Manifestation of the Names: Creator, Form-Giver, and Life-Giver

God says regarding the creation of Adam: “Indeed I am about to create a human being out of clay. So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down in prostration before him.”(391) And He bestowed this same proportioning regarding the creation of a bird, along with giving it life, to Christ (a.s.): “and when you would create from clay the form of a bird, with My leave.”(392) This means that Christ (a.s.) is a manifestation of the “Creator” (Khāliq), as he brings together the components of what he wishes to create, and he is also a manifestation of the “Form-Giver” (Muṣawwir), meaning he gives form, and he is a manifestation of the “Life-Giver” (Muḥyī), meaning he breathes spirit and gives life. Just as Isrāfīl (a.s.) is a manifestation of “He who gives life” and by God’s permission bestows spirits upon bodies, and just as ʿAzrāʾīl (a.s.) is a manifestation of “He who causes death” and by the Lord’s permission takes spirits from bodies, the prophets of firm resolve (Ulū l-ʿAzm) (a.s.), who are higher than the angels in terms of being taught the names, can be manifestations of “He who gives life,” “He who constrains,” “He who expands,” and so forth.

The three acts of creation, forming, and giving life are expressed through three phrases “I create,” “the form of a bird,” and “I breathe”: “I create” refers to the primary materials; “the form of a bird” relates to giving form to internal and external organs; “I breathe” pertains to giving life. On this basis, Christ’s (a.s.) creation before the breathing was not merely a statue like a handmade ceramic, but rather was a real bird in terms of body, with all organs and limbs.

If we interpret “I create for you from clay the form of a bird” only as a manifestation of “He who gives form,” we would necessarily have to account for the creation of the bird’s organs through “I breathe into it,” resulting in either metaphorical word usage or metaphorical attribution, because in this case “I breathe” would mean “I form and give life” - meaning both giving organs, limbs, digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system and the like, and giving life. It is difficult to impose these meanings on “I breathe,” but all these matters can be well understood from “the form of a bird,” and this phrase has the capacity to bear these meanings.

Remember: The “for” (lām) in “I create for you” is not for subjugation, unlike “He it is who created for you all that is in the earth.”(393) This means it does not signify that “I have been sent as a messenger to create a bird for you to use,” but rather it indicates scientific benefit and religious inference, similar to “as an excuse before your Lord”,(394) meaning “as evidence for you” and “as a sign for you.”