Be, and it is

"Be, and it is" (كن فيكون kun fa-yakūnu) is a phrase that occurs several times in the Qur'an. It refers to creation by Allah. In Arabic the imperative verb be (kun) is spelled with the letters kāf and nūn.

Verse numbers

• 2:117- The Initiator of the heavens and the earth: to have anything done, He simply says to it, "Be," and it is.

• 3:47- She said, "My Lord, how can I have a son, when no man has touched me?" He said, "God thus creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He simply says to it, 'Be,' and it is."

• 6:73- He is the One who created the heavens and the earth, truthfully. Whenever He says, "Be," it is. His word is the absolute truth. All sovereignty belongs to Him the day the trumpet is blown. Knower of all secrets and declarations, He is the Most Wise, the Cognizant.

• 16:40- To have anything done, we simply say to it, "Be," and it is.

• 19:35- It does not befit God that He begets a son, be He glorified. To have anything done, He simply says to it, "Be," and it is."

• 36:82- All He needs to do to carry out any command is say to it, "Be," and it is.

• 40:68- He is the only One who controls life and death. To have anything done, He simply says to it, "Be," and it is.

In popular culture

The soundtrack of Indian Hindi film Rockstar (2011) has a qawwali by the title "Kun Faya Kun", composed by A. R. Rahman and picturised at the mausoleum of 13th-century Sufi saint, Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi.

See also

• "אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה" ("I Am that I Am", "I will be what I will be", or "I shall be what I am"), Biblical name of Allah
• Soham in the Sankrit language