Allah created everything (confusion )
 

Salams to all!
Was just talking to a sheikh who told me that to create is to make something out of nothing.
Confusion I had was that he said all matter are created but he answered me in a way that was a bit confusing to me. So I came here to ask. Just please simplify things for me as much as possible, just what I as a layman have to know.

For instance, I have a carpet- Allah alone created my carpet. He created the material it was made out, the actions of the person who weaved the carpet, my seeing of the carpet he also created. This is just an example, but did I make a mistake anywhere here in my thinking?

Of course Allah created the moon, stars, etc, but also our actions He alone created.

Refer to surah 37 I believe. You will find your answer in there. You are right tho. But what is your confusion? Or is your confusion what I think is your confusion? Ikhtiyaar, freedom of choice. That's basically all we have. If we choose to do good Allah swt creates our good action. If we choose to do sin Allah swt creates it but Allah swt also creates the beating we get for choosing sin.

But doesn't Allah http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/taala.gif also create this "choice"? I mean if we "choose" to do something good then both the good action and our choosing the good is created by Allah..right?

http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/salam.gif

That's where free will plays in. Allah Ta'aala gives of the choice of which action to choose to do, and then He enables us to carry out the action we wish to. That's what I have understood in any case.

Creation of good/evil is different from the action of doing good/evil.
creation of evil is not bad, but the action of doing evil is bad.
Allah (s.w.t) gave us very little command(ikhtiyar) for us over our actions.
eg., He gave us eyes to see. Now, he gave us this little ikhtiyar either to watch TV, or read quran.
The result of this action will be in akhirat.
Hope i am clear. Please correct me if i am wrong.

Yup, at best we have very little ikhtiyaar. Yes, the act of creating good/evil is actually a sign of greatness but doing evil is bad.

In one sense we have a lot of choice. In another sense we have no choice. It depends how you look at it.

http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/salam.gif

Read post # 104 from the link by Mufti Intructor. May Allah increase his life.....


http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...=occasionalism

assalaamu 'alaykum fusus sahib
i would really like to understand this more. which ayat in surah 37 and can you please elaborate more?

Off the top of my head I would guess ayat 40-45 somewhere. I will check it out insha'Allah.

- Correction, it is ayat 96.

http://globalquran.com/images/surah/37/37_96.png

Thats very true. My shaikh and I discussed this back and forth for a bit but we left it off because people were coming by for salaam duas. It is definitely an interesting topic. Maybe again we will discuss one day if Allah swt wills.

http://www.ahadees.com/images/quran/arabic/76_30.gif

The confusion wasn't about that. It was more about his usage of the word 'create' and I had some confusion there. He said it means to make something out of nothing, which is true but I just wanted to know for a layperson like me, is it enough for me to believe whatever there is, whether its a supermarket or the moon, Allah alone created it.

He was saying regarding some things, Allah created what theyre made out of and put them together into one thing. It was a bit confusing; I just wanted him to say Allah created everything and leave it at that since it's easier for someone like me who has a
tough time grasping things, to understand.

Bottom line is Allah alone created everything and yes peoples actions, too.

Is it Ok to believe Allah uses people as a means to create something, such as creating something through our actions?

Well, although i am not sure i understood your query. I think you have a confusion between khilqat and sanát. Although both are urdu words (which i cannot translate) with the below meanings.
Khilqat is to create something when it was non-existant. word khaliq is from this word.
sanát is to create something from the created ones.

I think that's what my confusion was, too. It just threw me off a bit how he was answering about peoples actions being created and that Allah created the raw materials and He put them together, etc.

While I am here I do have another question. I always thought to cause meant to make something happen. But the sheikh described it as Causing is to initiate a chain of events that will result in an intended outcome. Can anyone elaborate or give an example?

Also, if you say Allah made something happen, is it a separate action of Allah from his creAting? Example: The trees sway in the wind. Allah alone made it happen that they swayed AND he alone created their swaying. If you believe that He alone created the swaying, does that already mean He alone mAde it happen the trees swayed?