Question

If everything is created by the word “kun”. How did Allah create the word “kun”?

Answer

Every creation that existed, exists or will exist has been or will be created by Allah alone and none is His partner.

“O mankind! Worship your Lord, Who has created you (all) and all those before you”. (Surah Al-Baqarah – 21)

“Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no God save Him, the Creator of everything, so worship Him”. (Surah Al-An’aam – 103)

“Say: Allah is the Creator of everything, and He is the One, the Almighty”. (Surah Al-Ra’d – 16)

Iraadah which means Intention is from amongst the Sifaat Zaatiyah¹ of Allah Subhaanahu Wa Ta’aalaa as mentioned in the books of Aqeedah. Allah creates and does however and whatever He intends and wishes.

“Indeed Allah orders whatever He intends” (Surah Al-Maa’idah – 1)

“Indeed your Lord is Doer of that which He intends” (Surah Al-Hud – 107)

This Iraadah as mentioned above is an attribute of Allah and therefore it is not a creation. All the attributes of Allah are Qadeem² and they are not separate from the Zaat³ of Allah although they are not the actual Zaat. This means that all the attributes of Allah are uncreated like the Zaat of Allah.

The word Kun which means be or become as mentioned in Surah Baqarah, Imran, An’aam, Nahl, Maryam, Furqaan, Yaaseen and Ghaafir is not a creator itself but an expression of the intention of Allah the Almighty in order to show how easy it is to create for His Majesty. One of the verses from Surah Imran is as follows,

“She (Maryam) said: O my Lord! From where will there be a child for me, no man has ever touched me. He said: This is how Allah creates whatever He wishes, when He intends a matter He says to it: Be! So it becomes” (Surah Al-Imran – 47).

In Khazaa’in Al-Irfan it says under verse - 117 of Surah Al-Baqarah,

‘This means that everything comes in to existence as soon as He intends for it to be.’

Allah is the creator of everything and that includes the word kun as we speak it and read it with a sound but the Kun which is the Kalaam (speech) of Allah as is in the Quran, which has no sound and letters is not a creation but an attribute of Allah the Almighty and the attributes of Allah are not creations and Allah knows best.

Zahid Hussain Al-Qadri
(Beggar at the doorstep of the Ulema)
8th Dhu Al-Qa’dah 1436 AH

Footnotes:

¹ Sifaat Zaatiyah are the attributes of Allah's Divine Self.
² Qadeem is that which existed without a beginning.
³ Zaat referring to Allah means the Divine Self of Allah.