Sharh Al-Aqeedat-il-Wasitiyah (Islamic book) -A muslims foundation of beliefs

13. Some Attributes of Allah and their meanings

And Allah said: "He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), and the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the Al-Knower of everything." (Surah Al-Hadid, 57:3) And Allah said: "And put your trust (O Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Ever Living One Who dies not." (Surah Al-Furqan, 25:58); And said, "He is the All-Knower, the All-Wise" (Surah At-Tahrim, 66:2); "The All-Wise., the All-Aware." (Surah Saba ', 34:1).

The Statement of Allah: "He is the First and the Last, and the Most High and the Most Near; and He is All-Knower of everything," is for the recognition of both the sides. This verse shows that all these four names are specific for the Exalted Allah, and their meanings are particularized for Him on account of His Grace and Grandeur. For this reason nothing can be proved for anything other than Him. There occurs inconsistency in the writings of the theologians in the explanation of these names.

However, in the presence of the explanation done by the infallible Prophet (peace be upon him), we stand in no need of any other explanation. It is reported in Sahih Muslim with the ascription of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would Often say while lying in the bed:

"O Allah! The Lord of all the seven heavens, and the Lord of the earth, and the Lord of everything, the splitter of the seed and the seed stones, Revealer of the Torah, the Evangels, and the Quran, I seek Your refuge from the mischief of every mischievous being, for You are the First, there is nothing earlier than You. You are the Last there is nothing after You. You are the Most High nothing is over You, You are the Most Near, there is nothing nearer than You! Repay my debts and save me from wants."

This is a clear exegesis which provides proof for the perfect greatness of Allah He has been encompassing everything in every sense. The First and the Last are the indicators of the temporal limits and the High and the Near are the indicators of the special limits. Moreover, the name High reveals that He is above the entire creation nothing is above Him.

The entire basis of these four names lies on His encompassing. The fact that He is the First and the Last has encompassed the beginning and the end, and His being the High, the Near has encompassed all the far and the near things. The name First proves that Allah is the ancient most and the name Last proves His being the Perpetual and the Eternal. His farness is the proof of His height and greatness and His nearness is the proof of His closeness and companionship. Then the verse ends with the sentence which shows that His Knowledge encompasses all the events of the past, present and future.

Not an iota of anything of the earth and the heavens is beyond His Knowledge. In this way, this verse describes that the Grace of Allah encompasses all the existence of all the creatures. The whole universe lies in His Grip in such a manner as a mustard seed lies in the grip of a man. Nothing lies beyond His reach. In between these Attributes only the word 'and' has occurred although all these are the Attributes of the same One Who has been praised. This has happened only for emphasis and firmness, because 'and' comes to render the first attribute as proven and firm. Its utility becomes greater on account of the fact that it has occurred between Attributes that are in contrast to each other.

It is inconceivable that to be qualified with these Attributes is doubtful; apparently the "firstness" negates to "lastness" and so also "farness" "nearness." That is why the illusion of denial has been removed by the emphasis of 'and'.

Allah said:

"And put your trust (O Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Ever Living One Who dies not." (25:58).

This verse is for the affirmation of some names and Attributes. It includes affirmation of His Name 'Living,' and negation of death, which is in contradiction of life. We have already described that Allah is living with life and this is an indispensable quality of His Self. It is for this reason that there is no death or decline for Him. His Life is the most perfect and for this reason the proof of His life is of the highest order whose negation is the contradiction of the perfection of life. The rest of the verses mention His Attribute of knowledge and affirm its derivatives such as His being the Knower or that He knows or that He encompasses everything by knowledge, etc.

Knowledge is the Attribute of Allah the Exalted and the Magnificent. Through this He knows the realities of all that is to be known. Nothing is obscure to Him.

The word Al-Hakeem is derived from Al-Hikmah. This signifies the One from Whom only correct acts are performed by the words and deeds. No useless and false move takes place by Him. On the other hand whatever He creates or orders, remains under His obedience. It has also been said that He is 'One Who makes things firm.' That is why there is found no variation and deficiency in whatever He creates, nor is there any disturbance and shakiness in His Plan.

The word Al-Khabeer is derived from Al-Khibrah which means perfect knowledge, certain and detailed encompassing of things and the access of His Knowledge to the obscure and minute experiences and meanings of things.