He did not acquire the name “the Creator” only after bringing creation into existence, nor did He come to be called al-Bariʾ (the Fashioner) merely by originating all beings. The meaning of lordship belongs to Him even when no dependents exist, and the meaning of creatorship is His even when there are no created things. Just as He is “the Giver of life to the dead” before and after He revives them—having deserved that title prior to their resurrection—so too He merited the name “Creator” before fashioning them.

This is simply an explanation and a reiteration of what has preceded. Among Allah’s names is al-Bariʾ, meaning the Creator: He originated the creatures, therefore He is al-Bariʾ, a name inseparable from His essence that has no beginning. Likewise, He is Rabb (Lord) before any subjects came to be. Rabb conveys the meanings of owner, disposer, reformer, and master, and these attributes cling to His essence without beginning or end—before the creatures existed and after they perish.

Similarly, exalted is He, He has been described from pre-eternity as the One who gives life to the dead; He grants life and causes death. This description is never absent pending His actual reviving of the dead; it is His from everlasting. The act of resurrecting the dead, however, is continually renewed: He has given life and He will continue to give life whenever He wills, glorified be He.