Al-Bāri’ (The Initiator)
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said:“Once Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd (Solomon) (peace be upon him and his father) said:‘Tonight I willhave sexual intercourse with one hundred (or ninety-nine) women each of whom will give birth to aknight who will fight in the cause of Allah.’ His companion said: ‘Allah willing.’ But he did not say: ‘Allah willing.’ Therefore, only one of those women conceived and gave birth to half a man.By the One in Whose hand Muhammad’s soul is, if he had said ‘Allah willing’, all of them would have been knights striving in the cause of Allah.”
[Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
One cannot reach his objective or fulfill his needs except through Allah Almighty, Who is:
{...The Creator, the Initiator, the Fashioner; to Him belong the most beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.}
[Surat al-Hashr: 24]
O Allah, praise be to You! You have bestowed Your favor upon us as You have brought us into existence after we were nothing.
{Has there come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?}
[Surat al-Insān: 1]
Allah Almighty praises Himself as the Initiator as He says:
{He is Allah,the Creator, the Initiator, the Fashioner...}
[Surat al-Hashr: 24]
Bāri’” is derived from “bar’”, which has two meanings. The first is creating.
The second meaning is being away and free from something.
So, our Lord is the Initiator, the Maker, and the Inventor, Who brought things into existence after they had been nothing. He preferred some of His creation over others and made every race distinct from others and fashioned each in a way that fits the purpose behind its creation. So, He creates something out of nothing and gives it the traits that make it distinct from other creatures.
He created the creation free from discrepancy and disharmony.
{Who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Compassionate any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any flaws?}
[Surat al-Mulk: 3]
Moreover, our Lord, Al -Bāri’, is free from any deficiency or defect in His essence, attributes, and actions.
His name “Al-Bāri’” is witnessed in all of His creation,and His subtle and kind acts keep descending.
Glory be to the One to Whom all creatures prostrate themselves and proclaim His greatness and Oneness!
Allah Almighty says:
{He is Allah, the Creator, the Initiator, the Fashioner...}
[Surat al-Hashr: 24]
When Allah Almighty wants to create something, He first predestines it according to His knowledge and wisdom, then He initiates its existence from nothingness according to His predestination and in the form He wills, Exalted be He.
