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Dr. Amr Khaled, an Islamic preacher, said that closing the 300-year civilizational gap with the West requires creativity, which is considered an act of worship for which one is rewarded, according to the Prophet Muhammad's saying: "Whoever initiates a good practice in Islam will have its reward and the reward of those who act upon it until the Day of Judgement".
In the twenty-fifth episode of his Ramadan program "Dalil - A Journey with the Quran," Khaled explained that there are barriers to creativity, which he outlined as three reasons: daily life pressures, restrictions that prevent the mind from being creative, and laziness and dullness.
Conversely, he noted that there are three things from the Quran that stimulate creativity, they are: intense love and affection for goodness, continuous learning, and spiritual worship that removes daily life noise from your mind enabling it to create.
Three levels of creativity
Khaled indicated that Surah An-Naml encompasses three levels of creativity: divine creativity, human creativity, and animal creativity, alongside 7 types of creativity: scientific, technological, administrative leadership, engineering, exploratory cognitive architectural.
He added that the Surah combines a formula for achieving triple creativity: love for goodness, knowledge and learning, mind-cleansing worship, and includes 6 stories of creativity: Prophet Solomon, the ants, the hoopoe, the Queen of Sheba, then Solomon's creativity again, and God's creativity in creating the universe.
He explained that the driver in all the stories is: great love for goodness, knowledge and learning, servitude to God, mentioning that the Surah is named Surah An-Naml although the common hero in it is Solomon, so there is no excuse or reason for humans to be lazy about being creative.
14 different types of creativity
Khaled highlighted 14 different types of creativity included in the Surah, as follows:
1- Administrative leadership creativity: "And gathered for Solomon were his troops of jinn and men and birds, and they were [all] driving [or] being driven."
2-Amazing scientific creativity: "And it was said to the people: 'We have been taught the speech of birds'"; namely their way of thinking, what triggers their instincts and motivations.
Ant creativity
Khaled revealed the creative aspects that the ants were distinguished by, as mentioned in the Surah:
1-Engineering creativity: (The Valley of Ants is an engineering marvel).
He said that ants live in valleys because they are moist and away from the heat of the mountains, and ants play a significant role in the vitality and continuity of the Earth by recycling waste in the soil, thus digging tunnels to ventilate the soil with the introduction of water and air deep into the ground, thus opening opportunities for easy and healthy plant growth.
2-Media creativity: "Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, 'O ants, enter your dwellings so that Solomon and his troops will not crush you, and they do not feel it'", specific eloquent words that saved the ant nation before Solomon and his troops could destroy them.
3-Cultural creativity: The ant was cultured enough to understand that Solomon would not step on and see them, because he wanted a civilization of goodness, thus it said: (and they do not realize).
4- Technological creativity: How did Solomon understand the ant's speech? Ants emit sound vibrations, and produce noise when their bodies rub against each other, sending and receiving sound signals through their antennas.
5-Remarkable linguistic creativity in the Quran: "said an ant, ‘O ants, enter your dwellings so that Solomon...," it did not say step on you or kill you, as smashing is for something solid not for something soft and tender like ants, whose bodies are covered with a solid external skeletal structure similar to glass, hence it said: "so that Solomon and his troops will not crush you", and the Quran mentioned that scientific fact about the anatomy of insects 1400 years ago.
Creativity of the hoopoe
Khaled also highlighted the hoopoe's creativity, as follows:
1-Exploratory cognitive creativity: (The creative hoopoe had a love for exploration and a remarkable curiosity, driven by the love of goodness to fly thousands of kilometers from the Levant to Yemen, to save the nation of Queen of Sheba from disbelief to faith).
2-Photographic visual creativity: (It sees things, memorizes them, and described her throne precisely; to save them from the fire).
In relation to Queen of Sheba's creativity, Khaled elucidated her creative facets as the verses narrate about her: "Go with my letter, deliver it to them, then withdraw from them and see what they respond.".
He described her as having great social intelligence and creativity "And indeed, I am about to send them a gift, then I will see what the messengers return with", if Solomon was a king who sought fame, he would accept the gift, but if he sought guidance and reform, he would not accept it. So came the reply as narrates the Quran: "But when [the gift] came to Solomon, he said, 'Do you provide me with wealth? But what Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Yet you rejoice in your gift!'"
Solomon's creativity
-Scientific and technological creativity: "He said, 'O assembly [of jinn], which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?,'" the role of religion is continuous learning, and the one with the knowledge took a D3 picture of the throne with all its details, based on the details narrated by the hoopoe, and when she saw it she said: "It is as though it were it."
-Aesthetic and architectural creativity: "It was said to her, 'Enter the structure', and when she saw it, she thought it was a pool and uncovered her legs. He said, 'Indeed, it is a smoothed [structure] of crystal.' She said, 'My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah , the Lord of the worlds."
**Digital creativity in Surah An-Naml**
And Khaled pointed out the digital creativity in Surah An-Naml:
-The Surah begins with two letters Ta, Seen.
-The Surah is number 27 among the Quran's Surahs. The letter Ta has been repeated 27 times in it.
-The Surah has 93 verses, and the letter Seen has been repeated 93 times in it.
**The recipe for achieving creativity**
Khaled outlined the recipe for achieving creativity in Surah An-Naml, which consists of three things: a deep love for goodness, servitude to Allah, and continuous learning.
What drives Solomon?
1- Passion and love for goodness: (An immense effort made by Solomon to establish a civilization for Allah, he manages a system of all creatures, and his passion for goodness is evident when he smiled at the ant’s realization that he would not knowingly step on her "Then he smiled, amused at her speech").
2- Servitude to Allah: (Every step of success must be followed by gratitude to Allah), and this came in three places in the Surah: "Praise be to Allah, who has favored us over many of his believing servants", "My Lord, inspire me to be thankful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteous deeds that will please You. And admit me by Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants", "This is by the favor of my Lord".
3- Continuous learning: "And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge", "and Solomon succeeded David. He said, 'O people, we have been taught the language of birds'", "The one with knowledge from the Scripture said...".
What drives the ant?
1- Passion for goodness: (Her love for goodness drove her to save her nation from death).
2- Creativity: (Her creativity drove her to save the ant nation from death).
3- Team spirit: (She did not move to save herself, but called and warned).
What drives the hoopoe?
1- Goodness: (Saved a human nation, whereas the ant saved a nation of her own kind).
2- Servitude: (His zeal for the religion made him tell Solomon about them: They do not prostrate to Allah).
3- Continuous learning: (Photographic memory).
**Creator's Creativity**
And Khaled emphasized the creator's creativity, as follows:
1- Creativity in the beauty of nature and the universe: "Who created the heavens and the earth and sent down water from the sky for you, so We grew through it gardens of joy whose trees you could not [otherwise] have grown. Is there a deity with Allah? [No], but they are a people who equate [others with Him]".
2- Creativity in the precise balance of the universe: "Who has made the earth a stable ground, and placed within it rivers, and set for it firmly set mountains and placed between the two seas a barrier. Is there a deity with Allah? [No], but most of them do not know".
3- After being amazed by the beauty and order of the universe, it surprises you with its concern for you: "Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Little do you remember".
Watch the episode:
https://youtu.be/hBZEVsO0RuE?si=xi5IiSZ1zWRDcWne
