If we acknowledge that there is a beginning for this world
of creation, we acknowledge that the sovereignty of God is accidental -- that
is, we admit a time when the reality of Divinity has been without dominion. The
names and attributes of Divinity are requirements of this world. The names the
Powerful, the Living, the Provider, the Creator require and necessitate the
existence of creatures. If there were no creatures, Creator would be
meaningless. If there were none to provide for, we could not think of the
Provider. If there were no life, the Living would be beyond the power of
conception. Therefore, all the names and attributes of God require the
existence of objects or creatures upon which they have been bestowed and in
which they have become manifest. If there was a time when no creation existed,
when there was none to provide for, it would imply a time when there was no
existent One, no Trainer, and the attributes and qualities of God would have
been meaningless and without significance. Therefore, the requirements of the
attributes of God do not admit of cessation or interruption, for the names of
God are actually and forever existing and not potential. Because they convey
life, they are called Life-giving; because they provide, they are called
Bountiful, the Provider; because they create, they are called Creator; because
they educate and govern, the name Lord God is applied. That is to say, the
divine names emanate from the eternal attributes of Divinity. Therefore, it is
proved that the divine names presuppose the existence of objects or beings.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 5 July 1912, New York; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks
Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in
1912’)
