The Eternal Attributes and Perfection of Allah

1. Allah’s attributes are eternal and enduring

مَا زَالَ بِصِفَاتِهِ قَدِيمًا قَبْلَ خَلْقِهِ
Before creating anything, Allah was eternally possessed of His attributes.

Allah’s essence has no beginning, and His attributes likewise are not created. The coming into existence of creatures did not cause any new attribute to arise in the divine essence.

Eternal without beginning (qadīm) describes what has no beginning; originated (ḥādith) describes what did not exist and then came into existence.

2. Creation adds nothing to the divine attributes

لَمْ يَزْدَدْ بِكَوْنِهِمْ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَكُنْ قَبْلَهُمْ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ
The existence of creatures did not add to Allah any attribute that He had not possessed before them.

A newly acquired perfection would imply the previous absence of that perfection. Allah is free from such deficiency. His perfect attributes existed before creation and remain after creation.

The change lies in the existence of created things, not in the Creator’s attributes.

3. The attributes endure as they have always been

وَكَمَا كَانَ بِصِفَاتِهِ أَزَلِيًّا كَذَلِكَ لَا يَزَالُ عَلَيْهَا أَبَدِيًّا
Just as Allah possessed His attributes from eternity, He will continue to possess them forever.

Azal denotes without beginning and abad denotes without end. Divine attributes are not subject to originating, increasing, diminishing, or ceasing as created characteristics are.

Their perfection is not dependent on changing conditions among creatures.

4. An eternal attribute and its originated relation

Allah’s attribute of creating is eternal, while the creature to which its effect relates comes into existence. Likewise, His attribute of providing sustenance is eternal, while the recipient of sustenance is created and originated.

Two matters must be distinguished:
The divine attribute — eternal and enduring.
The created entity and its relation to that attribute — appearing at its appointed time.

The beginning of a creature is not the beginning of Allah’s attribute.

5. The name Creator precedes creation

لَيْسَ مُنْذُ خَلَقَ الْخَلْقَ اسْتَفَادَ اسْمَ الْخَالِقِ
Allah did not first acquire the name “Creator” when He created creatures.

If being Creator began through the arrival of creation, Allah would not have possessed this attribute beforehand. But the attribute of creating is eternal.

Creation manifests the attribute; it does not bring the attribute into existence.

6. The name al-Bārī is not newly acquired

وَلَا بِإِحْدَاثِهِ الْبَرِيَّةَ اسْتَفَادَ اسْمَ الْبَارِي
Nor did Allah first acquire the name “al-Bārī” by bringing creatures into existence.

al-Khāliq (Creator) and al-Bārī (Originator) both belong to Allah’s divine names and attributes. Creatures are newly brought into existence, but no new perfection enters the divine essence.

Allah was entitled to these names before their created effects appeared.

7. Attributes of essence and attributes of action

Allah’s attributes are eternal and abiding. Some attributes, however, have a relation to created things that arises in time, as creation relates to what is created and provision to those receiving sustenance.

Attributes of essence concern perfections affirmed of Allah Himself. The effects of attributes of action appear among creatures at their appointed times.

This does not mean that a divine attribute itself originates in time.

8. Manifestation differs from the start of an attribute

The attribute of creating is already affirmed, while the time for bringing a particular creature into existence comes later.

Example: A creature did not exist and was then brought into existence by Allah. It is correct to say that the creature has now been created; it is incorrect to say that Allah has only now become Creator for the first time.

A creature’s prior nonexistence shows that it is originated, not that the divine essence or attribute previously lacked perfection.

9. Lordship without a prior subject

لَهُ مَعْنَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَلَا مَرْبُوبَ
Allah possessed the meaning of Lordship even when there was no subject under His nurturing and governance.

Rubūbiyyah (Lordship) is a divine perfection, while a marbūb is a created being that needs His care and governance.

The coming into existence of such creatures does not change the eternity of His Lordship.

10. Creator without a prior creature

وَمَعْنَى الْخَالِقِ وَلَا مَخْلُوقَ
Allah possessed the meaning of Creator although no creature yet existed.

Creating is His attribute, while a creature is something He brings into existence. His perfection as Creator cannot depend on the prior existence of created things.

Thus the divine names “Lord” and “Creator” were true before creatures appeared.

11. A common principle in Lordship and creating

لَهُ مَعْنَى الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ وَلَا مَرْبُوبَ، وَمَعْنَى الْخَالِقِ وَلَا مَخْلُوقَ
Lordship does not require a prior subject, nor does the divine attribute of creating require an already existing creature.

The divine names Lord and Creator are not waiting for created beings to appear before they become true.

Whatever begins to exist is creation; Allah’s essence and attributes were perfect before its beginning.

12. The name Giver of life precedes resurrection

وَكَمَا أَنَّهُ مُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى بَعْدَمَا أَحْيَا اسْتَحَقَّ هَذَا الِاسْمَ قَبْلَ إِحْيَائِهِمْ
Just as Allah is entitled to the name “Giver of life to the dead” after reviving them, He was entitled to this name before their revival.

Muḥyī al-mawtā means the One who brings the dead to life. The name does not denote a perfection first acquired on the Day of Resurrection.

The event of revival occurs at its appointed time; Allah was already entitled to the divine name.

13. Entitlement to Creator before bringing forth creation

كَذَلِكَ اسْتَحَقَّ اسْمَ الْخَالِقِ قَبْلَ إِنْشَائِهِمْ
Likewise, Allah was entitled to the name “Creator” before bringing creatures into existence.

Inshāʾ means bringing something into existence. The creation of an entity is an originated occurrence; the eternal divine perfection of creating did not begin with that occurrence.

The names Giver of life and Creator establish the same distinction between the divine attribute and its created effect.

14. Allah has power over everything

ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
This is because Allah has power over all things.

Allah does not obtain His power from something He intends to create. He was powerful before creation and remains powerful after it.

Power is a divine perfection; the existence of creation manifests its effects, not the origin of the attribute itself.

15. Every creature depends on Allah

وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَيْهِ فَقِيرٌ
Every thing is in need of Allah.

Created beings are not independent of His power and will in their existence, continuity, or conditions. Need belongs to the creature, not to the Creator.

The Creator is complete and independent in His essence and attributes; creation depends on Allah for its origin and continuance.

16. Every matter is easy for Allah

وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ عَلَيْهِ يَسِيرٌ
Every matter is easy for Allah.

Difficulty is judged by the limited strength and resources of human beings. No act is difficult for Allah in that sense, and no external support is needed for Him to bring something into existence.

No divine act causes a new power or perfection to arise in Him.

17. Allah needs nothing

لَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى شَيْءٍ
Allah is not in need of anything.

Creatures need others for their origin, continued existence, strength, and knowledge. Allah is independent in His essence and attributes.

The divine attribute of creating does not require a creature to complete it; it is the creature that needs its Creator. This is the proper direction of dependence.

18. Incomparability, hearing and seeing

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ، وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
Nothing is like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

Allah’s attributes are befitting His own essence. The manner in which creatures hear or see must not be projected onto the divine hearing and seeing.

Affirming divine incomparability does not negate Allah’s attributes; it affirms them without likening them to created attributes.

19. Power together with self-sufficiency

عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ — Allah has power over everything.
وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَيْهِ فَقِيرٌ — Everything depends on Him.
وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ عَلَيْهِ يَسِيرٌ — Every matter is easy for Him.
لَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى شَيْءٍ — He needs nothing.

Taken together, these statements affirm need as a characteristic of creation, and complete power and independence as belonging to Allah.

20. Divine knowledge precedes creation

خَلَقَ الْخَلْقَ بِعِلْمِهِ
Allah created creatures according to His knowledge.

Divine knowledge does not begin only after creatures exist and their circumstances become apparent. Allah knows how, where, and when creation comes into existence and what its conditions will be.

Divine knowledge is affirmed before creation and all its changing conditions; nothing escapes it.

21. Comprehensive knowledge and originated creatures

Being known to Allah before its creation is not the same as a creature already having an external existence.

Example: The emergence of a creature was known to Allah, while the creature actually came into existence at its appointed time.

Thus divine knowledge is eternal, but the creature’s existence is originated. Allah does not gain new knowledge when creatures appear.

22. Eternal divine attributes and originated creation

Allah is eternally Lord, Creator, Originator, Powerful, and Knowing; the prior existence of created beings is not a condition for these perfections.

Creation comes into existence at its appointed time according to His power, will, and knowledge. Its appearance adds nothing to Allah’s attributes.

The divine perfection of creating and the event of creation are distinct. This distinction preserves the meaning of His eternity, unendingness, power, and independence.