The First • The One Who Existed Before All, Without Beginning, Origin, or Precedent — the Uncreated Beginning of All Creation
✨ ROOT MEANING
Arabic root: أ – و – ل (hamzah • wāw • lām)
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Awwala (أوّل) | To begin, to lead, to be the first |
| Awwal (أوّل) | First in time, rank, sequence, or origin |
| Al-Awwal (الأوّل) | The One who is before all else, who was never preceded, whose existence has no beginning, and from whom everything else begins |
Al-Awwal is not first in a line — He is before time, space, life, and thought.
He is the Origin without origin, the Initiator of existence, and the only one who was never created.
📖 QUR’ĀNIC VERSE
📌 Surah Al-Ḥadīd 57:3
“He is the First (Al-Awwal) and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate — and He is, of all things, Knowing.”
📚 Tafsir (Ibn Kathir, Al-Baghawi, Al-Sa‘di)**
- This verse reflects the totality of Allah’s control:
- Al-Awwal: He existed before creation, before time, before any reality was imagined
- Al-Ākhir: He will remain after all things fade
- His firstness is not a sequence — it’s eternal pre-existence
- Al-Sa‘di: “There is nothing before Him. Everything came into being by His command, His knowledge, and His power.”
No creator made Him.
No mind can imagine a time before Him.
He simply was, while everything else was not — until He said “Be.”
🪞 Tafhīm (Relatable Understanding)
- You ask: “Where did Allah come from?”
Al-Awwal replies: “I am not from anywhere. I am the One from whom all things come.”
📜 HADITH REFERENCE
📌 Sahih Muslim 2713a
Narrated by Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Prophet ﷺ said in his duʿā:
“You are the First, so there is nothing before You. You are the Last, so there is nothing after You. You are the Ascendant, so there is nothing above You. You are the Intimate, so there is nothing closer than You…”
📚 Tafsir (Ibn Rajab, Al-Nawawi)**
- This hadith beautifully defines Al-Awwal:
- “Nothing before You” = not even void, time, matter, or silence
- You can’t trace His origin — because origin implies creation, and He is uncreated
- This duʿā was often made by the Prophet ﷺ in moments of need, reflecting:
- Complete dependence on the One who has always been there
- Seeking from the One who began everything — including the solution to your problem
If you’re lost, start where everything starts: Al-Awwal.
🪞 Tafhīm (Relatable Understanding)
- You whisper: “I don’t know where to begin.”
Al-Awwal answers: “Begin with Me. I have always been the first door.”
🌍 EVIDENCE IN TODAY’S WORLD
1. The Universe Had a Beginning — But Allah Didn’t
- Big Bang, matter, atoms — all had a start.
Al-Awwal never began. He existed when there was nothing.
2. Every Origin You Chase Leads You Back to Him
- Your breath, your soul, your lineage, your story — all trace back to one source.
That’s Al-Awwal — the starting point of everything that exists.
3. You Begin Every Journey With Bismillah
- “In the Name of Allah…” is a recognition: He is the source of the path, the effort, and the outcome.
That’s invoking Al-Awwal — the first in every matter.
4. When You Start a New Chapter, It Feels Natural to Turn to Him
- Even people who feel far from Allah often return when beginning something serious.
Deep down, the fitrah knows: Al-Awwal must be the one we start with.
❤️ EMOTIONAL ANCHORING
Al-Awwal is the One who says:
“Start with Me. Trust Me first. I was there before you existed — and I’ve always had what you needed.”
He:
- Is the beginning of all existence
- Was never created, never born, never caused
- Initiates life, provision, healing, and mercy
- Is the first refuge for every soul who returns
Whenever you’re uncertain where to begin, return to Al-Awwal — because nothing began without Him.
🤲 PERSONALIZED DUʿĀ
(Inspired by Qur’an 57:3 and Hadith Muslim 2713a)
Not from the Prophet’s exact words — but drawn from authentic meanings
Yā Awwal,
Be the first place I turn.
Begin my heart again when I feel lost.
Let every door I open start with You.
And write me among those who begin their deeds, their love, their life — always with You first.
RORA Muslim Lifestyle 
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