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In the first book of Moses, called Genesis, it is stated that (chapter i) God Almighty
through His infinite power, in five periods of time, which are spoken of as 'days',
created the heaven and the earth, the grass and the trees, and the seas and the fowls of
the air, and on the sixth day made quadrupeds, and last of all created man. But man's
creation was not like that of the other creatures, since with reference to them it is
written: 'And 1 God said, Let there be light: and there was light . . . . And
God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit
after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so . . . . And God
said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and let
fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. . . And God said, Let the earth
bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of
the earth after its kind: and it was so.' But regarding the creation of man, it is thus
written: 'And 2 God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth . . . . And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul.' And, from this difference
between man's creation and
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that of the beasts, it appears that man's position is far superior to theirs. And these
words, 'The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life,' indicate his high position: that is to say, from these words it does
not appear that God created man after some delay and effort, as is understood from the
Qur'an and Traditions; but simply that man, being exalted above the beasts and the other
creatures, was created in a special manner; for man did not come forth out of the earth
like the brutes, but God made him and breathed into him the breath of life. Therefore,
having been created in the image and likeness of his Creator, he became dear unto Him: and
he was created in order that, knowing and loving God, he might be perfect, and, serving
Him, might obtain happiness.
From the words, 'And 1 God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness', it is not to be understood that man's visible form and appearance are like
God's, for man's likeness to God consists in his inward and not in his outward
characteristics. Thus, in any good qualities of mind or spirit which are found in man, we
may see some resemblance to certain of God's attributes. If, for example, we consider
human mercy, kindness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, unselfish affection, we can in them
still detect some faint trace and reflection of God's infinite mercy, kindness, knowledge,
wisdom, justice,
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