Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Allah Almighty is capable of all things, including annihilating whatever of His creatures He wills, because all created beings belong to Him and are under His power. However, the affirmation that Allah has the power to do something does not necessarily mean that He will actually do it. He has informed us that some created beings were created to remain, such as Paradise, Hell, and the Throne. Therefore, a Muslim should not occupy himself with imagining matters whose occurrence Allah Almighty has not informed us about, nor should he make the mind’s inability to conceive how such a thing could occur a cause of doubt or intrusive thoughts.
Allah Almighty says:
“And if Allah willed, He could take away their hearing and their sight. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.” [al-Baqarah: 20]
And He says:
“To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. He creates whatever He wills, and Allah is over all things competent.” [al-Mā’idah: 17]
And Allah says:
“Say: Travel through the land and observe how He began creation; then Allah will bring forth the final creation. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.” [al-‘Ankabūt: 20]
Thus, just as Allah Almighty is capable of bringing a created being into existence after it did not exist, He is capable of annihilating whatever of His creation He wills.
There is no difference in the basic principle of divine power between one created being and another merely because it is created. The Throne, water, and all other existing things are created by Allah Almighty, and all of them are under His dominion and power.
Allah’s ability to annihilate something does not mean that all created beings will actually be annihilated.
The scholars, based on the revealed texts, have explained that some created beings were made by Allah Almighty to remain, such as Paradise, Hell, and the Throne.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that the position of the early generations of the Muslim community and its leading scholars is that some created beings do not perish completely, such as Paradise, Hell, and the Throne, and others.
Thus, there is an important distinction between:
Not everything Allah is capable of doing must necessarily be done by Him.
Yes. Allah Almighty brought created beings into existence after they did not exist. This does not mean that the created being was something from Allah’s Essence or a part of His power.
The Creator, glorified be He, is one thing, and the created beings are something else. Allah Almighty is unlike anything else.
When we say, “Allah created something from nonexistence,” this means that it did not exist and then Allah brought it into existence through His power and will. It does not mean that “nonexistence” was a material from which the creature was made, nor does it mean that the creature is a part of Allah’s power.
Power is one of Allah Almighty’s attributes, while created beings are created effects brought into existence through His power and will. They are neither Allah’s power nor a part of His Essence.
A person’s inability to conceive something does not mean that it is impossible, let alone that believing in it constitutes disbelief.
We believe what Allah Almighty has informed us of, and we are not required to comprehend its manner or modality.
This is especially important concerning matters of the unseen. The human intellect has limits, and it is not correct to regard everything we cannot imagine as impossible.
Therefore, a Muslim does not need to sit asking himself: How can nonexistence occur after something existed? How would the Throne be annihilated? How could none of the created beings remain?
These questions concern the manner of something whose details Allah has not informed us of. Delving into them does not increase faith; rather, it may open the door to intrusive thoughts.
If a person dislikes these thoughts, fears them, does not accept them, and they come to him involuntarily while he tries to push them away, he should not judge himself to be a disbeliever.
Some of the Companions asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about thoughts they found within themselves and considered too grave to speak about. He said:
“That is clear faith.”
Narrated by Muslim (132).
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also said concerning the whispering of Satan:
“When it reaches that point, let him seek refuge in Allah and stop.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari (3276) and Muslim (134).
In another narration in Muslim:
“Let him say: I believe in Allah.”
The Prophetic treatment is therefore not to enter into a lengthy argument with the intrusive thought, but rather to seek refuge in Allah, stop dwelling on it, and turn away from it.
You are not required to reach a detailed intellectual conception of everything in order to be a believer.
If the question comes to you:
“Is Allah able to annihilate the created beings?”
Say: Yes, Allah is capable of all things. This does not necessarily mean that He will annihilate all created beings, and He has willed that some of them remain.
Then stop.
Do not move on to a chain of questions such as: “How? What happens afterward? How can the mind conceive this? Could nonexistence be such-and-such?...” because this is the path that feeds intrusive thoughts.
Likewise, if an intrusive thought such as “Who created Allah?” comes to you, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed us to seek refuge in Allah and stop pursuing the thought, rather than continuing to search mentally for an answer to it.
If these questions become repetitive in a way that consumes your time and causes you severe distress, seeking help from a physician or mental-health professional who specializes in obsessive-compulsive intrusive thoughts can be beneficial, and this does not conflict with reliance upon Allah.
Rather, a Muslim may combine spiritual treatment—seeking refuge in Allah and refusing to dwell on the thoughts—with medical and psychological treatment when needed.
Allah Almighty is capable of annihilating created beings, just as He is capable of bringing them into existence after nonexistence, because everything besides Him is created and is under His power. However, this does not mean that all created beings will be annihilated; Allah Almighty created Paradise, Hell, the Throne, and others to remain.
Allah creating us from nonexistence does not mean that we are part of His power or part of His Essence. It means that He brought us into existence after we did not exist.
As for intrusive thoughts that a person dislikes, does not believe in, and does not accept, they do not make him a disbeliever. He should not dwell on them or attempt to resolve every detail through intellectual speculation. Rather, he should say: “I believe in Allah,” seek refuge in Allah, and stop pursuing the thoughts.
And Allah knows best.