A question which puzzles many people
It was narrated in a hadith by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be with him, said:
Some people will keep asking questions until they ask: ‘Allah created the creation but who created Allah?’ Whoever is asked this question, let him (simply) say ‘I believe in Allah’. (Narrated by Muslim)
Imam Mazrewy commented on this hadith and said that the Prophet seems to be enjoining Muslims to refrain from trying to respond to such questions about Allah. However, Imam Mazrewy explained, such questions are of two types: those which are not troubling the mind and did not arise because of some misconception. Those can simply be ignored. It seems that the above mentioned hadith is referring to this type of questions which are referred to as waswasah (whisperings of Satan). Since they are not persistently occurring to the mind, they can be set aside without consideration of evidence, because there is no benefit in dwelling on them. As to the persistent questions which arise as a result of some misconception, they can be tackled only with arguments and evidence. Allah knows best!
This question is wrong in the first place because we have been commanded by the Prophet, may the peace and blessing of Allah be with Him, not to ponder over the essence of Allah (SWT), because our weak minds are incapable of conceiving the true nature even of themselves. So how can they possibly understand the true nature of Allah (SWT). However, this question comes to the minds of some people and I would like to explain the answer to them through an example which, God willing, will satisfy their questions.
I would say the following:
If you place a book on your desk and then go out of the room and come back a short while later and find that the book which you had left on the desk had been removed and placed in the drawer, you would in this situation, be firmly convinced that someone must have put it in the drawer, this is because you know very well that among the attributes of this book is that it cannot move by itself. Remember this point and let us now move to the next point.
If there is someone sitting on a chair in your office, and you go out and come back and find him sitting on the carpet, for example, you would not ask about the reason for his movement, and you would not believe that someone moved him from his earlier position, because you know that among the attributes of this person is that he can move by himself and that he does not need anyone to move him. Now bear this second point in mind and listen to what I am going to say next.
Human beings came into existence at a certain point in time, and we know that they do not come into existence by themselves, but they must have a Creator. From that we conclude that their Creator is Allah (SWT). Now since perfect divinity presupposes that the deity does not need any other but is necessarily self-sufficient, we conclude that Allah (SWT) exists by Himself and does not need anyone to create Him.
If you place the first two points next to what I have just said, the answer will become clear to you. This is as far as the human mind can go. I ask Allah to protect us from error for He is indeed Kind and Merciful.
Now I would like to quote to you some statements of some European scholars which support the existence of Allah (SWT) and acknowledge His perfect attributes, and Allah alone I trust to help me succeed in my endeavor.