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Al-Akhir
(The Last)
Al-Akhir Meaning:
The Last, The End, The Endless.
Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Akhir (in Arabic: ٱلْآخِرُ), The One whose existence will extend past the end of this universe. He will be the last, just as He is the first.
Arabic Root:
From the root hamza-kha-ra (أ خ ر), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to put back, to put behind, to be latter to postpone, to put at the end to be last, final, ultimate.
Tawhid & Tawakkul:
The understanding and belief in the name establishes tawheed (oneness of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ). Al-Awwal means He was first or is the first. But this does not mean that there was nothing before. Rather the beginning was Him. He exists without a beginning and is the source from which everything comes into existence. From this name, we see how He is from ever and forever, and He is never absent and always present. It is a reminder we should rely upon Him alone (the concept of tawakkul).
The First & The Last:
Al-Awwal also implies an opposite. If there is a first, then there must be a last, and this is the name Al-Akhir. This does not mean that Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ has a beginning and an end. Instead, it tells us He is the start, and He is the end. It’s the race of life; we start with Him and return to Him. In this race, some may try to take shortcuts only to get lost, and the wiser pace themselves, knowing it’s a marathon. A few may try to trip or sabotage others to gain an advantage, but they fail to see the race is within themselves. There is no first or second-place prize. At the end of the journey, the satisfied will be those who gave their best effort; they struggled beautifully and gave it their all. For them will be the prize of the akhirah, Insha-Allah. You don’t want to have reached the end of the race to realize you had much more to offer; you want to be tired at the end.
In The Name & the Named, Sheikh Tosun Bayrak writes, “It is proper to read, recite, and consider the attributes “The First” and “The Last” together because the meaning is like a circle where the first and the last are one.” This interpretation seems to describe these two names accurately. Imam Ghazali mentions something similar, “So He is last with respect to wayfaring [there is nothing that will succeed him], and first with respect to existence: the first beginning was from Him; and to Him is the last return and destination.”
“The Last; without an Ending”
“The Infinite Last one”