He is described as being first and having precedence.

The second category is precedence, priority, and being first in time, as in His words—glory be to Him, the Most High:

“Until it returns like an old date stalk.” {39} [Yā Sīn 39]

And His words:

“Since they have not been guided by it, they will say, ‘This is an ancient falsehood.’” {11} [al-Ahqāf 11]

And the words of Abraham, peace be upon him:

“Have you considered what you have been worshipping, {75} you and your forefathers of old? {76} They are enemies to me, except the Lord of all worlds.” {77} [al-Shu'arā' 75-77]

His words, the Most High,

“We certainly know those among you who came before, and We certainly know those who come later,” {24} [al-Hijr 24]

include this meaning. They have also been interpreted as referring to standing in the front or rear rows of prayer.

Another example is His saying, the Most High:

“We record what they have sent ahead and the traces they leave behind.” [Yā Sīn 12]

What they sent ahead is what they did before their death, while their traces are what they left behind. This has also been interpreted spatially, with their traces understood as the traces of their footsteps in the mosque.

Precedence, coming later, priority, and being first are best known in this temporal sense. It may be said that these expressions are used of place only because this also entails precedence in time, as with the use of the terms “first” and “last”: virtually every instance of their use involves some form of temporal precedence.