27- In how many days were the earth and the heavens and their creatures created?
What emerges from sound and established evidences is that Allah, the Exalted, created the entire universe in six days, as Allah, the Exalted, has made clear in this statement of His:
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ
“Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He rose above the Throne.”
And He said:
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ
“Allah is the One who created the heavens and the earth and everything between them in six days, then He rose above the Throne.”
And He said:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ
“And indeed, We created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days.”
Verses like these are present in large numbers in the Noble Qur’an. The details of these six days are: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Nothing was created on Saturday, because it is the seventh day; for this reason it is called Yawm al-Sabt, whose meaning is to cut off and to separate. It is also established from authentic hadiths that the earth and the heavens and all their creatures came into existence in six days. However, there is a narration of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), whose words are:
« خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ التُّرْبَةَ يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ، وَخَلَقَ الْجِبَالَ يَوْمَ الْأَحَدِ وَخَلَقَ الشَّجَرَ فِيْهَا يَوْمَ الْإِثْنَيْنِ، وَخَلَقَ الْمَكْرُوْهَ يَوْمَ الثُّلَاثَاءِ، وَخَلَقَ النُّوْرَ يَوْمَ الْأَرْبِعَاءِ، وَبَثَّ فِيْهَا الدَّوَابَّ يَوْمَ الْخَمِيْسِ، وَخَلَقَ آدَمَ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ، آخِرَ الْخَلْقِ فِيْ آخِرِ سَاعَةٍ مِنْ سَاعَاتِ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فِيْمَا بَيْنَ الْعَصْرِ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ »
“Allah, the Exalted, created the soil on Saturday, and the mountains on Sunday, the trees on Monday, the disliked things on Tuesday, and light on Wednesday, and the animals on Thursday, and Adam (peace be upon him) on Friday after ‘Asr, in the last hour, as the last creation.”
Imam Ahmad, al-Nasa’i and Muslim have reported this hadith through several chains. It mentions the details of the complete days. Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) and other imams are of the view that this hadith of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) is narrated from Ka’b al-Ahbar, so it is mawquf (a statement of a Companion or later authority), not marfu’ (attributed to the Prophet ﷺ), and that mentioning it as marfu’ up to the Prophet ﷺ is due to the error of some narrators. The summary is that this hadith cannot be set against the verses of the Qur’an, nor can it stand against authentic hadiths, nor can it be used as evidence. Once this is understood, all the difficulties disappear.
