Thus, the first argument establishes that the Creator Most High is outside the world, not within it, while the latter establishes that the Creator precedes the world and that the world is not coeval with Him. Likewise, He, glorified is He, says:

“He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward.”
[Al-Hadīd: 3]

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in an authentic hadith:

“You are the First, and there is nothing before You; You are the Last, and there is nothing after You; You are the Outward, and there is nothing above You; You are the Inward, and there is nothing nearer than You.”

The Creator, glorified and exalted is He, is truly above the world, not above it in the sense of rank. Precedence over something may refer merely to rank, just as it may refer to position in space—as with a scholar’s precedence over an ignorant person, or an imam’s position ahead of those following him in prayer. Allah’s precedence over the world is not merely of this kind; rather, He is truly before it.

The same applies to being above the world. This may be understood merely in terms of rank, as when one says that a scholar is above an ignorant person. But Allah’s being above the world is not merely of this kind; rather, He is truly above it. This is being above and being prior in their familiar senses. This, then, is what the parallel and correspondence he mentioned actually establish. Both are true, and they affirm both. It is therefore clear that the argument counts against him, not in his favour.