create in abundance and in accordance with His master plan. He creates perpetually and with a purpose. “Did you imagine that We created you without any purpose, and that you will not be brought back to Us?” (Qur’an 23:115)
Inna Rabbaka Huwal khallaaqul ‘aleem
English Translation:
“For verily it is thy Lord who is the Master-Creator, knowing all things.” (Qur’an 15:86)
Reflection:
If we take a second to reflect on all of Allah’s creations. How can a person be created from a small drop of fluid and have it manifest into 30 trillion cells that all work in unison, giving us life? If you gaze at the night sky, look at each tiny speck of light, each one of those is a giant star existing far away in some galaxy Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ has created. Yet here we are on this relatively small rock, floating through space, and it’s the only one we know that is habitable.
All the beauty in the world, and you get to experience it; Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ has allowed us to play a part in it. How can you not feel humble and appreciative of this very moment? The pessimist says, ‘but think of all the fitnahs (i.e., trials or tests) of the world’. A person can look through a window and appreciate the beauty outside, but it is possible to fixate only on the specks that dirty the glass. Whatever you focus on, you will see.
Further Reading:
we did not include all the verses which mentions the name, Al-khaliq. If you’d like to read further, see 6:102, 13:16, 15:86, 36:81, 39:62, 40:62.
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