Pearl of Wisdom
'He, most High, has manifested Himself for them in His Book, without them seeing Him, by showing them His power.'
Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib [as] Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 147
Article Source
We acknowledge the Brother Hajj Ali Dirani for providing the original file containing the 'Asma ul Husna'. He can be contacted on alameer282@gmail.com The files you find here are NOT IN the Public domain, and the copy rights of the files still remain with the above author
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Al Awwal |
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"He is the First (al-Awwal) and the Last (al-Akhir) and the Ascendant (over all) and the One Who knows hidden things, and He is Cognizant of all things" (Qur’an, 57:3).
The Attribute "al-Awwal" means: the One upon Whom all others rely, the One Who advances all others. Applied to the Almighty, it means: He was never preceded in existence by anyone at all; He does not need anyone else at all; He is Independent of everything and everyone.
A Bedouin once asked the Messenger of Allah, "Where was Allah before creation?" He answered him by saying, "Allah was and there was nothing with Him." The Bedouin asked him again, "How about now?" He answered him by saying, "He is now just as He has always been." The Attribute "al-Awwal" exists in Surat al Hadeed: "He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant (over all), the One Who knows hidden things, and He is Cognizant of all things" (Qur’an, 57:3). And He is referred to by implication in this verse: "We have ordained death among you and We are not preceded in doing so by anyone else" (Qur’an, 56:60).
"Al-Awwal" is the first of anything different from Him. He has the upper hand over His foes, an advancement due neither to time nor to place nor to anything else that can be conceived by mind nor acquired by knowledge. "Al-Awwal" means the timeless, the perpetual, the One Who has neither a beginning nor an end. He is the First without a beginning; He exists on His own even before His creatures were ever there.
He is the Eternal One Who has always been and Who is never preceded by anyone at all. Allah has said, "We have ordained death among you, and We are not preceded in doing so by anyone else" (Qur’an, 56:60). This verse indicates that He, and Only He, has such power to effect death upon His servants, and He is the First to do so without anyone preceding Him.
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