al-Mubdiʾ

The Originator, who begins creation

Begin the series ↓

Say it: al-Mubdiʾ. A recording by our own reciter is on its way.

Heard together with: al-Mubdiʾ / al-Muʿīd

Start with what we know

Then take away everything it needs. What is left is not a bigger version of us. It is the Name.

Episode 1

In us

We begin projects from existing material, knowledge and tools.

But: No human beginning starts from nothing.

Episode 2

In nature

A bird's first nest is built from found material, by instinct.

Episode 3

At our best

NASA/ESA Webb confirmed galaxy MoM-z14, seen about 280 million years after the Big Bang (STScI, 28 Jan 2026). Planck: oldest light, 380,000 years after the start.

But: Every telescope looks back to a beginning it cannot see past; no instrument observes 'before'.

Episode 4

The Break

Take away prior material, a model, trial and error, a 'before'.

Webb sees galaxies 280 million years after the beginning. al-Mubdiʾ is the One who began it.

Read: 85:13; 10:4.

From the tradition: Ghazālī: al-Mubdiʾ brings into being without precedent. Nahj al-Balāgha Sermon 1: created 'without… making use of any experiment'.

On screen

Arceus hatches from an egg into a chaos already there. al-Mubdiʾ has nothing before Him to hatch from.

Where it shows up

In scripture: Q 85:13; 10:4; 29:20; 30:27; Gen 1:1.
The same thread in Jewish and Christian scripture: Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 65:17. Weak-moderate.
In the universe: JWST MoM-z14 record (2026); Planck CMB.
In nature: CMB: ESA 'Planck: Understanding the origins of the Universe'.
In people: Lemaître, a Catholic priest, proposed the expanding-universe origin.
In science: Cosmology: the hot Big Bang, nucleosynthesis of hydrogen and helium.

Living it

Begin good things (bismillāh at every start).

Its kind

Act: something done: mercy shown, provision given, a prayer answered.

In the Qur'an: 85:13; 10:4 (verb yubdiʾu)

Sources for this page

stsci.edu/contents/news-releases/2026/news-2026-107