Question: A Muslim brother wrote a letter mentioning that one of his colleagues has some doubts; he acknowledges that Allah (Glorified be He) is the Creator of the heavens, earth, ‘Arsh (Allah’s Throne), Kursy (Allah’s Chair) and everything. However, he wonders who created Allah.
Answer: As for the question about who created Allah, such a question should not be asked by a Muslim. A Muslim should be satisfied with the knowledge that the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) found to be sufficient, for they never asked such a question although they were the most knowledgeable of all people. “Who created Allah?”, no one created Allah because He is the creator.
Allah (Glorified be He) says about Himself: There is nothing like Him; and He is the All Hearer, the All Seer and He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the All-Knower of everything.
[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. (Surah Ash-Shuraa – 11)
May Allah grant me, you and all believers success in understanding His Religion and holding fast to it, you should know that devils among mankind and jinn will continue to throw Muslims into doubt with regard to the Truth to bring Muslims out of light into darkness and also make disbelievers cling tighter to their false beliefs. It is already foreknown and predestined by Allah that this world is for trials and conflict between truth and falsehood. Allah (Glorified be He) says:
Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: “We believe,” and will not be tested. And We indeed tested those who were before them. Surah Al-‘Ankabut – 2
And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test).
Surah Al-‘Ankabut – 3.
We shall test you until We know those who strive amongst you and those who have patience, and We shall test your affairs. (i.e. the one who is a liar, and the one who is truthful). Surah 47:31
Allah (Glorified be He) makes it clear in the above verses that He tests those who claim to be believers to make evident the truth of their faith or its falsity. Allah (Glorified be He) informs that this is what was done with past nations to make evident those who are true and those who are liars. This test of faith includes trials of faith, wealth, poverty, sickness, health, confronting, enemies and different kinds of doubts being cast by the devils among mankind and jinn so that the person who is true in faith will be distinct from the liar.
And certainly, the Shayatin (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them [by making Almaitah (a dead animal) legal by eating it], then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists); [because they (devils and their friends) made lawful to you to eat that which Allah has made unlawful to eat and you obeyed them by considering it lawful to eat, and by doing so you worshipped them; and to worship others besides Allah is polytheism]. Surah Al-An’am Ayat 121
And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies Shayatin (devils) among mankind and jinn, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it; so leave them alone with their fabrications. Surah Al-An’am – 112
(And this is in order) that the hearts of those who disbelieve in the Hereafter may incline to such (deceit), and that they may remain pleased with it, and that they may commit what they are committing (all kinds of sins and evil deeds). Surah Al-An’am Ayat 113
Allah (Glorified be He) mentions that devils sow doubts into the people’s hearts and inspire them with adorned speech so as to overwhelm them with confusion concerning Islam. They (devils) spread and mix truth with falsehood to throw people into doubt and divert them from guidance. This is the same as inspiring into the mind of believers, the question “Who created Allah”
Having thoughts like this “Who created Allah” or any other isn’t something new, it was authentically reported in many Sahih (authentic) Hadiths that some of the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) said to the Prophet (peace be upon him):
“We find in ourselves thoughts that one of us finds too terrible to speak of.” He (peace be upon him) said, “Have you truly found this?” They said, “Yes.” He (peace be upon him) said, “That is (a sign of) pure Iman (faith).” Sahih Muslim
This means that Satan is after the believers and looking for a way to throw doubts in the mind and turn them into disbelievers. As for the person having the doubt about “who created Allah” should know that this is from Satan and should cast out such thoughts from the mind. We can learn from what the Prophet (peace be upon him) told his companions, “That is (a sign of) pure Eemaan (faith)”, it means that feeling that it is too grave to express such insinuations indicates that those companions have Eemaan (faith) and are scared of spoiling the faith by saying such things or even believing in it.
Feeling that gravity and having fear of speaking about who created Allah, let alone believing in it, comes from a person who has reached perfect ‘Eemaan and the best thing is to fight the thoughts off, from the mind, remain firm in faith and never think about such thought again.
Hadiths that explained more on having thought about who created Allah
Al-Imam Al-Bukhari (may Allah be merciful to him) said in Al-Jami` Al-Saheeh, p. 336, vol. VI, Fath Al-Baree, chapter on the Character of Satan and His Soldiers:
Yahya ibn Bakir narrated from Al-Layth from `Aqil from Ibn Shihab from `Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
‘Satan comes to one of you and says, ‘Who created such and such? Who created such and such?’ until he says, ‘Who created your Lord (who created Allah)?’ When he reaches this far (i.e. when such a question is provoked within him), let him seek refuge with Allah and stop such thoughts.’ Sahih Muslim 134
Muslim reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“People will keep on asking, until it is said: ‘Allah is the Creator of everything, who, then, has created Allah?’ Whoever experiences anything like this, let him say, ‘I believe in Allah and His Messengers.’
Muslim reported this Hadeeth with another wording on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said:
Verily your Ummah (nation based on one creed) would constantly question this and that (matter) until they would say, ‘Well, it is Allah Who has created the creation, but who has created Allah?’
The recommended solution for anyone having this kind of thought (thinking about who created Allah) from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is :
Whoever encounters anything like that (having thought about who created Allah), let him say, “I believe in Allah and His Messengers” and in the second narration “ let him seek refuge with Allah and stop such thoughts,”
This means that one should give up such false thoughts and resort to Allah to help him get rid of them. It means that whenever one experiences such thoughts, they should resort to Allah (Exalted be He) and seek His help to ward off such evil and stop such thoughts. One should know that such thoughts are provoked by Satan, who seeks to spread corruption and temptation. A Muslim should resist these satanic insinuations and should put an end to them by occupying oneself with other useful thoughts. And Allah knows best.
An-Nawawy, (may Allah be merciful to him) commented on the Hadith narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah regarding the Prophet’s words: ‘Who created your Lord?’ When he reaches this far (i.e., when he inspires such a question), let him seek refuge with Allah and stop such thoughts. It means that one should not indulge in such thoughts, but rather seek the help of Allah to dispel such thoughts. One should realize that Satan wants to spoil one’s religion and mind with these insinuations. A Muslim should strive hard to dispel such thoughts by occupying themselves with other useful things.
Al Khattaby said: “The significance of this Hadith is that when Satan insinuates a person with such a thought on “who created Allah”, and the person seeks refuge with Allah and stops indulging with him, such a thought will be dispelled. The practical way is when Satan insinuated into someone that: ‘Who has created your Lord?’ one should end it instantly in one’s mind that it is impossible for the Creator to be created.
I hope it is now clear to you, dear questioner, and to your colleague who experienced this doubt, through the Ayahs, Hadeeths and scholarly opinions we have mentioned how such doubts are completely false and baseless. Allah (Glorified be He) has no partner, peer, or equal.
He is perfect in His Essence, Attributes and Actions. He is the Creator of everything, and anything other than Him is created. Allah tells us in His Truth-Clarifying Book and also through His Honest Messenger (peace be upon him) what we should believe regarding Him, the way to know Him and the evidence of His Existence through His Names, Attributes and visible Signs in the heaven, earth, mountains, seas, rivers and all His other creatures, including man’s own self that testifies to Allah’s Power, Grandeur, Perfect Knowledge and Wisdom. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. Soorah al-Imraan 3:190
And on the earth are signs for those who have Faith with certainty. And also in your own selves. Will you not then see? Soorah ad-Dhariyaat 51:20-21
As for the essence of His Self and the nature of His Attributes, they are matters of the Ghayb (the Unseen) which He did not inform us of, and so one should believe in and show compliance without inquiring into them, following the example of the Salaf, Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) and their successors in righteousness.
They did not indulge in or ask about this (ask about who created Allah); rather, they believed in Allah (Glorified be He) and what He told about Himself in His Book and what His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) conveyed without any addition. They believed that there is nothing like Him; and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. Whoever experiences such waswasah (whispers that who created Allah) should feel the gravity and cast it strongly out of the mind.
Know that Allah is the Creator of everything and anything other than Him is created, then say: “I believe in Allah and His Messengers” and seek refuge with Allah from the incitements of Satan. These would dispel and discard them as the Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered us in the Hadeeths mentioned above.
Therefore, the best cure to such insinuations in order to be safe from their evil is to obey and rely on the commandments of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to give up indulging in them. This is in accordance with the Words of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He):
And if an evil whisper from Shaytaan (Satan) tries to turn you away (O Muhammad) (from doing good), then seek refuge in Allah. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. Soorah Fussilat 41:36
Seeking refuge with Allah (Glorified be He), resorting to Him and avoiding the subjects introduced by the whispers of the devils, sceptics and empty talkers like philosophers is the way of safety and salvation from the plots of devils among human beings and Jinn. May Allah save you, all Muslims and myself from their
tricks.
Therefore, when some people asked Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) about such insinuations “who created Allah”, he cast pebbles at them and did not answer them. He only said, “My close friend (the Prophet) told the truth (that the devil with cast such thoughts into people’s mind and make them ask about who created Allah).” A Muslim, in this regard, should recite the Ever-Glorious Qur’an frequently and contemplate it, for it clarifies Allah’s Attributes and Greatness and gives evidence to His Existence, which instils faith, love and glorification in the hearts. It creates firm belief that Allah (Glorified be He) is the Lord and Creator of everything. There is no god or lord except Him.
A Muslim should also ask Allah to grant them more useful knowledge, insight, steadfastness in the truth and safety from falling into misguidance after guidance. He (Glorified be He) directs and urges His Servants to ask for His Favours, and promises them to answer their requests. He (Glorified and Exalted be He) says:
And your Lord said: “Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!” Soorah Ghafir 40:60
I ask Allah to guide us, your colleague and all other Muslims to understand religion and to keep us from deluding trials, tricks and incitements of the devils among mankind and Jinn. Indeed, He is the Patron, Capable of all things.
As-salamu `alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatuh (May Allah’s Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you). May the Peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Servant and our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions.
Majmooa’al-Fatwa Of Sheikh Ibn Bazz
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