مَا زَالَ بِصِفَاتِهِ قَدِيمًا قَبْلَ خَلْقِهِ
Before creating anything, Allah was eternally possessed of His attributes.
Claim under examination: Someone argues that if Allah is eternally Creator, creatures too must have existed eternally; otherwise the attribute of creating would have arisen later.
What the text establishes: The divine attributes are eternal while created objects to which they relate are originated. An eternal attribute does not require every object related to it to be eternal.
What does not follow: Confusing the attribute of creation with the time a creature comes into being is mistaken. The text establishes the eternality of divine attributes, not the eternality of creatures.
Application: In examples, distinguish an eternal attribute from a created object.