Creator is not a thing...He created everything

Praise be to Allah.

Everything that exists may be described as a “thing” (shay’); that is, it is something that exists out there in the world.

Allah, may He be exalted, has a true Essence that does exist, so He may be referred to as shay’ (a thing), as in the verse in which He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say, ‘What thing is greatest in testimony?’ Say, ‘Allah is witness between me and you’”

[al-An‘aam 6:19].

So the word shay’ may refer both to the Eternal (al-Qadeem, meaning Allah) and to the created being, to the necessary being (that which must exist, namely Allah) and the contingent being (that which may exist).

In fact, concepts may also be referred to as “things” (ashyaa’, plural of shay’), because they exist in the mind, and that which does not exist may be referred to as a thing in the knowledge of Allah, although it is not a thing in existence.

Imam al-Bukhaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Saheeh (9/124):

Chapter on the verse “Say, ‘What thing is greatest in testimony?’ Say, ‘Allah…’” [al-An‘aam 6:19]; Allah, may He be exalted, referred to Himself as a “thing” (shay’), and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) called the Qur’an a “thing”, and it [the Qur’an] is one of the attributes of Allah. And Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Everything will be destroyed except His Face” [al-Qasas 28:88]. End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Ghunaymaan (may Allah preserve him) said:

What al-Bukhaari meant here is that Allah, may He be exalted, may be referred to as shay’ (a thing), and the same applies to His attributes, but that does not mean that ash-shay’ (“the thing”) is one of His beautiful names. Rather He, may He be exalted, may be referred to as a “thing”, and by the same token His attributes may be referred to as “things”, because everything that exists may acceptably be referred to as a “thing”.

End quote from Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed min Saheeh al-Bukhaari (1/343).

Based on that, “ash-shay’ (the thing)” is not one of the names of Allah, may He be exalted, but He may be spoken of in such terms, because speaking of and describing something is broader in scope than names and attributes. So when speaking of Him, we may say shay’ (thing), mawjood (being, that which exists), qadeem (eternal, existing from eternity) and so on, but these are not names of Allah, may He be exalted.

With regard to the verse (interpretation of the meaning), “And of everything We have created pairs, that you may remember” [adh-Dhaariyaat 51:49]:

What it means is that Allah, may He be exalted, created things in pairs of opposites: male and female, hot and cold, night and day, and so on.

Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:  The words of Allah, may He be exalted, “And of everything We have created pairs” refer to pairs or opposites, such as male and female, land and sea, night and day, sweet and bitter, light and darkness, and so on. “that you may remember” means: so that you may realize that the Creator of these pairs is one.

End quote from Zaad al-Maseer (4/172).