Al-Bâqî: The Everlasting

"The Everlasting of the heavens and the earth ..." (6:101). The Everlasting is Allah's quality the existence of which is necessary in itself. When human minds think of Allah in terms of the future, Allah is called the Everlasting and when it thinks of Allah in terms of the past, Allah is called the Eternal. The existence of the absolute Everlasting cannot be conceived of as coming to an end in the future. This is expressed by the term forever (abadî) while the absolutely Eternal One is the One Whose existence in the past cannot be extended back to a beginning. This is expressed by the term eternal (azalî). The phrase "necessarily existent by means of its essence" implies all of that. However, these qualities (that is, bâqî) and qadîm) are applicable only in the sense that the human mind relates existence to the past or the future. In reality, only changeable things pertain to the past or the future. These are two expressions of time. Nothing pertains to time except change and motion or movement, for movement in itself divided into past and future and changeable things come within the scope of time by means of change (that is, motion). Therefore, that which is above change and movement is not included in time and subsequently has no past or future. In this sense, the past is the same as the future; passing is the same as enduring.

We have a past and a future only when certain events have occurred to us or in us and when new events will occur. There must be certain events happening one after another in order that they might be divided into a past that has ceased to exist and is concluded, into a present time and into that of which the renewal is anticipated afterwards. When there is no renewal and no termination there can be no time. And why should it not be so since Allah existed before time? Allah created time, but this did not change a thing pertaining to Allah's essence. After Allah created time, Allah remained as before.