Could Allah create something more powerful than Himself? I was arguing with someone and...

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

The answer to 'Can Allah create something more powerful than Himself?' is that it is an absurd question. It is similar to asking if Allah can make one equal zero, or if Allah can make a four sided triangle. In order to understand why this is so, we must first understand the definition of God and the definition of His creation.

Imam Sawi defines God as the one who everything else is in absolute need of (as-Samad), and who is absolute free of needing anything (al-Ghani). Allah is the Creator and Sustainer of everything and every moment, including the heavens, earth, time and space, and He is absolute distinct and free of needing any of these.

Creation is that which is brought into contingent being through Allah's Will and Infinite Power. Allah says, "There is no movement or power except through Allah". Knives do not cut, fire does not burn in of themselves--rather, Allah creates the knife and Allah creates the cutting, Allah creates the fire and Allah creates the burning. Creation has no absolute power whatsoever.

Thus, asking if creation can ever be more powerful than Allah is absurd because, by definition, Allah is the infinitely powerful and creation has no power except through Him. Similarly, asking if one can ever equal zero is absurd because, by definition, one is one unit larger than zero. And again, asking if a triangle can have four sides is absurd because, by definition, a triangle is a polygon with three side and three angles.

As a final note, Imam Ghazali mentions in the first quarter of his monumental Ihya 'Ulum Deen that conviction is rarely realized through argumentation; rather, it is realized through worshiping Allah as His Messenger, peace be upon him, taught us. In fact, these types of argumentations often cause more harm than good to both parties, especially if we have not mastered to pre-requisite sciences and have a strong spiritual state with Allah. So I warn myself and you about the dangers busying oneself with such argumentation.

And Allah knows best.

Wa salaam.

Shariq Khan
Approved by Faraz Rabbani