The Question of Who Created Allah

Peace be upon you As a young child, while lying down in my bed before falling asleep I used to wonder: Doesn't everything have a Creator? Then, who created Allah? I'd then feel that this question is prohibited and that it did not occur to anyone before Then I grew up and found out that many others have the same question and that the Prophet Peace & Blessings be upon him told us that many would ask it and guided us on how to deal with it First: Where did this question come from? From our misunderstandings! "Everything has a cause and every existing thing has a creator." is not correct! Instead, the correct axiom is: Every emergent thing has a cause and every creature has a Creator Every emergent thing needs a cause 'emergent' means it has a beginning It came into existence from non-existence So everything 'with a beginning' needs a cause to bring it from non-existence to existence into being after it wasn't there What caused the plant to grow? The rain What brought the rain down? The clouds What formed the clouds? The rising steam Where did the steam come from? From the oceans And who caused the oceans to exist? Allah And who created Allah? He does not have a creator Because He is the First Cause That is He has no cause Why? Because if you assume that Allah has a creator then you will ask: Who created His creator? And so on to perpetuity which leads to an infinite regress of causes also called 'Infinite chain of doers' which is logically impossible because its necessary result is: No creation as we explained in the last episode with the example of the prisoner who won't be released until the soldier receives an order from his officer and the officer receives an order from his officer and so on with the result that the prisoner will never be released! But, if he is released we would know that the chain stopped with someone who gave the order without waiting for a superior Here's another example to illustrate the impossibility of infinite regress: If you enter a house look through its door and see a chandelier hanging from a chain but you don't see where this chain starts; you'll know for sure that it starts at the ceiling Otherwise, it wouldn't be hanging and would have fallen You will not accept the idea that the chain could be infinitely extended Therefore, the question: Who created the Creator? is a wrong question because it contradicts reason The mind dictates that if the universe is created then there should be a Creator Who is not created It is a wrong question because —rationally— a First Cause is necessary When you ask: Who created the First Cause? It is no longer a First Cause Rather, it becomes a second cause Therefore, the causality principle applies only to events with a beginning If you enter your room and see that your bed has been moved; you ask: "Who moved the bed?" because its movement is an emergent event Whereas, if you enter your room and see that the bed is in place you don't ask: "Who kept the bed in place?" because the bed staying in place isn't a new occurrence that needs a cause Allah the Exalted, Who is the First Cause isn't an emergent thing to need a cause He is beyond the material world that He created and He is not governed by its rules If you see a moving puppet and you know that behind the curtain there is a person moving it; would it be acceptable to ask: "Who's moving the strings of this person?" If you see a loaf of bread and you know that it must have a baker Do you ask: "Who baked the baker?" Certainly not, it's a funny and incorrect question! Why? Because it's an out of context generalization Likewise, creation is an attribute inherent to created things and cannot be extended to the Creator So, the question: Who created Allah? is a wrong question It's like asking: "What is the length of the triangle's fourth side?" It's as if we're asking: "Who created the Uncreated?" Or: "Who preceded the Unprecedented?" The answer is: The Creator has no Creator because if He had a Creator He would be a creature NOT a Creator! So this question is not embarrassing nor is Islam afraid that people will ask it Rather, the Prophet Peace & Blessings be upon him told that it would be asked and showed us how to deal with it What did he, Peace & Blessings be upon him, guide us to do? In the Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, that the Messenger of Allah, Peace & Blessings be upon him, said, "Satan comes to one of you whispering, ‘Who created this? Who created that?’ till he says, ‘Who created your Lord?’ So, when one reaches that, he should seek refuge in Allah and stop." (Bukhari & Muslim) stop means stop the chain of questions when it reaches this point Does this mean cancelation of the mind? Not at all! It's the proper rational stance Why? Because the question: Who created your Lord? —as we've shown— contradicts the necessary mental axioms that form the basis for deduction for which no proof is needed; otherwise, we'd require a never-ending chain of proofs! Meaning: He who asks this question needs to ask himself: What am I doing?! I'm contradicting necessary innate knowledge So, let me stop here before wasting my mind on logical absurdities! Therefore, in another Hadith the Prophet, Peace & Blessings be upon him directed those with this question to say “Allah is One, Allah is the Eternal Refuge, He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” (Al-Albani) Meaning: I believe that Allah is not an emergent thing like other emergent things He was not born to have a beginning nor does He have any equivalent He, the Exalted is apart from His creation He is not a creature, like them to need a Creator Therefore, this question is incorrect to begin with "But the question imposes itself upon me even though I know it's incorrect!" Do not worry! It's an obsession like other obsessions related to purity, ablution or prayer If you are afflicted with obsessions it's Satan making you doubt whether you washed or didn't wash; whether you intended to pray or not; whether you said 'Allahu Akkbar' the right way or not Even though these are all sure sensory things that require neither proof nor deduction yet you have doubts about them What is the solution in this case? Do you resort to proof and deduction? No, you seek refuge in Allah from Satan who whispers to you and you stop dwelling on the doubts he raises Similarly, in the case of the question: Who created Allah? You now know that it's a question that contradicts mental axioms Finally, the question: 'Who created Allah?' is also asked by atheists as an argument against the belief in Allah because they don't accept the idea that Allah is eternal without a beginning Tell the atheist who presents this argument, "Do you believe that the Universe has a beginning?" If he says: "Yes", then this emergent universe must have a Cause based on clear necessary mental axioms However, if he says, "No, it is eternal." Then say, "You have an objection to the Eternity of Allah but accept that the universe is eternal?! So, you don't object to the principle of eternity itself but you object to the Eternity of a Creator Who created the Universe with Knowledge, Will, Wisdom and Ability; Manifest in all His creation while you accept that an eternal universe just popped into place; a universe with no will, knowledge or wisdom." "...in their transgression, wandering blindly." (QTM 6:110) Peace & Mercy of Allah be upon you