المعنى الاصطلاحي

The one whose existence has no beginning (not preceded by non-existence).

الشرح المختصر

"Al-Qadeem al-Mutlaq" (The Ever Eternal): The word "qadeem" is general. It could refer to what is not preceded by non-existence, or to something in particular that has eternally existed and whose existence has no beginning. It is expressed by "inherent pre-existence", which is unique to Allah, the Originator, and explains their saying: "whose existence has no beginning." It could possibly refer to something that comes into being after another. "Al-Qadeem" is not one of the beautiful names of Allah because it does not signify perfection. In fact, "qadeem" may refer to the one who precedes others, whether that one is a new occurrence or whose existence has no beginning. All of the names of Allah are beautiful and cannot be subject to any kind of deficiency. As for calling Allah Almighty, "Al-Qadeem", it is regarded from the perspective of giving information about Allah Almighty, which is a broader perspective than that of the divine names and attributes.