Some people have a question on their mind: Does Allah, the creator of everything, also have a creator?
People have contradictory pursuits and expectations. They are both in search of eternity and in search of desire for everything to end somewhere. Expectation and boredom usually follow each other. They go on a vacation, have a lot of fun, and want the fun to continue. However, in time, a feeling of boredom begins to form, they want to finish it and return as soon as possible, as if they did not come voluntarily to have fun. In addition to the sense of continuity in human beings, there is also a desire for change, which is the opposite of it. The balance of these two provides inner peace.
If this balance is disrupted in favor of one aspect over the other, individuals often feel unsettled and seek to swiftly escape that state.
We were talking about Allah the Almighty…
Exactly. When you say we, you are referring to human beings. The person who is asking and is asked. It is not possible to understand Allah the Almighty without understanding the human being. In other words, a person needs to get to know oneself first in order to know Allah, the Creator. As they say, if you know yourself, you know your Lord...
So how do we get to know the human being?
I was just trying to tell you that. Why does a person who thinks even the things that give pleasure must have an end, want the beings to be in an endless sequence? However, everything we see, hear, and even know in the universe has an end. That means that the universe and everything in it is mortal. They start at one point and end at another point. Where it begins is when it was created. Therefore, the universe itself is finite and has a starting point when it was created.
Where do you get the idea that the universe is finite?
As I previously said, the universe that we perceive with our senses and understand with our minds and everything in it has an end. You mentioned creation in the question you asked. The creation of everything means that everything starts from somewhere. So, everything present in the universe definitely has a beginning. Scientific research also points to this. It is now accepted by scientists that the phenomena in the universe have a beginning when going backwards, and an end towards the future. We even have scientific predictions about the lifespan of the Sun, which warms and shines us. Obviously, an end is inevitable for everything that exists around us. Indeed, even our own empirical observations reaffirm that the beings in the universe have a beginning and an end. We witness those who die, those who are born; those who perish in the winter and turn to green in the spring, those that dry up and turn to seeds, those that grow out of the heart of the earth, those that are turned to ashes and those that rise from their ashes… We witness them all around us.
Well, how do we go from here to the Creator?
Again, we know that everything happens for a reason, directly or indirectly. There is undeniably a reason for the creation of the universe in which such transformations and changes take place. Assuming that the Creator, the reason that brought the universe into existence with these changes and transformations, is within the universe that requires Him to be subject to the same law of transformation and change. However, such a notion of the Creator undergoing change and transformation necessitates the existence of yet another creator. This would lead to only impossibility on the one hand and uncertainty on the other. Ancient scholars termed this line of thought as a circular argument (tasalsul), characterizing it as invalid reasoning and fallacious argumentation. A circular argument forms an endless chain that extends infinitely, rendering it impossible to comprehend with the mind. Instead, it burdens the intellect, tires individuals, and subjects them to uncertainty. Indeed, contemplating the succession of creators in this manner contradicts reason and logic.
So, to think that the God within the universe makes him both a part of the universe and subject to the laws of corruption in the universe?
Yes, indeed, that is exactly what I mean. Therefore, God must be beyond the confines of the universe, and transcend the laws of creation and decay. Consequently, this leads us to the conclusion that God is distinct and separate from the universe and all its contents. Since God is not subject to the law of creation and decay, He does not require a beginning or an end. Since there is no beginning nor an end, the question of another creator becomes meaningless. So, asking questions like who created Allah is not meaningful and it is illogical. Thus, the idea of the Creator of everything being created is invalid both logically and theologically.
At this point, there is a question on my mind: Couldn’t the universe itself be infinite?
The impossibility of this is proven by both historical experience and today’s scientific findings. As we’ve mentioned before, scientific studies have predicted lifespan even for the planets within the universe, including the Sun. Observations and science prove that the beings in the universe have an end, so, it is a logical conclusion that the universe, which is the sum of these beings, is finite. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the universe was claimed to be an indestructible machine that would work forever. What happened next? The facts and the science made this claim invalid. Thus, the claim that the universe is infinite, yet where all living things can become extinct, the vast seas are polluted, the ozone layer in the atmosphere is depleted and no place has been found for life in the wide space yet, contradicts itself. Although scientific studies have been extremely advanced so far, they still have not been able to prevent the extinction of certain species and the deterioration of the ecological balance in the world. On the other hand, the Big Bang theory, which is also embraced by atheists today, shows that the universe had a beginning. Thus, if there is a beginning, then inevitably there is an initiator because something does not happen by itself. The initiator must be outside the universe and completely different from it. In this case, it is impossible to say that Allah was created.
Well, why doesn’t Allah prevent the extinction of a creature He created?
We said from the very beginning: that it is a necessity that the being that Allah will create is different from Himself. Therefore, if Allah, the Creator, is preeternal and eternal, there must be a beginning and an end to the existence He created. Naturally, if a being has a beginning, it must have an end.
