Transliteration:( Huwal Awwalu wal'Aakhiru waz Zaahiru wal Baatinu wa huwa bikulli shai'in Aleem )
"He is the First, He is the Last [4], He is the Manifest, He is the Hidden [5]. And He knows everything [6]."
✅ [4] Allah – Beyond Time, The First and the Last
Allah existed before all creation and will remain after all ends. He is eternal, not bound by time. All beginnings and ends—spiritual or material—originate from and return to Him. Like a compass drawing a circle, He is both the starting and final point.
✅ [5] Manifest in Signs, Hidden in Essence
Allah is evident in all creation, so much so that even a child or particle affirms His existence. Yet, His Essence is beyond perception—only in Paradise will His Beauty be seen, without fully grasping His Being.
✅ [6] All-Knowing from Eternity to Eternity
Allah’s knowledge encompasses everything, eternally. As noted by Hazrat Abdul Haq Dehlvi, the Holy Prophet ﷺ, created first and sent last, reflects divine light (Noor-e-Muhammadi), and is aware of all—believer and disbeliever alike. For more, see Shaane Habibur Rahman.
The tafsir of Surah Hadid verse 3 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Hadid ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 3.
(57:3) He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden,[3] and He has knowledge of everything.
3. That is, when there was nothing, He was, and when there will be nothing, He will be. He is the most Manifest of all the manifests, for whatever manifests itself in the world, does so only by His attributes and His works and His light. And He is the Most Hidden of all the hidden, for not only do the senses fail to perceive Him but the intellect and thought and imagination also cannot attain to His essence and reality. The best commentary in this regard is a supplication of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Baihaqi have related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, and Hafiz Abu Yala Mosuli in his Musnad on the authority of Aishah:
Antal Awwal, fa-laisa qablaka shaiin; wa Antal Akhir falaisa ba daka shaiin; wa Antal Zahir, fa-laisa fauqaka shai in; wa Anfal Batin, fa laisa dunaka shaiin. You alone are the First; none is before You; You alone are the Last: none is after You; You alone are the Exalted none is above You; You alone are the Hidden: none is more hidden than You.
Here, the question arises: How does this accord with the immortality and eternal life of the dwellers of Paradise and Hell mentioned in the Quran when Allah alone is the Last and Eternal? Its answer has been provided by the Quran itself: Everything is perishable except Allah Himself. (Surah Al-Qasas, Ayat 88). In other words no creature is immortal in its personal capacity; if a thing exists or continuous to exist, it does so because Allah keeps it so, and can exist only by His letting it exist; otherwise in its own capacity everything is perishable except Allah. Immortality in Heaven and Hell will not be bestowed upon somebody because he is immortal by himself, but because Allah will grant him eternal life. The same is true of the angels, they are not immortal by themselves. When Allah willed they came into existence, and will continue to exist only as long as He wills.
[1623]- Before whom nothing existed. Also, He who is supreme, foremost or uppermost. [1624]- Enduring eternally when nothing else remains. [1625]- Nothing being above Him. Another meaning is "the Apparent," i.e., evident through His creation and revelation. [1626]- Nothing being nearer than Him by way of His knowledge. Another meaning is "the Unapparent," i.e., concealed from man's physical senses.
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