By Dr. Maxwell Shimba | Max Shimba Ministries Org
Shalom.
One of the central claims of Islamic theology is the belief in the existence of jinn, beings created from smokeless fire, distinct from humans who are made from clay, and angels who are made from light. The Qur'an asserts:
"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me."
(Qur’an 51:56)
While this passage establishes the intended purpose for both human and jinn existence, it leaves unanswered a critical question: On which day of creation were the jinn created?
This is a fundamental theological issue that deserves close examination because it reveals significant gaps and ambiguities within Islamic cosmology — especially when compared to the detailed, orderly chronology of creation provided in the Bible.
The Order of Creation in Islamic Tradition: A Missing Element
Islamic scripture, notably the Qur'an, mentions the creation of the heavens, the earth, and all that is in between in six days:
"Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days..."
(Qur'an 7:54)
However, what is conspicuously absent in the Qur'an is a clear, sequential account of what was created on each of those six days — unlike the Genesis narrative in the Bible (Genesis 1:1–31), which meticulously records each day's creative acts.
This leads to the following pressing question for Muslim scholars and apologists:
On which specific day did Allah create the jinn?
While hadith literature and tafsir (commentaries) offer varying opinions, none present a definitive, consistent, or universally accepted day within the six-day framework. Some Islamic scholars suggest the jinn were created before mankind, citing passages such as:
"And the jinn We created before from scorching fire."
(Qur’an 15:27)
Yet even here, the exact timing remains ambiguous. Was it on the first day, second day, or sometime before the six days of creation began? The Qur’an remains silent on this matter.
The Biblical Contrast: A Clear Chronology
In stark contrast, the Bible presents a coherent, day-by-day account of creation. Genesis 1 details the order of creation from light, the firmament, dry land, vegetation, celestial bodies, animals, and finally mankind on the sixth day. There is no mention of beings such as jinn, since such a category does not exist in Biblical theology — only angels and humans are recognized as sentient, moral beings.
This contrast underscores a theological deficiency in the Qur'an’s creation narrative. While the Bible provides believers with a structured, understandable cosmology, the Qur'an leaves its adherents with unresolved ambiguities, raising questions about the consistency and completeness of its account.
A Challenge to Muslim Scholars
Therefore, we respectfully challenge our Muslim counterparts:
Provide us with a definitive, Qur'an-based account specifying on which day of the six-day creation Allah created the jinn.
If the Qur'an is, as it claims, a clear and detailed book of guidance (Qur’an 16:89), why does it omit such a crucial element of its cosmology? Is it reasonable to believe in a text that establishes the purpose of a created being (worship) without establishing when that being came into existence within its cosmological framework?
This theological inconsistency invites further scrutiny into the reliability of Islamic cosmology and raises broader questions about the internal coherence of Qur'anic revelation.
Shalom,
Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Max Shimba Ministries Org
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