AL-AWWAL-The First The Very First

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Female

Child

The One who is the first and foremost. He was before all of the creation and the cause of everything in existence. The One whose Existence is without a beginning.

Allah, Exalted be He, says, “He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; and He has full knowledge of all things.” (Surat Al-Hadeed 57:3)

Meaning: Al-Awwal (The First): There was nothing before Him and everything other than Him He brought into existence from absolutely nothing. Al-Aakhir (the Last): There is nothing after Him and, being Infinite, He will exist for all eternity.

The One who is the first, the beginning, the foremost. The Prior-Existing One who existed before all of creation.

The One who was before any thing or any being. The One who is the cause of all the worlds.

The One who is the beginning of every action, command or thought.

From the root a-w-l which has the following classical Arabic connotations:

to be first, principle, to be before
to come back to, to return
to precede, to be the first part
to be foremost

This name is used in the Qur’ān. For example, see 57:3

Awwal (first) and ākhir (last) are complementary attributes.