البادئ
al-Bādiʾ
Topic
A divine name meaning the Beginner of all things; also given as al-Mubdiʾ.
What it means
Al-Bādiʾ means the One who begins, who brings creation into being at the start. Faruqi also gives the form al-Mubdiʾ, from the same root. The name teaches that every thing was begun by God and has no origin apart from Him. The Quran speaks of God as the One who originates creation and then repeats it (85:13), and in several places it calls Him the one who begins the creation and will bring it back (10:4). The name is often thought of together with al-Muʿīd, the Restorer. Together they cover creation and resurrection, so that the beginning and the return both belong to God.
Often misunderstood as
That creation was set in motion and left, when the name teaches that God begins every thing and brings it back again.
What the sources say
The Quranic phrase “He originates and repeats” (85:13) is the source commonly cited for the pair of names al-Mubdiʾ and al-Muʿīd.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 24, listed as AL BĀDI'. The definition is restated here.