Abdal Hakim Murad - The Cambridge Companion to Islamic Theology

Eschatology 311
is comparable to a sleep from which one will be awakened at the
resurrection, just as the present life also resembles a dream in comparison
to the subsequent stages. 2
Eschatology, while specifically addressing the end of things, is
implicit during our passage as individuals through the life of this
world. In answering the ‘‘why’’ question of creation with varying
emphases, it structures a range of responses to the human condition. For
example, if asked about the purpose of life, a Muslim scholar might
reply with the qur’anic verse, ‘‘Indeed I have only created jinn and
human beings in order to worship Me’’ (51:56). This supplies a deontological
ethic in which obedience to the revealed law results in reward
in the afterlife and fulfils the purpose of life. This, however, has not
been the only Muslim response to this question. In a well-known passage,
Ibn ‘Arabı responded to the same issue by citing a tradition that
God had said, ‘‘I was a hidden treasure and I wanted to be known, and
therefore I created the universes.’’ 3 In this case the ultimate human
purpose is gnosis (‘irfan) or realisation (tah _
qıq) of the divine element
immanent in all creation. Both positions are rooted in alternate qur’anic
principles, one stressing the divine transcendence (tanzıh), and the other
emphasising immanence (tashbıh); both uphold the concept of a chosen
return to God, but one is implicitly dualistic while the other suggests a
more humanistic orientation and an active participation in the
eschatological project. These varying perspectives also displayed themselves
in broader ethical perspectives on issues such as the ultimate
source of evil.
Cosmic creation and the end of convention
The Qur’an speaks of the creation of the universe as either a process
or an instantaneous response to the divine command ‘‘Be!’’ so that ‘‘it
becomes’’ (kun fa-yakun) (2:117; 3:47; 6:73 and elsewhere). Within the
qur’anic formulations there are various aspects of the creative process,
including the dimensions of creation ex nihilo (ibda‘), creation (khalq)
that occurs through combining and developing elements that already
exist, and God’s continuous divine management (tadbır) (32:4–5) of
creation.
The idea that the natural order and physical creation as we know it
will be transformed or overturned at the eschaton is found repeatedly in
the Qur’an. Despite the incredulity of his unbelieving audience, in the
epoch of the Prophet the concept of judgement and ‘‘the Hour’’ seems to
have had a radical urgency. ‘‘How shall you know? Perhaps the Hour is
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