Answer
Salam (Peace) Jonathon,
Thank you so much for trusting us with this interesting question.
Please find the second and final part of the answer to your question below. Find the first part at the link here.
When Allah the Almighty says, “Blessed be Allah the Best of all creators,” it does not mean to compare between the Creator and the creation.
Rather, Allah is showing His ability and His infinite power in creation, and asking a rhetorical question, if there is anyone who can create like Him? The answer is obviously, “No”. Accordingly, He is the only one worthy of worship.
Another verse of the Quran reads:
{Yet have they taken, besides him, gods that can create nothing but are themselves created; that have no control of hurt or good to themselves; nor can they control death nor life nor resurrection.} (Al-Furqan 25:3)
Allah says that those who have been worshiped or taken as false deities besides Him, or instead of Him, are powerless, as they cannot create.
Here, we are talking about the actual creation, which is explained at the end of this verse as giving life, giving death, and bringing up the dead after their death.
No one can do that except for the One who is the true and the ultimate Creator, God Almighty. He stated that after He explained in the previous verse some of His traits:
{He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: no son has He begotten, nor has He a partner in His dominion: it is He who created all things, and ordered them in due proportions.} (Al-Furqan 25:2)
So, that is the actual meaning of the creation once it is ascribed to God: giving life, giving death, bringing up the dead. And that is why humans as creatures may be given the description or the term “khaliq” (creator) because they can make up things, also by the leave of Allah.
No one would be given this beautiful name of God but Him. This name in Arabic called “Al-Bari“. “Al-Bari” is the one Who creates things that did not even exist before.
In this regard, God challenged those who worship other than Him, or believe in other than Him. In addition, He challenged those who have been taken as deities besides him:
{O men! Here is a parable set forth! Listen to it! Those on whom, besides Allah, ye call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met together for the purpose! And if the fly should snatch away anything from them, they would have no power to release it from the fly. Feeble are those who petition and those whom they petition!} (Al-Hajj 22:73)
So, in this verse Allah says that no one has the power of creation by the meaning of bringing up from nothing, from non-existence, but Him. When He even allows us to make up things, to construct things, this happens only by His permission.
He is the best of all creators; and that does not at all mean to compare the creation of God and the creation of the creatures when they make up things or manufacture things.
It is worth of mentioning here that in the second chapter of the Quran, there was very important beautiful debate between Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) and a tyrant king who claimed lordship.
In that story, Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) said:
My Lord is the One Who gives life and death, the One Who creates, the One Who cause to die.
The tyrant king who claimed the lordship said:
Me too, I give life and death.
He tried to prove that by killing somebody who was innocent. Then he said:
Look, I am able to kill.
As he was a king, he ordered somebody who was sentenced to be executed, to be freed. Then he said:
Look, I give life as well.
So, in this case, Prophet Abraham challenged the tyrant king by saying:
Indeed, my Lord is the one who brings up the sun every day from the east. Can you bring it once from the west?
And the Quran concluded the story by saying:
So the disbeliever was utterly defeated.
The Most Merciful of the Merciful
As far as the second phrase: “Allah is the most merciful of the Merciful” or “the best of all merciful”, it was mentioned twice in the Quran as “the best of all merciful,” and another four times as “Allah is the Most Merciful of the merciful”.
It is very easy to understand once you understand that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that Allah has divided mercy into 100 portions; and He sent one portion out of 100 down to earth.
Out of this one portion we have mercy for each other.
Why do animals have mercy for their children and look after them, although they are wild animals? Because of this one part of the mercy, which Allah gave to us on Earth, we love each other.
We have sympathy and mercy on each other out of this one part. And He preserved for Himself 99 parts of mercy, so that He will distribute among those who are eligible for it on the Day of Judgment in order to receive salvation to enter Heaven.
That indicates all mercy belongs to Allah alone. So mercy too, is created by God, and He is the Most Merciful of all, and there is no comparison whatsoever between the mercy that we have for each other, and the mercy the Allah the Almighty has for all of us.
I hope this answered your question. Please keep in touch.
Salam.
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