Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى is Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu’akhkhir. He brings forward whatever He wills according to His wisdom and delays whatever He wills according to His wisdom. Whatever Allah brings forward is brought forward, and whatever He delays is delayed. Nothing occurs in His actions except with wisdom and benefit, even if the aspect of that wisdom may sometimes be hidden from us.
Allah تعالى is the One who assigns things their proper places, brings forward whatever He wills, and delays whatever He wills, according to His knowledge and wisdom.
He سبحانه وتعالى is the One who decreed the measures before creating creation. He gives precedence to some of His allies over others, raises some of His creation above others in rank, and grants whom He wills the ability to attain the ranks of those who are foremost, while delaying whom He wills from those ranks.
Likewise, He سبحانه وتعالى may delay certain matters beyond the time expected by a servant, because He تعالى knows the wisdom and benefit contained in the consequences of those matters.
Therefore, no one can bring forward what Allah has delayed, nor delay what Allah has brought forward. Bringing forward and delaying are in His سبحانه وتعالى hands, and all of this is based upon the perfection of His wisdom and knowledge.
Bringing forward includes a type related to Allah’s universal decree. Examples include:
Bringing some created things into existence before others.
Placing causes before their effects.
Placing conditions before the matters that depend upon them.
All of this takes place according to the decree and wisdom of Allah تعالى. Nothing occurs in the universe outside His knowledge and decree.
Bringing forward also includes what relates to religious rulings and preference. Examples include:
Giving some prophets precedence over others.
Giving all the prophets precedence over the rest of creation.
Giving some of Allah’s servants precedence over others.
This preference and precedence likewise follow the wisdom and knowledge of Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
A person may sometimes see the delay of something from him as undesirable, or wonder why one thing was brought forward while another was delayed. But Allah تعالى knows about the benefits and consequences of matters what His servant does not know.
Whatever Allah تعالى brings forward or delays occurs according to perfect knowledge and profound wisdom. The wisdom behind a particular matter may be hidden from a person, so one should not assume that bringing something forward or delaying it occurs without wisdom.
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:
“He is Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu’akhkhir; these two
are descriptions of His actions and are dependent upon them.
They are also attributes of His Essence, for both
are established by His Essence, not by something external.”
Al-Muqaddim and Al-Mu’akhkhir are among the Names through which the perfection of Allah’s actions and wisdom is expressed. He سبحانه وتعالى brings forward whatever He wills and delays whatever He wills, and He places things in their proper positions. No one can bring forward what Allah has delayed, nor delay what He has brought forward.
Bringing forward may be universal, such as bringing some created things and causes before others, and it may be legislative, such as giving some prophets and servants precedence over others. All of this follows Allah’s wisdom and knowledge.
And Allah knows best.