Almighty, All-Wise,” and similar verses. Al-Bukhārī related this from Ibn ‘Abbās in his Sahīh, and Ibn Abī Hātim narrated it through several chains of transmission. When Ibn ‘Abbās was asked, “His words, ‘And Allah was’—do they suggest something that once was and then passed away?” he replied, “He described Himself thus, and He has always been so.”

This is Ibn Abī Hātim’s wording, transmitted through Abū Mu‘āwiyah, from al-A‘mash, from al-Minhāl, from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbās. Ibn ‘Abbās said, “Thus He was, and He has always been so.”

Another report is transmitted through ‘Amr ibn Abī Qays, from Mutarrif, from al-Minhāl, from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbās. He said: A man came to him and said, “I have heard Allah say, ‘And Allah was’—as though referring to something that once was?”

Ibn ‘Abbās replied, “As for His word ‘was,’ He has always been and will always be, and ‘He is the First and the Last, the Most High and the Most Near, and He has knowledge of all things.’”

Another report is transmitted through ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Maghrā, from Mujammi‘ ibn Yahyā, from his paternal uncle, from Ibn ‘Abbās. He said: A Jew said, “You claim that Allah was Almighty, All-Wise. What, then, is He today?”

Ibn ‘Abbās replied, “He was, in Himself, Almighty, All-Wise.”

These statements of Ibn ‘Abbās make clear that He has always possessed the attributes expressed by the predicate of kāna (“was”), and never