As for His words:

“All praise is for Allah, who created the heavens and the earth,”

“All praise is for Allah, who sent down the Book to His servant,”

and similar statements—all of this would be impossible if He had no act of His own choosing subsisting in Him. For “reason” plainly establishes that, if He created the heavens and the earth, there must be an act by which He became their Creator. Otherwise, if matters remained unchanged, with no act occurring, the situation would remain as it was before He created. The created thing did not exist then; likewise, it must not exist if the future state remains just as the past state was, with no act proceeding from the Lord—namely, the creation of the heavens and the earth.

The Exalted has said:

“I did not make them witnesses to the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor to their own creation.”

It is well known that they have witnessed the created thing itself. This therefore shows that the “creation” they did not witness—His bringing these things into being and originating them—is distinct from the created thing that endures. He also said:

“He created the heavens and the earth in six days.”

Their creation thus took place in six days, while they exist after the act of willing. What was specific to the act of willing is therefore distinct from what exists after that act of willing.

The same applies to:

“The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.”

For the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful is the One who shows mercy to His servants by His will and power. If His mercy were nothing but an eternal will, or some other eternal attribute, He could not be described as showing mercy to whom He wills and punishing whom He wills. Allah’s intimate friend said:

“Say: Travel through the earth and observe how He began creation. Then Allah will bring about the final creation