I have a question in regards to God’s attributes. When we say that God is the Creator is that “Attributes of Essence (Sifaat Adhaat)” or attributes of Action, because many scholars say that it is the “Attributes of Action” and he didn’t have it at one point or wasn’t “The creator” at one point in time because there was nothing existing for him to be called The creator.

I’ve read Hadiths from the Imams that state in a book called “Kitab Al Tawhid” COMPILED BY AL SHAYKH AL SADUQ, he mentions that the Imams have said:

“Allah was Lord even when there were no subjects. He was the One and Only True God even when no creation existed. He was All-Knowing even when there was nothing to be known. He was the Creator even before the creation existed. He was the All-Hearing even when there was nothing to be heard. He did not earn the title of Creator merely because of creation. He did not earn the title of Creator merely because he gave the created a beginning.”

It seems to me that this implies that God’s attributes being “The Creator” is his essence and was always with him, could you please explain what this means?

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1- If by creator we mean the power to create, then it is an attribute of essence because it goes back to his power. If we mean the act of creating then it’s an attribute of action.

So the hadith that states that he was the creator even when there was no creation, it means that he had the power to create. Allah doesn’t need to create to earn this title. He has the power to create, whether he chooses to use this power and create or not. Why is the Imam saying this? So no one thinks Allah is in need, and that he needed to create us to earn this title.