From "Said al-Khatir": The Eternal, The Everlasting, The Perpetual, and The Enduring
“Al-Azali,” “al-Abadi,” “al-Sarmadi,” and “al-Amadi” are Arabic temporal terms, each with a distinct definition and description. These are words of exceptional linguistic refinement; the Arabs categorized them and precisely delineated the temporal difference of each.
Al-Azali refers to that which has no beginning in an unbounded past and continues to the present day. This is an attribute of the Creator; the Divine Essence is eternal (azali), preceded by none and followed by none, as our Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah was, and there was nothing else besides Him.”
Al-Abadi refers to that which has no end; it continues into an unbounded future. The bliss of the people of Paradise is abadi (eternal in duration); its beginning is upon their entry into Paradise, and it has no end. It is eternal bliss, as stated by God Almighty: “And those who believe and do righteous deeds—We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein forever.” And as the Prophet (peace be upon him) addressed the people of Paradise: “O people of Paradise, you shall abide forever, and there shall be no death; and O people of the Fire, you shall abide forever, and there shall be no death.”
Al-Sarmadi refers to that which has neither beginning nor end; it is perpetual continuity, encompassing both al-Azali and al-Abadi. The Divine Existence is sarmadi (everlasting), transcending the limits of past and future. God the Exalted mentioned sarmad (eternity) in His saying: “Say: ‘Have you considered: if Allah made the night perpetual for you until the Day of Resurrection, which god other than Allah could bring you light?’”
Al-Amadi refers to that which is bounded by a specific time between a beginning and an end, such as human lifespan. God has determined the limit (amda) of a person’s life, which begins with their creation in the womb of their mother and ends with their death. God the Exalted referred to this limit (amda) in His saying: “He would wish that there were a long distance between them.” The Arabs of old said: “Everything has an amda (limit), and every amda has an abal (end),” meaning that every matter has a term and a fixed duration at which it concludes.
There is a story concerning al-Azal (the eternal past). It is said that a philosopher asked a Bedouin: “What is the origin of this world?” The Bedouin replied: “Allah.” The philosopher asked: “And what was before Him?” The Bedouin said: “If there had been anything before Him, He would not have been the First. He is the First, whose Firstness has no beginning.” The philosopher then asked: “How can the mind conceive of that which has no beginning?” The Bedouin smiled and said: “Count on your fingers, starting from one and going upward.” The philosopher counted: “One, two, three...” The Bedouin then said: “Stop at one and tell me: what comes before it?” The philosopher replied: “Nothing comes before it.” The Bedouin said: “If in mathematics, one has nothing before it and yet is a created number, how much more so is the One, the Unique, the Eternal (al-Azali)?”
O Allah, make the Houthi heretics and those who ordered them to attack the noblest of lands a lesson for those who take heed, and subject them to the worst of eternal punishment in this world and the Hereafter. O Allah, make their destruction a consequence of their own schemes, and protect the Arabs and Muslims from their evil, their malice, and their treachery. O Allah, make them among those for whom it is said: “O people of the Fire, you shall abide forever, and there shall be no death.”
