return to him. Hence, this term is used only of someone of great standing: the person to whom the āl are attributed must be greater than they are, someone to whom they may fittingly return—as with the āl of Abraham, the āl of Lot, and the āl of Pharaoh. This is unlike ahl (family).
Awwal (first) follows the af‘al pattern, for its feminine is ūlā, as in Jumādā al-Ūlā. In Sūrat al-Qasas, Allah says:
“To Him belongs all praise in this life and the Hereafter.”
Some maintain that it follows the faw‘al pattern and give its feminine as awwala. However, this requires supporting evidence from Arab usage. Indeed, its restricted declension indicates that it follows af‘al, not faw‘al, since words on the faw‘al pattern, such as kawthar and jawhar, are fully declined.
That which precedes is called awwal—and Allah knows best—because what follows it returns to it and is built upon it. It is thus the foundation and basis of what follows. The form is an elative, not an ordinary descriptive adjective: it is like akbar and kubrā (greater or greatest), and asghar and sughrā (smaller or smallest), rather than ahmar and hamrā’ (red).
Hence, people say, “I came to him the day before yesterday.” Allah says:
“A mosque founded on righteousness from the very first day.”
“And I am the first of the Muslims.”
“And do not be the first to disbelieve in it.”
When someone is described as “the first of these people,” he is the one who surpasses them in precedence. Each one refers back to whoever preceded him and relies upon him, while all of them ultimately refer back to this earliest predecessor. Whoever takes the lead in an action and is then followed as an example by those after him becomes the predecessor to whom they all refer back. The first thus has the qualities of leadership and being followed.
The word “awwal” suggests returning and reverting, yet “awwal” also suggests beginning and that with which a beginning is made—the opposite of that which returns. This is because something is first only in relation to what follows it, for one says: