Near-synonyms 10: creation and mercy

The divine names relating to creation on the one hand, and to forgiveness on the other, are the most numerous in the tradition. It is well known that mercy is the « cement » of creation, for the Lord declares: « If God were to hold people to account for what they have done, He would not leave a single living creature on the surface of the earth. » (35:45)

I therefore wished to close this work on near-synonyms with these two themes. May it be profitable to students. (The author)

Creation

بدَع ــَـ / ذرَأ ــَـ / فطَر ــُـ / برَأ ــَـ / أَنْشَأَ / خَلَقَ ــُـ

خَلَقَ ــُـ

The Qur’an uses this root to designate creation from already existing elements. I would propose here the term « to fashion » to translate the verb.

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن طِينٍ
He it is who fashioned you from clay. (6:2)

Let us note that this verb is not necessarily associated with God. The Qur’anic passage below implies that it is used for others than Him, even if it is not then a creation of the same nature.

فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ
So blessed be God, the most excellent of creators! (23:14)

The root of this term carries the idea of measure. One says « خلق الأديم » (to measure the leather) when measuring it before cutting it. The Qur’anic word of the same root « خَلاق » (a portion) carries the same sense.

أَنْشَأَ

The root of this word evokes elevation and growth. The Form I verb « نَشَأَ » is commonly used in the sense of « to be raised ». The Form IV « أَنْشَأَ » thus originally means « to make grow » or « to raise ». I would propose here the term « to make grow » to translate the verb.

فَأَنْشَأْنَا لَكُمْ بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ مِنْ نَخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَابٍ
By it, We made grow for you gardens of palm trees and grapevines. (23:19)

By extension it takes the sense of « to create ».

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنْشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ
Then, from this drop, We fashioned a clot; then We fashioned from the clot a lump of flesh; then from this lump We fashioned bones; then We clothed the bones with flesh. After that We made the human grow into another creation. (23:14)

It is also used in the sense of « to begin to do something ».

بَرَأَ ــَـ

It is generally admitted that this term is a synonym of the verb « خلق », and the nuances some authors evoke between the two are very disparate, even contradictory. I will take up here the elements that seem most relevant to me.

The root of this verb evokes separation, rupture or cutting. The word « بَراءة » (innocence) can thus be understood as being « cut off » from any link with the action of which one is accused; and the verb « برِأ » (to be cured) as « to break with illness ». Others say that the divine name « بارِئ » designates the One who draws one thing out of another, hence the idea of rupture or separation. In the language, the verb « برَأ » generally applies to living beings, perhaps because the living come from the living. The word « بَرِيّة » precisely evokes « creatures »: its root is said to be originally ب ر ء, but the hamza disappeared in this word for phonetic reasons of « lightening ».

The name بارِئ can thus be understood as the One who draws things out of one another, or the One who creates beings distinct from one another. I would propose here the term « to engender » to translate the verb.

مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
No calamity befalls the earth or yourselves without its having been inscribed in a Book before We engender it. That is indeed easy for God! (57:22)

فطَر ــُـ

The root of this verb means « to split ». One uses it to say to split wood, for example. One also says « فطر النَبات » when the plant splits the earth and emerges. The Qur’anic word فُطُور also explicitly evokes « the cracks » or « the interstices ».

One can therefore say that the divine Name « فاطِر » is the Creator who brings forth the living, or who generates a fissure from which creation springs — which makes it symbolically an eminently masculine name. Some relate it to the Indo-European root found in « pader » in Persian or « father » in English; but I have found nothing on this possible distant link. This point would deserve specific research. I would propose here the term « to bring forth » to translate the verb.

إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
I turn my face, as a pure believer, towards the One who brought forth the heavens and the earth, and I am not among the associators. (6:79)

This root also gives the word فِطْرة, commonly associated with « primordial nature ».

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Set your face towards the Religion, as a pure believer, according to the nature with which God has endowed people in bringing them forth. The creation of God admits no change. Such is the immutable Religion, but most people do not know. (30:30)

ذرَأ ــَـ

The root of this verb (which is not used in the divine names) evokes appearance. It also evokes the act of « spreading » or « disseminating ». The verb « ذرَأ » thus means « to create » with the nuance of « making manifest (the creatures) », or « multiplying and spreading them ». I would propose here the term « to manifest » to translate it.

قُلْ هُوَ الَّذِي ذَرَأَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
Say: « It is He who manifested you upon the earth, and to Whom you will be gathered. » (67:24)

بدَع ــَـ

The root of this verb evokes innovation, as clearly appears in the word « بِدْعة ». It thus refers to creation without precedent, or « innovation ». The divine name « بديع » thus means the « innovating Creator », « the Innovator », or again « the Designer ». I would propose here the term « to design » to translate the verb, and « designer » for the noun.

بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ صَاحِبَةٌ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Designer of the heavens and the earth, how could He have a child when He has no companion, when He created all things and knows all things? (6:101)

Forgiveness

رأَف ــَـ / تاب / يَتُوب / صفَح ــَـ / عَفا / يَعْفو / غفَر ــِـ / رحِم ــَـ

رحِم ــَـ

The root of this verb is also that of the word « رَحِم », meaning « the womb », which gives it a very pronounced maternal connotation. It is about « enveloping » with mercy, which moreover appears metaphorically in the Qur’anic text:

وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
And My mercy embraces all things. (7:156)

The two divine Names « رحمان » and « رحيم » hold a pre-eminent place in the Qur’an due to their frequent use, even if the commentators are divided on the question of the « بسملة » at the beginning of the suras: is it part of the Qur’an or not? (A question that does not arise regarding the بسملة present within the text of the sura of « The Ant ».) These two divine names appear in many other places. The first is placed on the same level as the Name « الله » in the famous passage:

قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَنَ أَيًّا مَا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى
Say: « Invoke God, or invoke the Most Merciful. By whatever name you call [Him], to Him belong the most beautiful names. » (17:110)

Regarding creation, it is also this Name that is found in the following passage:

تَنْزِيلًا مِمَّنْ خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ وَالسَّمَاوَاتِ الْعُلَى الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى
[It is] a revelation from the One who created the earth and the highest heavens. The Most Merciful established Himself upon the Throne. (20:4-5)

Evidently, for creation to endure, the universal imperfection of created beings must be supplemented by an absolute and equally universal tolerance of the divine Being who perpetuates it. This sheds light on the following verse:

وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ
If God were to hold people to account for what they earn, He would not spare a single creature moving on the surface [of the earth]. (35:45)

غفَر ــِـ

This verb also means « to veil », « to hide » or « to cover ». One says, for example, « غفَر الشَيْب بالخِضاب » (« to hide white hair with henna dye »). By extension it is thus the act of « covering faults », or « concealing » them.

قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ
Say to those who deny that if they cease, what is past will be passed over for them in silence. (8:38)

عفا / يعفو

In the most concrete sense, this verb means « to erase », « to fade » or « to be concealed ». One says, for example, « عفا الأثر » (the trace is erased). By extension, it means « to erase a fault », as one says « to wipe the slate clean ».

Some commentators specify that عَفْو can occur after punishment or before it, whereas غُفْران excludes any punishment from the outset.

Its root also evokes the idea of « surplus » or the « superfluous », as in the following Qur’anic passage:

وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ
They ask you what they should spend. Say: « The surplus. » (2:219)

These two senses meet in the idea of granting grace through magnanimity, considering things unimportant. This is what the following verse evokes:

وَإِنْ طَلَّقْتُمُوهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَمَسُّوهُنَّ وَقَدْ فَرَضْتُمْ لَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً فَنِصْفُ مَا فَرَضْتُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ يَعْفُونَ أَوْ يَعْفُوَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ عُقْدَةُ النِّكَاحِ
If you divorce them before having touched them, after the dowry has been assigned, then half of it [is due to her], unless she forgoes it (or graciously waives it), she or the one who represented her at the marriage. (2:237)

Finally, the verb عفا can mean « to become surplus » and thus « to multiply and prosper ». It is this last sense that is found in the following verse:

ثُمَّ بَدَّلْنَا مَكَانَ السَّيِّئَةِ الْحَسَنَةَ حَتَّى عَفَوْا وَقَالُوا قَدْ مَسَّ آبَاءَنَا الضَّرَّاءُ وَالسَّرَّاءُ
Then We replaced evil with good until they became prosperous (or numerous) and said: « Hardship and ease had already touched our fathers. » (7:95)

It is moreover this notion of « surplus » that explains why the word « عَفْوًا » in everyday language can mean « excuse me! » or « please »: in the first case it is about passing over what does not matter much, and in the second about agreeing to do something, considering, through magnanimity, that it is a small matter.

صفَح ــَـ

The root of this verb evokes the flat or the side of a thing. The word صَفْح thus designates the « cheek » or the « side » of an individual. It also designates the « leaf », the « page », or the « flat » of the sword.

The expression « ونظر إِليه بصَفْحِ وجهه » properly means « to look from the side of the face ». One can thus see, in the origin of the verb built on this root, the act of turning one’s gaze away from a thing and thus « presenting the cheek (or the flank) » to it. By extension, it means « to overlook ».

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ وَإِنْ تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
O you who believe! Your spouses and your children are enemies to you! Beware! But if you efface [the matter], if you overlook, and if you forgive, then know that God is Forgiving, Merciful. (64:14)

In the Qur’an, one also finds the expression « ضرَب صَفْحًا » in the sense of « to give up doing something », or more trivially « to drop it ».

أَفَنَضْرِبُ عَنْكُمُ الذِّكْرَ صَفْحًا أَنْ كُنْتُمْ قَوْمًا مُسْرِفِينَ
Shall We then withhold the Reminder from you because you are an excessive people? (43:5)

تاب / يَتوب

This verb first means « to return », which brings it close to « ثاب » and « آب ». It is thus originally about returning to good conduct, to reason, etc. Used with « إلى », it means to repent; and used with « على », it means to forgive. These two senses are united in the verse below:

وَظَنُّوا أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
They thought there was no refuge from God except in Him. Then God turned to them, so that they would turn to Him. God is the One who accepts all repentance, the Clement. (9:118)

رأَف ــَـ

This verb means to have compassion for someone, notably for a wrongdoer, as is the case in the following passage:

وَلاَ تَأْخُذْكُمْ بِهِمَا رَأْفَةٌ فِي دِينِ اللهِ
Let no compassion for them take hold of you in the religion of God. (24:2)