How Did All of This Start?

But before we start talking about Ādam, let's look at the story of creation. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked this question by a group who came from Yemen, and this is narrated in al-Bukhārī. They came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and they said: O Messenger of Allah, mā awwalu hādhā al-amr? O Messenger of Allah, how did all of this start? They want to know how this all came into existence.

Fa-qāla (peace be upon him): kāna Allāhu wa lam yakun maʿahu shayʾ, wa fī riwāyatin: wa lam yakun qablahu shayʾ. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: in the beginning there was Allah; there was nothing before Him. Another narration: nothing was with Him. Wa kāna ʿarshuhu ʿalā al-māʾ: and His throne was on water. Wa kataba fī al-dhikri kulla shayʾ: and He wrote in the tablet everything. Wa khalaqa al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ: and He created the heavens and the earth.

Again: ʿan ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn qāla: qāla ahlu al-Yaman li-Rasūli Allāh (peace be upon him): jiʾnāka li-natafaqqaha fī al-dīn, wa li-nasʾalaka ʿan awwali hādhā al-amr. Fa-qāla: kāna Allāhu wa lam yakun shayʾun qablah, wa kāna ʿarshuhu ʿalā al-māʾ, wa kataba fī al-dhikri kulla shayʾ, wa khalaqa al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ. Narrated by al-Bukhārī. ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn said: people from Yemen came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and said, we have come to you to learn our religion, and to ask you how did all of this start. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: there was Allah, and nothing before Him; and His throne was on water; and He wrote everything in the tablet; and He created the heavens and earth.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: inna awwala mā khalaqa Allāhu al-qalam, thumma qāla lahu: uktub, fa-jarā fī tilka al-sāʿati bimā huwa kāʾinun ilā yawmi al-sāʿah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: the first thing Allah created was the pen. Then Allah ordered it to write, so it wrote everything that will happen until the Day of Judgment.