The Qur'an as the Criterion · God's Oneness Guarded
God resting on the seventh day
In short
- 1.The Bible: God rested on the seventh day from all His work (Gen 2:2, Ex 20:11).
- 2.The Qur'an: and no weariness touched Us (Q 50:38).
- 3.Rest presumes tiredness; tiredness presumes limited power.
The claim being examined
Genesis 2:2 has God finish His work on the seventh day and rest from all that He had done.
The Islamic position
The Qur'an answers this directly: We created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, and no fatigue touched Us.
Analysis
Genesis 2:2-3 states that God finished His work and rested (shabat) on the seventh day, and Exodus 20:11 grounds the Sabbath command in it, adding in Exodus 31:17 that He "rested and was refreshed" (wayyinnafash). Jewish and Christian theologians have of course read this as anthropomorphic language or as ceasing rather than recovering, and that reading should be acknowledged. Q 50:38 responds to the plain sense with striking economy: "And We did certainly create the heavens and earth and what is between them in six days, and there touched Us no weariness" — the phrase wa ma massana min lughub is a direct denial of exactly the implication. It is joined by Q 2:255, the Verse of the Throne: "Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep." Ibn Kathir notes that the addition in Q 50:38 was revealed in response to precisely this claim among the People of the Book. The theological stake is the meaning of qudrah, absolute power: a being that expends effort and needs recovery is operating within a system of limits, and whatever else such a being may be, it is not the uncaused originator of everything.
Side by side
| The Bible | Genesis 2:2; Exodus 31:17 | God finished His work and rested on the seventh day; He rested and was refreshed. |
|---|---|---|
| The Qur'an | 50:38; 2:255 | He created the heavens and the earth in six days and no weariness touched Him; neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. |
From the Qur'an
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَمَا مَسَّنَا مِن لُّغُوبٍ
And We created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, and no weariness touched Us.
لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep.
From the Bible
Hebrew
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
Read it in their BibleHebrew
In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.
Read it in their BibleSources
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, on Q 50:38 · Qur'an 2:255; 50:38 · Qur'an 50:38; Genesis 2:2
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