Pre-eternity
Allah has no beginning
Core Claim
Allah is eternally pre-existent with no beginning — He existed when nothing else existed
Why It Matters
If Allah had a beginning, He would need someone to bring Him into existence — this contradicts His divinity and leads to an impossible infinite regress
Lesson
Pre-eternity (al-Qidam) means Allah has no beginning. He is *azalī* — eternally pre-existent. He was before everything and no non-existence preceded Him.
When the first creation (water) was made, place and time were created with it. Time does not flow over Allah — time itself is created, and Allah is transcendent above being subject to His creation.
The word "ancient" may apply to creation (like the Pyramids), but when a name or action is applied to both Allah and creation, the agreement is only in the word — the meaning differs entirely. The Pyramids are "ancient" meaning built long ago — Allah is "pre-eternal" meaning He has no beginning whatsoever.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah existed and nothing existed other than Him, and His Throne was upon the water" — meaning Allah existed alone before anything, then He created water and with it place and time.
Allah said: 'He is the First and the Last' (al-Hadid 57:3) — meaning the First without beginning and the Last without end.
From establishing that Allah has no beginning, it follows that He needs no one to bring Him into existence — because needing a cause is the mark of created things that have a beginning.
Notes from the lesson: - All creatures have a beginning. The proof is the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him): "Allah existed and nothing existed other than Him" (al-Bukhari). We understand from it that everything other than Allah is created and has a beginning. And "Allah existed" means: Allah existed in the beginningless past (*azal*). - The proof in the Quran: 'He is the First and the Last' (Surat al-Hadid). When the subject and the predicate both come definite, this gives restriction, that is: He alone is the First, without beginning. - *Al-qadīm*, *al-azalī*, *al-awwal*: their meaning is that His existence has no beginning (said of Allah). Said of creatures, they mean that a long time has passed over them.
The rational proof: If Allah had a beginning, He would have been non-existent and then become existent. And a rule: the non-existent creates nothing.
Key Points
- 1
Pre-eternity means Allah has no beginning — He was before time and space
- 2
Time and space are created — they were created along with the first creation, water
- 3
Agreement in word, difference in meaning: 'ancient' for creation means old in time; for the Creator it means without beginning
- 4
Time does not flow over Allah — time is a creation and He is its Creator
- 5
All creatures have a beginning — from the hadith of al-Bukhari we understand that everything other than Allah is created and has a beginning
- 6
Al-qadīm, al-azalī, al-awwal: said of Allah they mean His existence has no beginning; said of creatures they mean a long time has passed over them
- 7
When the subject and the predicate both come definite this gives restriction: 'He is the First' means He alone is the First, without beginning
- 8
The rational proof: if Allah had a beginning He would have been non-existent and then become existent, and the non-existent creates nothing
Evidence
Allah existed and nothing existed other than Him, and His Throne was upon the water.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3191 (Bad' al-Khalq). Another wording, «كَانَ اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ شَىْءٌ قَبْلَهُ», is in Sahih al-Bukhari 7418 (al-Tawhid)(sahih)
هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ
He is the First and the Last.
Quran 57:3 (Surah al-Hadid)
Glossary
القِدَم
al-Qidam
Having no beginning — a necessary attribute meaning Allah's existence has no start
أزلي
azalī
Eternally pre-existent — describing that which has no beginning
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